Blog Entry #2: A Look at Music Videos

Initial reaction
My immediate thoughts and observations when I viewed the music video is why did the video look so depressing and sad. I also wondered why they kept on putting those signs up everywhere.

Analysis and interpretation
I think the Black Eyed Peas created this music video to show us how our world has now turned into. Themes that are promoted in this video are racism, violence, and suffering. These themes are all shown through the lyrics of the song and the visuals of the video. The themes counter Gospel Values because the themes in the music video are all the opposite from love, justice, hope, etc.

Consideration of cultural context
Events that may have influenced the Black Eyed Peas to create this music video were the events happening today. The lyrics have a lot of meaning to them and that is what the music video is about. The lyrics explain the bad things that are happening and that is what I believe influenced the Black Eyed Peas to create this music video.

Expression of aesthetic judgment
With the mixture of the lyrics of the song and the cinematography, they work together to create a feeling that there is a lot of bad things that are happening in our world right now like racism and violence. The visuals affect my admiration for the song because they way the video looks and feels make me think hard about what the lyrics are trying to communicate.


Ongoing reflection
My chosen music video influenced my reception of the song. Before I saw the music video, I was only familiar with the song and its lyrics. When I listened to the lyrics, it made me have mixed feelings because there were many horrible things the song is communicating. Then, when I saw the music video, it made me think even harder about the issues that were occurring today.