'RIPTIDE' ANALYSIS

RIPTIDE- VANCE JOY

Vance Joy is an Australian singer/songwriter signed to Atlantic Records, who's parent company is Warner Music Group. The American record label specialises in jazz, R&B and soul music. Artists currently signed to Atlantic Records includes,  Vance Joy, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Ed Sheeran.

The song Riptide was apart of Vance Joy's debuting album, 'God loves you when you're dancing'. The music video is simple yet effective. The video correlates to what Joy is singing about, and this relates to Goodwin's theory of conventions of a music video. The simple music video could have been done due to a lack of budget, however it if effective as it amplifies the lyrics as the images match what Joy is singing. Therefore it allows for the audience to concentrate on the lyrics and the music instead of focusing on dramatic visuals. The visuals has a confusing  narrative which is due to the use of hard jump cuts. This makes each clip a separate narrative within itself. However there is an abstract arch narrative over the whole music video. This can be shown when the main female character disappears  and then is trying to escape from being tied up. As well as over every chorus the women singing becomes more distressed, scared and less composed.

There are a few intertextual references in the song 'Riptide'. The opening shot of a blue sky, with the camera moving from a vertically up angle, to a slightly high angle with the title at the bottom of the screen in small block writing, is similar to that used in a film poster, presenting the music video as a short film. This is used to entice the audience as the blue sky makes people feel happy as it reminds the audience of  summer. This style has been appropriated due to the lyrics creating a story, which can be interpreted as a man falling in love with a women who is slowly changing before his eyes. This can be shown when he sings, " I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations", meaning he has overcomed his fear, and that she is now his girlfriend. The lyric "lady running down to the riptide, taken away through the dark side, I wanna be your left hand man." could be interpreted as his girlfriend being engulfed by bad decisions which has changed her. This can be referenced, as a 'riptide' is a type of current which occurs near beaches due to breaking tides. They can drag people out to sea which can lead them to be engulfed by the sea. Therefore this can relate to the narrative as the women has been engulfed by a bad decision that has changed her dramatically. There are also references within the music video to the horror/thriller genres as there is a short clip of a women being dragged out of the scene, and the character going missing within the graveyard.

There is the use of voyeurism as there is a short clip of a women taking her bathing suit off, this was presented by the dismemberment of her torso and blonde hair. The fact that the women is being shown  can show that the male gaze is voyeuristic as the song is sung from a male's point of view.