MEST 4 Xmas Task #1

The title of my critical investigation is, "An investigation into the idealisation of consumerism and materialism in Hip-Hop music videos". As a result, I have decided to use Hip-Hop artist Soulja Boy's, "Turn my Swag On", music video as a re-occuring example which can be referred back to in order to support the points that I make. 'Soulja Boy' is an emerging artist in the Hip-Hop music scene which has himself been criticized in recent times for glamorising consumerism and materialism in his music videos.

The music video follows a linear narrative with the non digetic sound of the song obviously playing contstantly throughout the music video. The institution which has distributed the music video has not been named. At the beginning of the music video the camera enters Soulja Boy's bedroom and using a panning shot the audience are exposed to a wide variety of Hip-Hop music magazines in which the rapper has featured on the title page (such as 'The Source'). This allows him to boast of his popularity and importance in the music industry to the audience who are most probably teenagers or young adults as stereotypically Hip-Hop fans tend to be. Furthermore, a close up shot of Soulja Boy is shown in which he emphasises "I'm gettin' money!" and then goes on to blow his nose with a couple of dollars. This leads the audience to believe that the rapper truely has no respect for money as he is happy to do such things with it. Various similar close up shots of this kind are given great importance as the music video escaltes (such as the rapper dancing in a whirl wind of cash , chucking dollars at the camera and sleeping in a pile of money). Next, with the use of a tracking shot, the camera follows the rapper into his closet in which a very brief 2 second shot is shown of him changing into his simple clothing. On the contrary a rather prolongued 6 second close up shot illustrates the amount of jewellery Soulja Boy has as he proceeds to spoil himself with wearing 6 golden chains. This shot not only highlights the amount of money he has but idealises his infatuation with material possessions and the idea of consumerism. The connotations of this shot suggest that the rapper regards material possessions (such as jewellery) to be of a higher importance than basic neccessities (such as clothing) which underlines his negative values. Towards the end of the music video Soulja Boy can be seen riding around on a children's scooter which can be observed as a representation of his youth. This has probably been implemented within the text so that the audience recognize Soulja Boy has been successful at such an early age allowing him another chance to boast (18 - during the time the video was shot). The media effect this could have on the audience is that it may make them want to immitate Soulja Boy as they would be of a similar age and visualize themselves in his place. The would enforce the idea of catharsis and vicarous living into the way in which the audience would consume the text.

It is disputable as to whether or not the content being put forth within the music video (or any music video which promotes consumerism and materialism) is a true reflection of the way in which the artist (in this case Soulja Boy) lives their life or not. Soulja Boy's music video shares similar content to that of many new Hip-Hop music videos whether they be released by new or existing artists - Lil Wayne - "Got money", 50 Cent - "I get money" and Jay-Z - "Roc Boys", but to name a few. What isn't disputable though is the fact that the new Hip-Hop music being released does not reflect the society which it has originally been formed to cater to (the African American youth). It is obvious that the content does not mirror the daily lives of the African American youth (as not all African American youths are millionaire rapstars), though it is unclear as to whether or not the content is an accurate representation of what the African American youth aspire to be like or just a stereotype. From this we can tell that Hip-Hop music has evolved overtime and that artists no longer focuses upon the concerns of the African American communities of which they once were a part of such as poverty, a poor education and drugs (which made the music more political). Instead the music now has become more about what the artist has, rather than what the artist doesn't have, and within this has given birth to the idea of advertising within music videos giving them a completley different level of importance. It can be said that now major institutions somewhat rely upon music videos to advertise their products or services. Such is the case within Soulja Boy's, "Turn my Swag On", in which he overtly and covertly advertises institutions such as Apple, 'The Source', Xbox 360 and 'GTA 4' but to name a few.

There are a few theories which would be appropriate to use within my critical investigation. One of if not the most important of those theories would be 'marxism'. This is due to the fact that this theory suggests the idea that the society is dominated by capitalist structures which maintain the hegenomy of the ruling class and lead to the exlploitation of the working class. Other significant useful theories would include 'pluralism', 'audience theory' and 'postmodernism'.