Dream-Dizzee Rascal

Narrative:

What is the main narrative and message of the song, and how is this added to or altered by the visual elements of the video (e.g. lighting and colour ,camera framing)and the techniques used?

The main narrative and message of this song is basically like an autobiography, as it discusses his life story and how he managed to start his career. Even though this is the main and obvious narrative we are shown, there is actually a much deeper meaning that shows how people of different races and ethnic/cultural minorities are being represented. This narrative could be seen as showing how society is treating these people, which is shown through police brutality and the traditional middle-class woman that is controlling the world that Dizzee is performing in.

This negative undertone however is subverted by the mostly warm lighting and colours that are used throughout. The video not only uses children's toys and puppets, but it also uses pastel colours to make it appear more childlike, which subverts the genres of music that the music fits into. Despite the fact this music is meant to be a mix between pop, grime and rap, this style and childlike setting makes the song appear more like it fits into the pop genre specifically. The camera framing also represents the control that the woman at the piano has over the narrative Dizzee is trying to portray to the audience. This could represent that middle class white people are still following the traditional and old fashioned views of UK, whilst Dizzee is representing the future and inspiring the younger generations.

Does the video subvert or confirm the messages and content of the song ? How ? 

The video in it's appearance subverts what the message and image is trying to convey. Although the places that are introduced are styled to look quite childlike and friendly, the corner shop for example is still represented as quite run down and old, as a result of the graffiti and the sign that is falling off the front, representing what would be seen as a stereotypical poor neighbourhood. The style contradicts the whole message of the video, which also makes the audience of the video not fully realise what the deeper meaning of the song .

The lyrics of the song confirm the message of the song however, as Dizzee Rascal is talking about following his dream to becoming a singer in a style that is written like an autobiography. His lyrics also talk about the struggles of becoming the artist he is, mentioning 'the whole world against me attitude' and how he nearly 'blew it', whilst also talking about how he 'couldn't get on a local radio back then'. These senses of struggle are portrayed throughout the video in different ways, for example the issue of racism and police brutality but also more subtly through the struggles and judgements that single mothers and fathers go through, all which demonstrate the message of the song title itself.

What might be video be saying about Dizzee Rascal's relationship with the pop and grime genres , their audiences and the music industry ? 

The video might be saying that Dizzee Rascal has a very positive relationship with the pop and grime genres specifically, however he feels that there's still a lot of racially motivated incidents in the industry, which is preventing young artists of colour being recognised. This is also backed up through the lyrics of the song, where he specifically thanks his fans for buying his album and the luck that he's received from the industry in general, never actually thanking music groups and specific producers for the starting success he earned. This shows that he has a strong relationship with the audiences that he's gearing his music towards, as they are the main reason for his success, rather than music producers specifically. 

 

The video also clearly represents the racial divide that's occurring in that world we see on screen, which could also refer to Dizzee's idea of what the music industry is. This is because Dizzee Rascal focuses the song in a biography form, as stated in the lyrics, displaying his life and his rise to success. This means that what's happening has either happened or is how Dizzee perceives things to be, making the link to racism in real life situations and the music industry a the time.

Representation:

How is ethnicity, age, gender and class represented in the video?

Ethnicity is a very big representation throughout the video, clearly demonstrating the racist stereotypes that traditional UK ideology portrays out to people. In the video we are introduced to themes of police brutality and very traditional racist stereotypes of how the black people act and look. In a certain scene, one of the black characters is portrayed to look like a golliwog, a racist doll that portrayed very prominent features that, at the time, were associated with people of that skin tone, which shows the old traditional stereotypes that are mostly not around today. Ethnicity is a huge basis for the content of  the song, as most of the characters that are demonstrated are people of minorities, specifically black people who most of the stereotypes and racism is based on.

 

Age is quite fairly represented throughout the video. Even though we are unsure about the age of most of the characters, we can assume that most of the puppets are around the age of 16-19 years old, due to the way that they are dressed in hoodies and tracksuits. This is also around the same age of Dizzee when he released the video. The woman sitting at the piano is obviously of an older age than Dizzee and the other characters, so she has different ideologies and standards compared to him, explaining why she was concerned about some of his actions. This is used so the video can relate to more than one age group.

 

Gender is represented as more male orientated in this video that female, however there are some female characters displayed throughout. One of these examples include the single mother, which in itself would seem quite sexist to assume there were only single mothers, however we ae also introduced to the single father perspective which creates a broader range of interpretations for gender in the video. The only other showing of women we see is at the beginning outside the off-licence, where you could say they are being sexualised as objects with the wording used in the lyrics, but not in the costumes they're wearing.

 

There is quite a clear divide in class between the woman at the piano and the people around Dizzee, and we can see that through the uses of props and costumes. By the looks of the video, the woman is created as quite an upper class character, shown through the setting she's placed in and the piano she's playing the music on, which is obviously quite expensive. The characters that are hanging out with Dizzee are all wearing quite baggy clothing like tracksuits and hoodies, clothing which is usually associated with lower class people. The props used also suggest this class divide, as even though they are meant to look quite childlike and fun in essence, they are actually quite common setting for lower class areas stereotypically.

 

How is the extent of power and freedom enjoyed by these characters shown visually? 

The only character that is essentially shown to be free is Dizzee himself. The characters around him are all in the style of puppets, as they have strings attached. This could connote that the characters are being controlled by the woman at the piano, as the images and narrative that are being portrayed are all happening in her world, which we can infer from the size difference of the story and the woman herself. A sense of freedom is barely felt by the characters portrayed, as even though Dizzee isn't on strings like the rest of the 'puppets', he still opens and end the video in the same way, back in the box he came out of. This suggests that even though Dizzee as a character is free in some aspects, there's still something holding him back in his career, as in the end he's still in the same position that he started in.

In the music video, when there is a sense of freedom there is always something that comes long to stop it. At the beginning, we are shown some people, who we assume to be teenagers, hanging around outside an off licence. After a while, we are introduced to a police helicopter and police cars entering the scene, demonstrating police brutality and racial injustice, as the police officer is white in colour. This scene also happens to reinforce a lot of racist stereotypes of the characters, and the fact that the woman doesn't do anything to stop the police brutality that she is reacting to shows that maybe she as a character is unable to freely speak up against, even through her world is where the narrative is being created. However, this representation is also contrasted later on in the video, as the police officer ends up joining the group of teenagers and dancing with them, suggesting a sense of community and a hope for change in societal stereotypes and standards.

Dizzee's freedom to create music is also challenged in the video, in a way that looks like the challenge was racially motivated. Whilst Dizzee is recording in what looks to be a normal room, the police come and start to bang on the window, suggesting that they want to stop whatever is happening inside. Yet again, this police officer is white in colour, further pushing the representation that black people in the music industry are always being silenced of put down by society.  

What Binary oppositions are created or shown in the video between different stereotypes or characters?

One of the main binary opposites between characters is that of Dizzee himself and the woman that's overlooking everting at the piano. Not only do they create binary opposites in class, age, gender and ethnicity, they also show binary oppositions in the ideologies and cultures they follow. It's obvious to us that the woman is being shown as the one whose trying to control the narrative, whilst Dizzee himself is trying to change how the narrative as it plays out. Even though Dizzee is trying to change the narrative, she hold a certain sense of power over what is happening on screen. This is different as considering the woman is meant to be representing traditional UK views, you would be expecting to see a man being in charge of the narrative, which suggests that the society this video is shot in could be seen as matriarchal.

Another binary opposition is create through the teenagers at the off-license and  the police officer. These two characters in the music video are mainly contrasted by age and ethnicity, creating a binary opposition between the police and the children as it demonstrates not only the difference in power (with the police officer being the one with the authority) but also the difference in treatment between the different characters shown. For example, in this scene the police officer is taking part in police brutality specifically on the two teenagers, never on any characters that isn't considered a minority.

Are there any characters that subvert or challenge stereotypes about their social or ethnic group?

There is one specific character that does challenge the social or ethnic groups represented in the video, and that is the single father with the child we're shown. We are usually shown the image of a single mother stereotypically, something that we're introduced to before this. This challenges stereotypes of specific ethic groups because there are a lot of negative stereotypes of black males and their willingness to be good fathers. This representation is rarely (if not ever) used in media products, making it quite a unique focal point for a video to introduced.

Intertextuality:

What cultural or media references does the video and song make and why?

One of the media references mentioned is the woman that is sitting at the piano. This woman and how she is portrayed and dressed has many similarities to a character from a popular children's show 'Muffin the Mule', which was aired from October 1946 till January 1955. This media reference is being used in the video to create a sense of nostalgia for older audiences, as they will be able to recognise the similarities between this woman and Annette Mills, the woman who was in the show. The way the puppets are used in the video is also a reference to how the character of Muffin was shown during the show. 

 

The hook of the song lyrics has a connection to the singer and songwriter Captain Sensible, as he re-recorded 'Happy Talk' that Dizzee uses for the main portion of the song. The song 'Happy Talk' was covered in 1982 by Captain sensible, however it was originally recorded by Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1949 musical 'South Pacific'. This is used for a similar reason that Muffin the Mule is, however this is used in the lyrics as people can associated it with two different time frames. 

One cultural reference that the music video uses is that of 'Golliwogs', which were racist dolls that were first rolled out for children after they appeared in a children's book created in the late 19th century. This book was created by Florence Kate Upton. Even though they were seen as children's toys used to comfort them, they began to realise the racist issue with the doll, hence the reason why they went out of fashion. This reference is used to back up the racist stereotypes that were used in traditional British ideology, as this is what Dizzee is trying to point out in the undertones of the song. 

Does the video refer to "traditional white" UK culture and create a binary opposition with modern multicultural Britain? How?

The woman that is sitting at the piano is meant to be representing traditional Uk culture, as in her narrative being portrayed on the piano is something we're made to believe that she controls. We're shown the binary opposites between traditional and modern Britain through how she reacts to some of the situations that Dizzee is in. During some scenes, the woman is responding negatively to what Dizzee and the other characters are doing, even though the audience would consider them to be normal everyday activities. One specific frame where this is shown is when Dizzee and his friends are dancing, where we can tell that she is judging them by the look that's displayed on her face. Considering most of the people shown are a part of a minority, this could demonstrate that traditional UK culture is shown as racist and has a lack of injustice, in turn creating a binary opposition to modern UK culture and how people are being represented currently.

 

 Additional Notes

Narrative:

• Dizzee's autobiography and rise to success
• talks about inspiring the next generation
• an inspiring and inclusive message- represented through the lyrics

Genre:

• a mix of three genres- pop, rap and grime
• oppositions of the genre

Lighting and colour

• matches the narrative of the song (quite upbeat)- pastel colours that could be seen as childlike
• represents the pop genre included in the song- pastel colours represent this

Settings

• standard grime environment is shown through pastel colours-goes against narrative

Ethnicity

• police brutality is shown through the white police beating black people, even through is seen as funny because of the way they are represented through toys- still a serious topic
• golliwog stereotype is used in the advert- offensive and racist stereotypes are being used
• difference between black and white people is shown
• stereotypes of a Scottish/Irish person represented as a drunk

Other:

• Shown that the actions are going on in her world- shown in an older, middle-class world
• Dizzee Rascal  is just the narrator
• Dizzee only managed to achieve her dream in her world
• Dizzee isn't on strings- only the other puppets are- breaking free from being controlled
• she has let in out the box/ put him back in- she controls the power over him/ black music as a genre- size of Dizzee also represents the power over ethnicity
• begin with and end with the woman-shows that she may have control
• looks innocent on the surface, but the video has a much deeper meaning
• women is traditional/conservative- represents old school, traditional views of the UK
• binary opposites between the woman and Dizzee- woman belongs to the past, Dizzee Rascal is the future
• Dizzee Rascal and his story is represented quite small- maybe his story, to others, is insignificant
• woman is referencing to Annette Mills- character in a children's Tv program called Muffin the Mule- reference to mainstream culture-recognisable for older audience members
• when the cops appear the woman looked surprised- doesn't control everything, however she doesn't ever do anything top stop it (doesn't stop police brutality)
• looks down on Dizzee rascal- looks disappointed/ like she disapproves
• challenges stereotypes through the black single father- isn't commonly shown through out media- isn't a trope of media products