The still I will be analyzing will be from Nikki Minaj's music video - 'Turn Me On'
As you can see from the still, Nikki Minaj is most likely hyperconscious. She seems aware of her appearance which is the most likely reason she has chosen such a strange and distinct outfit for her music video; it makes her stand out, especially through her brightly coloured hair against her dark outfit and environment. Also it could be said she knows she is watched by many as she is wearing an outfit, that from the still, does appear slightly sexual, through the exposure of her chest as a separate part of the outfit from the rest, thus showing her knowledge of a male audience that she may want to keep attracted to her as an artist, through her physical beauty. In this still she doesn't seem to be parodying anything, although she is using pastiche. Her outfit in itself could be said to be a pastiche of another famous female pop artist who is known for her incredibly strange and distinct clothing; Lady Gaga. From the still nothing comes to mind in the form of referencing other media, although there seems to be cultural intertextual referencing in a few ways. In terms of Mise-en-scene we can see the large iron gate behind Nikki Minaj, coupled with fog, which could be said to be very Gothic, giving it a setting similar to a horror film. Her outfit could also be seen to be a cultural reference, as it seems a cultural reference to early British Gothic style and perhaps even "Steampunk", which is what makes her outfit unique, much like, as mentioned, Lady Gaga, in that they both share a similarity in wearing unique and distinct costumes. Finally in terms of cultural-intertextual referencing is her hair within the still, as it could be said to be referencing a punk style due to its colour, also perhaps something along the lines of Carnival, and it seems that the way Nikki Minaj, through her costume here, perhaps challenges the notion that black women may be considered more "invisible" among cultures than other races, by making sure she stands out. Nikki Minaj does seem narcissistic, as the mid close-up here focuses on her. She may seem narcissistic because of the fact she is hyperconscious though. Since she knows she is being watched she perhaps makes the effort to make camera shots throughout her video tend to focus on her most of the time, since she is the selling point for her music. But in terms of this still she does seem narcissistic, since she is the focus, but nothing else can be said because it is only through viewing the rest of the video can I decide whether or not she is actually narcissistic or not, as this may very well be one of only a few shots of her in the entire video (although this is unlikely due to the distinction of her outfit and use of female physical form to entice certain audiences). In conclusion this still makes Nikki Minaj out to be both hyperconscious and narcissistic, shows she is using a pastiche of Lady Gaga, and that she can be said to be using cultural-intertextual referencing, although she is not parodying anything. The information drawn from the still is about Nikki Minaj solely because she is the main focus of it.
This concludes my use of Goodwin's theory to analyze a still from a music video.
Below I have embedded the music video from 'YouTube' for anyone who wishes to view the full video :)
Thats everything for this post everyone.
Until next time :)
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