Pretty Hurts Music Video Analysis

Over the years, numerous debates have been going on the importance of critical thinking. Critical thinking plays an essential role in encouraging curiosity among individuals. Therefore, interest exists to help individuals to gain an understanding of not only the world around individuals but also the things that matter in the environment that individuals reside in (Aikat 232). Besides, critical thinking enhances creativity, which allows individuals to come up with solutions to different issues in the world. Through critical thinking also, individuals can conduct visual analysis. Below is the analysis of the Pretty Hurts music video by Beyoncé an American pop star.

The initial shot for any music video is very substantial as it sets the scene for the rest of the video, and the audience already has specific expectations of what they will view in the music video (Aikat 232).  In the Pretty Hurts, the singer used a close up of her face focusing in the mirror, which lasts for roughly 0.03 seconds. There is a likelihood that the close-up was used to establish a level of intimacy between the artist and the audience.  Besides, it could have been used to sow some level of susceptibility in the way that individuals constantly see self-regulation due to the scrutiny of the media industry.

The arrangement of the scenery is also geared towards the stereotypical features of pageants, beauty, and women. Their dressing code is also used to showcase themselves to the audience and draw attention to their body, which is what they will be judged on (Rosenwasser & Stephen 10).  Colors like pink, yellow, and white are also used in the music video as a representation of happiness, delicacy, and feminity, which is very popular among female pop artists.

Besides, all the women have made up on to enhance their feminity. Tracking shots are used to show the similarities between the ladies and how they are all the same in the eyes of men and judges. Yellow color in the video and the dressing code of the ladies strengthens the notion that they are all the same (Rosenwasser & Stephen 10). Besides, the colors and the costume reinforces the significance of the storyline for this music video because they all relate to how women are regarded in the community.

The setting of the video, to some extent, lacks an establishment. This could be a result of the availability of many close-ups of either the artist or the other characters in the music. However, from the observable features, many of the locations could be from home like setting or a dressing room for a beauty pageant which is the theme of the story. Besides, the home settings could have been taken to try and identify with the audience and show some similarities between the hardships that the artists face portray and the audience themselves. What should be noted also is that during the course of the music video, the artist changes costumes to the point of excess. The video producer may have done this on purpose to show how significant images are and especially when artists allow the outside world to dictate how

The lighting in the video is natural and ambient, with shots of high and low essential light. This is conventional to pop music videos to show the audience the difference between each setting and their feelings with each shot. For instance, in this specific instance, the shots are low key to signify the anger and sadness among the people (Aikat 232).

The variety of close up and extreme close-ups fit in with the message of having an individual’s beauty judged and how it can affect them. Besides, the close-ups in the video are used to highlight pain and struggle and show how much a lifestyle can affect an individual.

The way in which the video is produced tries to show the importance of body language in different situations. When the video is shot while the artist is in a home-like setting, the posture and body language are always lowered and slouched, whereas when it is self while the artist is in a beauty pageant setting, the posture is excellent and the artist is all smiling (Aikat 232). The producer could have done this on purpose to show how people and especially artists, may feel behind closed doors and how they may portray themselves in front of the media.

When the video is taken in the home environment, the artists seem to be the center of attraction. However, when the video is taken when Beyoncé is in the pageant environment, she tends to blend more with the other participants. This idea can, therefore, be used to signify the importance of every individual in everyday life, which cannot be easily be recognized while in a group.

In conclusion, visual analyses play a significant role in analyzing different narratives, such as music videos. The analysis gives insight into what may have triggered the artist to record the narrative. For instance, individuals can realize that artists behave differently while alone and completely different when on camera.

Works cited

Aikat, Debashis “Deb. “Streaming violent genres online: Visual images in music videos on BET. com, Country. com, MTV. com, and VH1. com.” Popular Music and Society 27.2 (2004): 221-240.

“Pretty Hurts Music Video Analysis 2.” Share and Discover Knowledge on LinkedIn SlideShare, 22 Feb. 2018, www.slideshare.net/EllieMeeks/music-video-analysis-2-88661944.

Rosenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. Writing analytically. Cengage Learning, 2011.

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Pretty Hurts Music Video Analysis