Music videos have ranged from simple tableaux of a band playing its instruments to multimillion dollar, high-concept extravaganzas. Born of a sudden expansion in new broadcast channels, music videos continue to exert an enormous influence on popular music. They help to create an artist's identity, to affect a song's mood, to determine chart success: the music video has changed our idea of the popular song. Here at last is a study that treats music video as a distinct multimedia artistic genre, different from film, television, and indeed from the songs they illuminate-and sell. Carol Vernallis describes how verbal, musical, and visual codes combine in music video to create defining representations of race, class, gender, sexuality, and performance. The book explores the complex interactions of narrative, settings, props, costumes, lyrics, and much more. Three chapters contain close analyses of important videos: Madonna's "Cherish," Prince's "Gett Off," and Peter Gabriel's "Mercy St."

Here at last is a study that treats music video as a distinct multimedia artistic genre, different from film, television, and indeed from songs themselves. Carol Vernallis describes how musical, visual and verbal codes work together in music video and reveals modes of representing race, class, gender, and sexuality that characterize the music video form.

About the Author
Carol Vernallis is associate professor in the Media Arts and Studies Division of the Communication Department at Wayne State University.


Book Information
ISBN 9780231117999
Author Carol Vernallis
Format Paperback
Page Count 480
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press