Redundancy and Entropy in Music Videos: Further Research

MGMT Kids is almost completely entropic, from the opening sequence 'MGMT - Kids' is written in luminescent green writing on a background of flames and the sound of someone talking over a radio in the background. This is very unexpected for the opening of a music video especially as the song lyrics and genre give no indication of why the video has opened with this. Also the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." seems out of place as this does not relate to the lyrics. However the quote does appear to have some relevance to the music video itself as it shows a young boy running away from what he believes to be monsters and trying to return to his mother for comfort.

They also quote Mark Twain "And if you gaze for long into an abyss the abyss gazes also into you." these quotes seem unusual in a music video as they are not usually seen. It takes just over a minute until the music actually starts which is unusual for a music video and there are asynchronous sounds of children laughing, crying and playing. Although this does relate to the title of the song 'Kids' it is still entropic. When the music starts there is key lighting on a young boy in his crib, this seems redundant enough until we see large claws through the bars. The claws then grab the child who starts crying, this contrasts with the upbeat music.

There is some redundance in the music video though, at one point the mother is carrying the young boy who is crying the lyrics mirror this "You were a child crawlin' on your knees toward it. Making mama so proud but your voice is still loud". However the music video soon returns back to its entropic nature, as the child is running through a group of monsters he then finds the band who are dressed up in silver, trying to look like space men, in a park performing. The contrast between their outfits and the setting is an unusual one, also their instruments do not reflect the ones of the song, whereas they are playing acoustic instruments the song is synthpop. Towards the end of the song the narrative changes from following the young boy to a series of graphic designs and cartoon style drawings, none relating to the lyrics or the music video except to the theme of monsters. There are barely any redundant features in this music video, however it does provide us with a perfect example of entropy.

There are many entropic elements in this music video, it opens with a clip from a movie which is unexpected in itself, the setting is also unusual as the band are performing in what seems like a combination of a childs park and a drive-in cinema. However the drive-in cinema is revealed to be a clever setting as clips from films such as 'Lolita', 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' and 'Jason and the Argonauts' are used throughout the film. The film clips used are deemed to be entropic though, as the music video is not made specifically for a film. Jump cuts are used to switch between the performance of the band and the young couple, this is considered redundant in an indie music video, also close ups are used to focus on the band members, mostly the lead singer, which is again expected.

The band and the young couple regularly change from their normal selves into skeletons, this does relate to the lyrics "Don't you wanna feel my bones on your bones?" which is redundent, however it is entropic as well because you don't expect the lyrics to be taken quite to literally. The music video closes with the young couple and the band (as skeletons) collapsing into a pile of bones, almost all of the video is bewildering it does contain some redundant elements such as the performance and the clothing of the band, also the link to the lyrics but even the redundant elements of the video are tainted with some entropy.

This music video is highly redundant for the genre. It is mostly performance based however it does include some narrative about a stereotypical high school bully everyone is afraid of. She is shown to push a boy with a broken arm into a wall, kiss someone elses boyfriend and cut a girls plait off. The narrative does link to the lyrics "Once a whore you're nothing more, I'm sorry that'll never change." and "Well there's a million other girls who do it just like you, looking as innocent as possible to get to who they want." The clothing of the band also is redundant of their genre and makes them stand out and seperate from the rest of the actors in the video.

It opens with fast jump cuts of the band, this matches the speed of the music and establishes the mood for the rest of the video. There are a variety of different shots ranging from extreme close ups of the lead singer to close ups of the instruments and establishing shots of the whole band. Most of the close ups focus on Hayley though, which is redundant in any music video as she is the lead singer. When the video switches to the narrative it shows a group of cheerleaders, fast jump cuts and close ups are used to focus  on their legs and pompoms, this is considered redundant as it is focusing on the female body. There are a range of different camera angles differing from high and low angle, at one point there is a low angle, mid-close up of Hayley this is another example of the focus on the female body. There are barely any entropic elements to this music video, however there is an unexpected twist at the end where the whole band exit a classroom and get there own back on the bully; removing her makeup and humiliating her. This is unusual because you don't expect the band to appear in the narrative and the underdogs come out on top at the end.