Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin’s Theory

Goodwin’s theory is based on 8 main principles.

·         Links Between lyrics and visuals.

·         Links between music and visuals.

·         Genre Classification.

·         Intertextual references.

·         Notions of looking.

·         Voyeurism.

·         Demands of the record label.

·         Performance/ narrative based music videos. 

Links between lyrics and visuals and genre classification are very similar. It is associated with certain traits for example, when watching a rock or metal music video, you would expect to see a lot of stage performances or with a rap video, you would expect to see the artist with flashy cars, wads of money or sexualised women.

Voyeurism is usually about portraying men and women sexually (mainly women). It consists a lot of eye contact with the camera. Most artists sell their music through sex appeal.

Record labels demand a lot of close ups of the artist and the artists visual styles which recurs across their work.

Intertextual references appeal to the audience because they like to know the inside joke.  An example would be Taylor Swift’s Love Story, which referred to Romeo and Juliet.

Goodwin believed that it was important for an artist to be involved in their music videos somehow.  This could be performing or acting out a role, this connects the audience with the artist.

 _Andrea.