MARXIST APPROACH

Marxism was founded by Karl Marx and it belived that the media and its messages could be used for good if in the right hands. However, with dominant ideology (dominant belief held by a society) the message could be dangerously influential and controlling the effect of the masses(general population/Hoi Poloi).

THE DOMINANT IDEOLOGY
The ideological forces that determine how society functions. Marxists believe that all powerful insitutions subtly control how we, the masses, conduct our lives within society. These insitutions (media) comprise of The press, Tv, Internet and the music industry, to name a few.

THE MEDIA'S MESSAGE
Marxists believe that the media plays a significant part in controlling the masses and some would say as an insitution it is greater influence on society than religion, politics and the family (nature over nuture). The supposed subtle dominance with which the media control the masses is known as hegemonic control.

HEGEMONY
This was an ideological concept first introduced by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. He believed that the media message would perform a subtle indoctrination, influencing the manner in which society viewed the world until the message becomes 'common sense', unchallenged by the masses. Hegemonic control is an acceptance of the 'status quo'.

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS- GOLDIE-INNERCITY LIFE

RELEASE DATE: 1995

Innercity life by Goldie revolves around the pressure of living in the city which is illustrated through a single mother and her two kids who live in a council estate in a small flat with different daily pressures such as paying the bills which is highlighted through a Extreme Close Up of BT bills.
The video opens with an establishing, high angle shot of the city then fades into a bird's eye shot of an estate than the camera pulls in. The use of this techique is to acknowledge the setting of the music video.
With in this music video there are different settings and locations that connote different things. One location is a club. The party scene in the club is used to represent escaping pressure of the city by having a good time. Another location is the estate. When showing the estate and people within it; high angle shots are predominantly used to show their vunerablity, their class in society (working class) and their lack of control they have especially over their lives as the pressure from living in city are controlling them. eg bills need to be paid therefore people may need to work harder.
There are many message and represenations embedded throughout the music video that the Marxists would argue that it either positive, realistic or negative. One is where we see a black man in a BMW Convertible which is an expensive car and through stereotyping we assume that he is a drug dealer producing a negative representation of black man. Within the music video there is a long shot of a trolley being pushed off the top of an estate roof. This has a negative reference to youths as it presents them as trouble-makers and careless. The message is about youths are reinforced a car being lit on fire with a Long shot used to highlight this. This could be considered by the marxists as an realistic message, although it is exaggerated as youth in society and through the media are seen as violent, trouble-makers who do not care or consider others. This conforms with hegemony and hegemonic control. Hegemonic control is maintained in the video through different aspects like the single mother. The single mother with kids, struggling living in an council estate is considered as a realistic representation that is unchallenged by the masses. Especially where we see that mother in the last scene sleeping by herself then a man appearing who sleeps with her then fades away representing abandoning fathers. Although hegemonic control is maintained within the video, it is also challenged through positive messages especially of the youth. Within the video there is a Medium Close Up used to show a boy in a hooded top with the hood up and the council estate in the background. At first stereotypical representations are first thought such as being bad and most probably doing something wrong but then it eventually fades to a high angled Long Shot of that boy and his friends playing basketball which is harmless and he is not doing something bad therefore subverting dominant ideology. The club scene futher challenges hegemony control. Outside the club there is a close up, tracking shot of something being passed from hand to hand. We later discover that it is a CD. This subverts dominant ideology as normally it would be thought that it was drugs that was being passed from hand-to-hand especially in a club scene but it was not.
The video has a niche young audience which are gratified through scenes in the video that are familar to them like the scene.
There are different editing techiques used in the music video. Fades in/out are predominately used in the music video to retain interest of the audience but also because it is different from other music videos and many do not use this technique. Straight cuts are also used which is conventional of a music video. This was especially used in the club scenes alongside Close-Ups to reflect the fast pace of the environment and the music.
Lastly, there are different camera angles and shots used within the music video. Close-Ups are used to highlight significant things in the video that the director wants used to take notice of such as the Close-Up of the Phone Bills. Long Shots are used to show what is happening in the video such as when the children were playing basketball. High angle shots are used to promote vunerability and Low angle shots are used to show that some characters in the video are gaining control and are not trouble by the pressure of the innercity. E.g in the video there is a Medium Close Up of two men laughing which shows that they are having a good time and are care free.
In Conclusion, both conforms and challenges hegemonic control and the marxist explanation is cleary evident in this video making it successful.