heaven essay
The music video heaven by emeli sande was released in 2011
and contained a number of representations to promote the artist. Emili sande is
depicted as an angelic woman, a symbol of God.
Sande released Heaven in 2011, during this year numerous
things happened in London, including the London riots, which transpired for
several days causing an increasing amount of damage. Sande’s music video was
released a week after the riots started. Even though the video was released
after the riots she was able to show the social unrest in the country at the
time.
Sande used social realist representation of street life to
represent her authenticity, she made use of non-actors in the video, this
emphasises the emotional message the video puts across. Sande filmed the video
in Bethel green east London, an area of London mainly associated with violence
and poverty, she may have lifted aspects from her personal life and used them
to portray the central theme of poverty in her music video making it more
personal and meaningful to her. A number of representations are seen in the
video an example of this is religion, one of the most prominent themes featured
alongside poverty.
The theme of religion is shown through the artist’s costume,
as she is seen to be wearing a religious outfit most commonly associated with
priests. Sande is represented as a perfect image with make up, hair and nice
clothes, her use of monochrome colours contrast the vibrant colours in her
surroundings making her stand out. The theme of poverty is shown through the
non- actors, by using a variety of people with different ages, ethnicities and
gender, the music video gives us an insight into a small aspect of their lives
creating a sense of mystery for the audience.
The camera also helps represent the theme as it often pans
up to the sky with a low shot whilst Sande is singing the word heaven this
symbolises heaven as the stereotypical representation that heaven is in the
sky. Sande is represented as a perfect image with make up, hair and nice
clothes, her use of monochrome colours contrast the vibrant colours in her
surroundings making her stand out. They
use editing in the video to create more of an angelic atmosphere, by allowing
more light into the shot.
In conclusion Sande promotes herself in the music video
through religious representations, she also uses poverty to put the message of
the video across to her audience.
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