Sunday 16 October 2011

Goodwin Textual Analysis- Natalia Kills-'Mirrors' (2010)


"It's about celebrating your own power." -Natalia Kills


Natalia Kills is an Electro / Hip Hop / Pop artist with a very strong sexy female empowering style. The video for Mirrors was directed by Natalia herself and Guillaume Doubet, with whom she created Love, Kills xx a visual companion to her album, 'weaving motifs from her lyrics and songs throughout…exploring the deepest and darkest impulses of her imagination'. 




Relationship between lyrics and visuals?
'Mirrors' has an underlying S&M theme, discussing sex and the pleasure of being in control. The lyrics are amplified by the visuals with the styling of both the miss en scene -an underground edgy and grungy room filled with gothic props and the artist herself: with tight black clothing, chains and spiky stilettos. The mirror theme is referenced by the use of symmetrical shots and many OTS, frame within a frame and reflections throughout. The video is split into three acts "Vanity", "Control" and "Sex" which is directly taken from the lyrics of the song. Technically, the use of soft focus and focus pulls echo the lyrics 'the mirrors goon' fog tonight' and the low key lighting 'turning the lights out'. 

Relationship between music and visuals? 
Throughout the video there are cuts to the beat and particular emphasis on certain musical phrases. At the beginning there are flashes of Natalia being pulled into the mirror, echoing the rhythm of the the synth. At 2:00 on the television we can see her lips doing a drop frame repeat to the 'Na na na'. 

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?
There are lots of close ups of the artist featuring very heavy eye make up, lipstick and lots of jewellery, which she can often be seen wearing. This is further exacerbated by the clips of her eyes and lips on the television during Act II of the video. She is also frequently featured holding an axe, a symbol for authority in Roman history, illustrating her power and strong female attitude, which characterises her as an artist. 

Is there reference to the notion of looking?
Lots! Right from the very beginning mirrors and reflections are used to displace Natalia and create the sense she is being watched. At 0:10 the shot looks like that of a security camera, suggesting someone is spying on her. At 1:02 there is a flash of something across the screen and in the mirror her reflection differs to her actions in the foreground, creating a schizophrenic quality and conjuring supernatural, fairytale ideas. Throughout the video there is the eye motif on the television screen and the man in the glass box videoing her- creating a sense of voyeurism and amplifying the S&M themes of the lyrics. However, in contrast the video also displays notions of not being able to look. At the beginning, people are wearing masks, in some of the shots her fringe is cut so that it covers her eyes and at 3:44 we can see the man in a chair, blindfolded (ironically with material with an eye design). Through this, the video is referencing the idea of vanity whilst amplifying the sense of exerting control, by subverting the sense of sight. 

Are there intertextual references?
Natalia is seen talking directly to a skull, reminiscent of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The video also features shots of pin badges for Cherrytree Records, the record label she is signed to. There are obvious references to sadomasochism both lyrically and in the video through the use of chains and erotic bondage style clothing. The skull is seen wearing Beats by Dr Dre Headphones, Dr Dre belonging to Interscope, the company that owns Cherrytree Records.

Is the video performance, narrative or concept based? How much of each?
I would say this video is an amalgamation of all three. Throughout the performance, the notion of voyeurism propels the video forward but a narrative is established at the beginning with the cinematic introduction, not featuring the music.


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