OC HIGH / STUDENT NEWS &...

Being a part of the “MTV Generation,” I find it easy to view music videos as an art form.

Apart from the basics of decent camera work, skillful direction and ample set construction, a good music video requires imagination and symbolism.

While some musicians reserve the right to parade themselves or others half naked on front of a camera and call it a music video, I reserve the right to call it meaningless trash.

These musicians use unnecessary cheap thrills to make a statement, pathetic as that statement may be. Artists such as Madonna seem to insult our intellect and blanket our imagination by use of explicit “peep shows” during their videos.

However, other musicians, like the alternative band R.E.M. and Van Halen in “Right Now,” also use symbolism, but add the beauty of bluntness by use of words displayed on the screen throughout the video.

Use of this technique enables viewers to read the imaginative lyrics and thoughts of the musicians. This reopens the door to reading, a pastime often forgotten by the “MTV generation.”

Yet another imaginative route taken in music videos is the use of animation. Videos such as “Laid So Low” by Tears for Fears and “Human Behavior” by Bjork allow musicians to tell a story without any limitations. For example, use of animation in “Human Behavior” allowed Bjork to display our world in the unlikely switch of roles between animals and humans.

Music videos attempt to appeal to the mass variety of music video watchers and therefore need to be much more than a display of body parts.

They need to be enlightening as well as entertaining. Imagination is also a significant factor in the quality of a music video. Most music videos of today lack these key elements and leave them with a lot to be desired.