Diversity-Miss Miller

A music video is diverse when it breaks or does not follow the typical characteristics of its music genre A variety of things can make a music video diverse this can be through all the micro-elements to make the video as unique as possible. Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry both are directors who make diverse and controversial music videos which does not conform to the stereotypical genre characteristics. 

Chris Cunningham most famous pieces of directing a music video are 'Frozen' by Madonna and 'Window Licker' by Aphex Twin. Frozen is a prime example of Cunningham's diverse work. Madonna is commonly know for having a sexual image but in this music video her image is completely different as it is changed a Gothic and mysterious image. The music video has a Goth feel about it with it all being dark colours and shot of crows flying this could symbolise death. Typically the Pop genre is all happy and light-hearted with many bright colours used, however in this video Madonna completely subverts the conventions of the pop genre and is seen in this video as mysterious and spooky, this shows Cunningham has completely changed Madonna's image for this video. The dark look and feel about the music video makes it unique to other pop artist as it is completely different to them as the is not shown off as a sexual object instead she is completely covered up and wearing black. The style of the music video is performance based with Madonna dancing very slowly almost hypnotically and singing, this is to focus the audience on the song and also to highlight Madonna's skill. The whole video is completely focused on Madonna as well which helps the audience relate more to her as they are just watching Madonna performing solely on her own. Goodwin's theory is evident in this music video for example there are many close up shots of Madonna and she is the sole focus of the whole video this links to Goodwin's theory where he says the artist has to meet the demands of the record label by being in music videos; this will attract fans even more who are fans of Madonna to watch this video as they know she is performing in it. Also Goodwin's theory where he says there is a link between visuals and lyrics is used in this video for example when Madonna sings 'Love is a bird she needs to fly' their is a shot of crows flying. The target audience for the video would be different to her normal target. The male audience would not be attracted by this music video due to the appearance of the artist not being personified as a sexual object, also other audiences may also be put off because of Madonna's new artist representation from this video as many of her fans aspire to look like her image and this image they love is no longer evident in this diverse video.

Chris Cunningham's other famous diverse music video is 'Window Licker' by Aphex Twin. This video was very diverse and controversial. Aphex Twin is an artist from the dance genre and their videos are very stereotypical using many of the codes and conventions commonly found in dance videos such as partying and flashing lights.
This video was deemed as very controversial for its strong use or swearing throughout, by creating this controversy it would help gain the song media attention attracting more viewers wanting to watch this music video. This video like Madonna's 'Frozen' completely subverts its genre of music, this video has hardly no conventions of the dance genre except for odd dance scenes of the artist, and it generally looks more like a rap video. This video is also very unique with how weird it is as their are male faces been put over female bodies, which can be seen as very disturbing but also as good way to gain publicity as these disturbing scenes would get people talking and get people to want to check the video out. Goodwin's theory is also evident in this video as the constant image of the artist is seen throughout the video with his face being cropped on to children's faces and also him starring as the main rich guy, this links to Goodwin's theory where he says the artist has to meet the demands of the record label by being in music videos also the voyeuristic treatment of the female bodies through them being verbally sexually harassed links to Goodwin's theory. The style of video used is Concept based as it portrays women as Gold diggers who are only interested in rich men.

Michael Gondry is another music director known for his diverse music videos. One music video he done which was diverse was 'Come into my world' by Kylie Monologue. This video subverts the typical conventions of a pop music video as their is no dancing included, and Kylie's image has been changed from a sexual one to an image of an ordinary person. The video is very creative and unique with their being one continuous shot of Kylie walking through a street and keeps going in circles with everything doubling up, this is very creative for a pop music video where normally you would typically find girls being looked at as sexual objects and lots of dancing. Through Mise-en scene her clothing does not conform to the pop genre as she is wearing normal clothes which don't give her a sexual image, the laid back theme of the music video also does not conform with typical pop music videos as these are very much party based This could have a negative impact as her original target audience would not like to see this different image and they are fans of Kylie because of the image she is know for. The style of the video is performance with the sole focus of the video being on Kylie walking around singing. Goodwin's theory is evident in this music video as well with their being a link between lyrics and visuals for example the lyrics are very repetitive this is followed by the repetition of the music video another example for this is when Kylie sings 'Come into my world' then there is an appearance of several Kylie's following her. The constant appearance of Kylie and seeing her sing links to Goodwin's theory where he says the artist has to meet the demands of the record label by being in music videos.

Both Cunningham and Gondry are extremely successful in creating music videos which are completely unique and not stereotypical of a music genre. Having  diverse music video has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages for these artists above using diverse videos is it helps differentiate themselves from other artists and makes them stand out, also these diverse and different videos help create bigger publicity than a stereotypical video this would help create a bigger euphoria or buzz about the video and gain more views for the video, it also makes the video more memorable rather than being so similar to other videos of its music genre that they look copycats of each other; another reason for having a diverse video is it helps an artist reach other audiences, this would mean more views and sales for the artist, which is their aim. However, the disadvantages are artists could lose their original fans for example Madonna and Kylie both have a sexual representation and a party image which many fans love but this image is completely missing in their diverse music videos, this could have a huge negative impact as their original target audience could feel distanced, diverse videos such as the 'Window Licker' by Aphex Twins can cause controversy as well and get the artist a bad image as their is so much swearing in the video. Generally an artist would look to create a diverse video to stand out to audiences and this would get audiences talking about the artist and their video publicising them and their music. 

Both Gondry and Cunningham are similar as they both create diverse videos however their directing styles are different with Cunningham being much more controversial and drastic with his change of image with artists like Madonna and Aphex Twins, this more controversial style compared to Gondry's more subtle style I believe would create more of a buzz and get audiences talking more. I believe if you want a video which will shock and get audiences talking then Cunningham is the right director to use but this is a more risky style to Gondry's who still subverts the stereotypes in Kylie Minogues music video but does it in a much less drastic way. Overall I believe both style are successful in creating a buzz around a music video. For my music video I believe both their styles would not suit my music video as I want to go for a very stereotypical dance music video and both their styles are opposite to this as they aim to subvert the stereotypes.