Dizzee Rascal – Dream –
Music Video Analysis 2004
Narrative
The music video talks about Dizzee’s rise to success; the video is autobiographical. The song falls into the pop/grime/garage genre. Dream is constructed by two worlds – a 1950s room that is a direct reference to “Muffin the Mule”, and a contemporary city setting. The narrative is linear, featuring disruptions and a resolution that reflects the dominant message of triumph over adversity through commitment to a dream.
The video opens with the elderly white female pianist introducing Dizzee and singing a few lines of Happy Talk; she acts as a narrator and has an expected reaction to the rap music. Dizzee uses puppets for his other characters in order to recreate his storyline.
Representation
The opening shot of the video shows an elderly white female pianist who is also middle class, reflects the 1950s Britain when people in positions of power tended to belong to hegemonic social groups. At this time Britain was going through a post-war period where many people from the Caribbean, as well as India and Pakistan, immigrated to Britain to work, therefore it became more ethnically diverse. Having the old white lady let Dizzee out of the box connotes that she’s the one in power; also the patronizing language she uses “hello boys and girls”, especially when she introduces Dizzee by saying “he’s such a rascal”. In the end, she is the one that puts him back into the box, yet again controlling him. The box could symbolise his artistic limits and how the white dominated society could perceive music by Black creators as violent and rebellious. The song is about him rising up and building a career, however, backstage he is still controlled. The urban setting that is justified on top of the piano is very stereotypical of the genre and could be an intertextual reference to Rascal’s earlier albums. By having the urban setting on top of the white lady’s piano, the video could be telling us that the room is a microcosm of Britain and that the ethnic minorities are controlled by the white middle to upper class society. The lady is fulfilling a matriarchal role, and also by using the patronising mode of address she further demonstrates her power over the ethnic minorities, even though she is a woman in a patriarchal society.
The other characters are acted by puppets, yet again implying the idea of control over minorities.
Intertextuality
The video references 1950s children television, Muffin the Mule, and that is very light-hearted in contrast to the serious issues that are depicted in the video Dizzee Rascal also intertextually references Captain Sensible, who recorded Happy Talk in the 1980s, when he says ‘This is too sensible for me, man’ as he climbs out of the musical box. These references could create a sense of nostalgia and pleasure for viewers who recognise them.
Theory: Postcolonialism (Gilroy)
Gilroy argues that:
- the idea that colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
- The idea that civilisations constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness
- Overall: even though we no longer have colonies, the representation of these groups is still affected by that time.
In the 1950s there was an increase in ethnic diversity due to migration, the Windrush generation for example. The female presenter is a white matriarchal figure and Dizzee is a young black male. The narrative embeds a positive message around Dizzee and his career, portraying him as successful and therefore subverting negative stereotypes around black males. Even though he is represented as successful, the white lady still seems to be prejudiced and threatened by him. She tends to have a disapproving and scared expression during the video connoting that she is intimidated by his behaviour.
Comments
Post a Comment