What's a Girl to Do? - Bat for Lashes - Music Video Analysis

The music video for What's a Girl to Do? by Bat for Lashes focuses on the artist singing by using both music and visuals. The artist is visible for nearly the entire video, and she is always in the centre of the picture, as well as being at the front of the picture. This focuses on the artist, and this is a genre signifier and characteristic - in this genre of music (pop) the artist is often heavily marketed (sometimes more than the actual music).

While this music video appears very unique and original, it feels like a normal music video. The music video is surreal and dream-like, while focusing on the artist and the music. In this sense, the music video for What's a Girl to Do? is an example of modern music videos.

There is many examples of intertextuality in this music video. To begin with, it links to many old horror films - this may sound unlikely, but there are many examples of this. The crashed car and the eery smoke that is often used in films to build atmosphere and tension, the ghostly figures by the side of the crashed car that resemble death and loss, and the classic horror movie sounds used (e.g at the point when you see the crashed car) are all intertextual references to horror films of the past. Also, the masked figures riding behind the artist in this music video are another intertextual reference to horror films - many horror films contain terrifying masked figures. The location is also a reference to these horror films - there are many examples of horror films which are shot in dark, unsettling woods.

In addition, this music video has intertextual references to many children's stories - which constructs a great contrast between the horror film intertextuality and this. The three intertextual references to children's stories are to Red Riding Hood (a girl in the woods with a wolf close behind), Alice in Wonderland (a girl in the woods experiencing many unusual occurrences, such as odd creatures around her), and The Jungle Book (the tiger, the bear and the child in the woods). As aforementioned, the juxtaposition between the intertextual references to horror stories and the intertextual references to children's stories adds a unique appeal to this music video - it has an innocent, playful feel while also having a disturbing, menacing feel.

The BMX bikes used by the cycling characters in this music video represent popular culture in contemporary Britain - BMX bikes are especially popular among the youth of Britain. Connecting with the target audience and representing stylish items is a genre characteristic of the pop genre - pop music is possibly the most mainstream genre and therefore it is common for it to show the mainstream styles of the time. Fans of popular culture will often be persuaded to buy things, such as smartphones, if pop star are seen using them in a stylish way. The uniqueness added to the music video by the BMX bikes is also something worth noting - cycling is not often used in music videos.

The lighting in this shot from the lights at each side
of the shot adds to the dream-like feel of the music video.

Furthermore, the costume in this music video is another genre characteristic - if you observe the artist that is primarily focused on in this music video (Bat for Lashes), you will see a very mainstream look - often referred to as an "indie" look - that immediately tells us the genre of the song before we even hear the music. The young, attractive woman's groomed hair, colour eyeliner, t-shirt and bottoms create a very mainstream style that is associated with the pop genre and popular female pop artists. This style makes you think about how she looks over how she sings - this voyeuristic treatment of women commonly occurs in the pop genre.

Finally, the lyrics of the song used for this music video are yet another genre characteristic in this music video. In the pop genre, the theme of the lyrics is nearly always love and sex - this is another way that the pop genre both creates what is mainstream and conforms to the mainstream audience and what they want. The lyrics that talk about "When you love someone" are the kind of lyrics that are commonly featured in the pop genre.

Overall, while this music video appears very original and different when you first watch it, when you start to analyse it and go deeper into the music video, you will find a music video that contains many genre characteristics and intertextual references.