Analysis of Pop Promo - "We Are Golden"

Mika - "We Are Golden" [2009]
Directed by Jonas Akerlund
Pop
Performance based



This music video features Mika dancing around his bedroom in his underwear and is said to be a "celebration of all the years Mika spent dancing around his bedroom as a teenager."

Mise en scene - Set in a bright and colourful teenagers bedroom, with a bright and cheery feel to it. The bedroom is really untidy, showing how when your a child its acceptable to have a messy room. Throughout the video, he wears just his underpants showing how when your young you could get away with that but now that he's an adult its not really accepted to just wear your underwear and no clothes. Lighting is used to make the bedroom look bright and fresh. He sometimes wears items of eccentric jewelery such as at 2:45 where he seems to be wearing a necklace made out of lego - this adds to the cheerful and lighthearted mood of the video and shows that he doesn't really cares what he looks like, he's just having fun and being like a big kid.

Cinematography - Wide shots (that are slightly low angle) are used of his bedroom and him dancing around to set the scene and show that it is set in a messy kids/teenagers bedroom. Close up shots are used of the tape at the beginning that has the words "We Are Golden" on it to show the audience the name of the song so they will remember it. The low angled shots used throughout I think are there to make the audience feel small and make it like they are seeing the world through a child's eyes again. Close ups of this face are used throughout such as at 0:41, this was probably a demand by the record company to reinforce his identity and so the audience recognises this is a song by Mika.

Editing/Visual effects - As the song has an upbeat,fast paced and happy mood, it is done using fast-cut montage using loads of different quick and snappy shots, so many infact that one viewing may not be enough to grasp all the images, so multiple viewing is likely. At 3:18 he is shown having lasers coming out from his head and body, this would of been done in post production using an editing program. Throughout the video, there are shots of him where the saturation has been edited in post production, making it look really unnaturally bright such as at 1:37, and adds to the vibrant feel of the piece. At 3:35 CGI has been used to make the ceiling of his room look like it is a stormy sky.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals - There is a strong relationship between the lyrics of the song and what is shown in the video. In the chorus it says "Teenage dreams in a teenage circus, Running around like a clown on purpose" and this is shown in the video with him dancing around his room in his underpants having fun and not caring about anything, just like being a kid again and "Teenage circus" means his bedroom, with its bright colours and shapes.

Relationship between music and the visuals - The music has a very happy, upbeat and vibrant feel to it and this is reflected in the visuals with their bright colours and Mika dancing around carefree in the messy but vibrant looking bedroom. In the video, the music starts once Mika has put the tape into the cassette player which works well. The video changes with the pace of the song such as longer shots are put in nearer the end where the music beat slows down at around 3:27.

Genre characteristics of the music style - The genre of the music is pop, and I think that this is a fairly typical video of the pop genre, its lighthearted and upbeat, non-offensive and not controversial, and just shows someone having a good time surrounded by bright colours and an interesting set.

Intertextuality - Mika can be seen wearing a gimp mask at 3:00, made famous by the film Pulp Fiction.

Representation - The only person in the video is Mika himself, he is represented as a fairly good looking guy (who may or may not be gay) who just wants to be carefree like a kid again and go back to being young where you can get away with doing loads of things that you can't as an adult.

Audience - I think that this video has very broad appeal as it is so lighthearted and has a fun and youthful feel to it. Mostly I think that children (boys or girls), teenage girls (as Mika is fairly good looking) and gay men (as its bright and colourful and he's just wearing his boxers) would like it the most, but really it could be enjoyed by someone of any age or sexuality if they liked his music.