analysis

1. Emeli Sande
Heaven

2. Mise-en-scene
 Every character except for Emeli has costume and set that relates
to working class and therefore enforces stereotypes that people of
lower class will join gangs and go to drugs or prostitution as ways
of earning money. On the other hand, Emeli is a celebrity in a good
environment but still has her own struggles. It portrays how
everybody can have issues with staying true to God as life is so
hard. Perhaps Emeli used to be working class, which is why she
associates herself with this group so strongly.

3. Mise-en-scene
 Certain shots are very significant in the video. An example of this
is the woman in red walking downstairs. This uses Barthes’ code
to create the effect of prostitution and going ‘downhill’, especially
as red connotes a seductive colour. As well as this, a shot of
shadows creates the idea of gangs and promotes the idea that this
is a rough area in London. This is cinematic and is very interesting
for the audience to see, particularly the audience of struggler
(Young and Rubicam)

4. Camera
 Low angle shots are used frequently which creates the
idea of looking down on these people. It also shows
how God may be looking down on these people too,
which is why Emeli feels the need to ask heaven to
forgive people for their sins as it is too difficult to stay
truly Christian in life as it is too long.

5. Camera
 Long shots are also used to create mystery. There is
frequent use of tunnels which can also contribute to
ideas of death due to ‘light at the end of the tunnel’

6. Editing
 There is often use of camera grain and lens flare in
order to create the effect of homemade or old footage,
making it much more relatable as it doesn’t seem as
much like a professional and glamorous video but
instead focuses on the real life working class
environment.

7. Editing
 It cuts between performance and narrative which fits
the genre of the mixture style video. This makes it more
interesting for the audience especially as it creates
breaks between the story to build suspense and allows
the audience to focus on the talent of the singer.

8. Sound
 The lyrics contain many religious connotations that
relate to the narrative in the music video.
 An example of this is ‘then I’m gone’ and ‘heaven’
which holds strong references to the idea of death, in a
positive light. This is referenced in the video through
the fade to white at the end as well as the many birds
that fly away. Black birds can have connotations of
death in a negative way, which relates to the fear of not
having enough faith and not having a good afterlife.

9. Sound
 Emeli discusses the idea of ‘will you recognize me’ as a
result of having bad days. This correlates with the video
due to the references of rough london and working
class people. Drugs and gangs are shown in the video
which has negative connotations and is considered a
sin. Emeli argues that these people deserve
forgiveness anyway as people are trying their best but
‘the day lasts too long’

10. Working Class
Representation
 Newman says that media often portrays the working class as a problem e.g.
welfare cheats, drug addicts or criminals. As well as this they may be shown to be
dumb or immature (e.g. Homer Simpson). This could arguably be applied to the
music video ‘Heaven’ as it portrays realistic issues within rough areas of London
where the working class may live, such as drugs, prostitution and gangs. However
Emeli doesn’t create the image that due to this they are dumb, or a huge problem
that needs to be fixed. Instead it seems that she is trying to show that some people
go through difficult periods of time and as a result may struggle with their faith. This
is suggested by the lyrics such as, “will you recognize me” and “good intentions”;
this shows how people try their best to keep a moral compass and follow their
religion, but sometimes it isn’t possible due to the difficulties that working class
people can face. For example, a woman is shown to be wearing a red dress and
walking down some stairs. This can hint through Barthes’ semantic code that she is
a prostitute – this can have good intentions due to earning money, but is technically
illegal and therefore something looked down upon.

11. Working Class
Representation
 Butsch says that working class people can be
portrayed as flawed individuals. This is very relevant to
the music video as the whole point seems to be
showing that people can have flaws and problems in
their life, including herself. Perhaps as she is a
celebrity, this means that this theory shouldn’t just be
applied to working class but instead everybody. This
would make the video a countertype, however it does
seem that there is a heavy focus on the working class
due to the setting of London and portrayal of
homelessness.

12. Working Class
Representation
 Lawler says ‘CHAV’ is used as a term of disgust and
contempt, becoming an insult in the media. It means
‘Council housing and violent’. There seems to be
representations of CHAVs in the music video,
particularly when the shadow of 3 boys is shown. This
suggests the idea of a gang as their faces are hidden,
which can reflect the idea of hiding in the shadows. The
connotations of gangs fit the description of a CHAV,
however Emeli seems to portray this in a more positive
way through the lyrics.

13. Working Class
Representation
 Shildrick and MacDonald suggest that the poor labelled
as CHAVs which suggests they are undeserving of
sympathy. Emeli’s video seems to be a countertype of
this idea as she portrays these hard situations in a way
that does cause the audience to feel sympathy.
Particularly lyrics like “I can’t get it right” and “I’m
nothing like before”. This is almost like begging God
and heaven for forgiveness for all the mistakes as it is
something that everyone does, particularly in the rough
areas of London.

14. Race and Representation
 Alvarado’s race theory believes there are key themes in
representation. Examples of these include exotic,
dangerous, humorous and pitied. It is possible that
‘dangerous’ might be present in the video, assuming
there are some black people participating in these
gangs and drug dealings. However a lot of these
feature white people, which makes the race less
relevant. There is one significant black person shown,
in an extreme close up, to close his eyes which can
present praying.