1. Characters
Throughout Miley is the only character that appears
in the video. The video is used to express the
breakdown of her relationship. It is additionally a
parody of Sinead O'Connor- nothing compares to
you, due to the close up at the start with high key
lighting which exaggerates her vulnerability.
Additionally with the short rebellious hair there is a
direct link within the two artists. Miley throughout
wears minimal clothing which she is displayed
herself sexually objective. This is stereotypical for
R’n’B artists to appeal to both audiences. We also
see that she is spread with tattoos from head to
toe. This adds to her uncontrollable character. The
bright bold red lipstick contrasts against her pale
radiant skin, it also symbolises her love. Additionally
this single was a shock to her fans, as she changed
her appearance and become overly proactive,
compared to the innocent Miley we knew from
Hannah Montana. Finally at the end Miley is
completely nude exposing herself, this connotes her
giving herself totally to someone else being
emotionally naked and stripped.
Narrative Events
The lyrics throughout are a huge sign of what the song is about, “all you ever did was break me”. With a
close up shot at the start, showing Mileys pure pale face crying implies she’s upset about someone and that
she has nothing else to give. Later on we see a contrast with her shouting and hitting herself in fury which
shows the build-up of anger she has, or distress.
Iconography
Throughout the video Miley has portrayed herself as a sexual
objective by swinging on the wrecking ball, it creates a rebellious
character. To add to that she also licks the hammer which implies
she’s trying to cure her pain, although she exaggerates the
stereotype of being sexual. Wearing men’s work boots adds
masculinity to her extremely exposed character, which adds
enigma to the audience.
Setting
The mise en scene throughout is very bland to portray her
emotions. To start we have the high key lighting that is
used in a dramatic way. Furthermore the video then is
what looks like part of a building site. All the colours are
very dull greys, which creates the mood of the song. While
Miley lies on the remains of the pieces of the wall, it
connotes that the walls that are being knocked over by a
swinging wrecking were the last pieces of her relationship.
Additionally with her being in white boy like underwear
this contrasts against the nudity as white is seen as a pure
colour.
Technical and audio codes
The video uses high key lighting throughout and additionally extreme
close up at the start which emphasises the characters emotions. To add
to that by using direct address to the audience straight away it adds to all
the focus on the character, an creates an emotional connection with the
artist and the audience. With the use of cut away, it takes us to a
different angle to show the detail of the wall breaking down. Also
throughout the video we go from a calmemotional scene, with purity, to
then cross cut to Miley declining exposing her body.