ghost town

 Read this excellent analysis from The Conversation website of the impact Ghost Town had both musically and visually. Answer the following questions

1) Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition?

The music creates a "lyrical landscape"

2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s?

Reggae and ska: The influence of Jamaican music, particularly reggae and ska, cannot be understated in the emergence of 2 Tone. Bands like The Specials, The Beat (known as The or English Beat in the US), and Madness incorporated ska rhythms and reggae influences into their music, giving it a distinctive sound.

3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981?

The political ideology of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as Thatcherism, played a significant role in the social context of the UK in 1981. Thatcher's policies aimed at reducing the role of the state, promoting free-market capitalism, and implementing austerity measures. These policies had a profound impact on various aspects of society, including industry, labor relations, and social welfare, leading to divisions and discontent.

4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video?

The video had a Dark or desolate landscapes, abandoned or decaying buildings, dim lighting, or foggy environments are often used to create an eerie ambiance. As well asLow lighting, contrasting light and shadow, or the use of unnatural colors which evoked a sense of unease or mystery.

5) Look at the final section (‘Not a dance track’). What does the writer suggest might be the meanings created in the video? Do you agree?

 they mention that It’s just a cry out against injustice, against closed off opportunities by those who have pulled the ladder up and robbed the young, the poor, the white and black of their songs and their dancing, their futures. Drive round an empty city at dawn. Look at the empty flats.

Now read this BBC website feature on the 30th anniversary of Ghost Town’s release. 

1) How does the article describe the song?

“A depiction of social breakdown that provided the soundtrack to an explosion of civil unrest.”

2) What does the article say about the social context of the time – what was happening in Britain in 1981?

The city was suffering due to the fall of industry, increased unemployment, rioting on British streets, a difficult economic climate, and Thatcher's dictatorship over Britain.

3) How did The Specials reflect an increasingly multicultural Britain?

The Specials, who included members who were both black and white, also reflected the growing multiculturalism in Britain. A genre that combined ska, reggae, and new wave was given the band's 2 Tone record label's name, which in turn sparked a movement of sharply dressed youngsters.

4) How can we link Paul Gilroy’s theories to The Specials and Ghost Town?

The song and accompanying music video provide support for Gilroy's Black Atlantic diasporic identity theory, which holds that travel, hybridization, and other factors lead to a "liquidity of culture" and the emergence of black culture.

5) The article discusses how the song sounds like a John Barry composition. Why was John Barry a famous composer and what films did he work on?

The music John Barry composed for films became as well-known as the films themselves. His most well-known work is the James Bond soundtrack, however he contributed to many films like Born Free.

Watch the video several times before reading Factsheet #211 - Ghost Town. You'll need your GHS Google login to access the factsheet. Once you have analysed the video several times and read the whole factsheet, answer the following questions: 

1) Focus on the Media Language section. What does the factsheet suggest regarding the mise-en-scene in the video? 

they mention that the mise-en-scene of the Ghost Town video uses the style of British social realist films. This genre is characterised by sympathetic representations of working-class men, the highlighting of bleak (often urban) environments and a sense of hopelessness.

2) How does the lighting create intertextual references? What else is notable about the lighting?

In the car, the band are lit eerily by a limited interior light source and what looks like a handheld torch to light the faces of those in the back from a low angle. This creates inter textual references as this face with the dimmed light has often been used throughout decades or even centuries in order to create a horrific feel.

3) What non-verbal codes help to communicate meanings in the video?

Their body movements sway almost as though they are lifeless bodies which is most likely a representation of how they feel combating the current social problems.theyre also very slumped which positions them to look like zombies of some sort which might be their way of telling everyone that theyre zombies being controlled by the higher society.

4) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the editing and camerawork? 

They say that The band are generally shot as a group, emphasising the relationship between them. Most of the shots are on-board travelling shots. Some are in the interior of the car, as seen in a previous example. This invites audience identification with the band. The sequence near the start consists of a series of establishing shots and low angle shots which make the scenery loom in an intimidating way. The video ends with superimposition of a long cross-dissolve of the tunnel lights to the stone-throwing shot, to unsettling effect.

5) What narrative theories can be applied to the video? Give details from the video for each one.

narrative-The video has an identifiable story, usually connected in some way with the lyrics (although not always).

disruption-This could be seen as the bleakness and emptiness of the streets because, ‘Bands don’t play no more – too much fighting on the dance floor’.

equillibrium-The band setting off together looking for something to do, accompanied by the eerie diegetic sound and the green traffic light, an arbitrary sign that things are being set in motion

6) How can we apply genre theory to the video?

Neale's method of genre theory informs us that genres mash up. Ghost Town is an illustration of how music videos frequently appropriate ideas from various cultural touchstones. As previously said, the visual style of Ghost Town heavily pulls from two cinematic influences: the 1920s' expressionist filmmaking and the 1960s' social realist movement.

7) Now look at the Representations section. What are the different people, places and groups that are represented in the Ghost Town video? Look for the list on page 4 of the factsheet.

'Thatcher's Britain,' the city, urban youth, race, and masculinity are just a few of the concepts, places, and groups that the film portrays. Investigating media language, circumstances, and the application of theories can assist in determining how and why things are being represented.

8) How can Gauntlett's work on collective identity be applied to the video?

According to Gauntlett, media messages could provide us with a sense of collective identity by participating in a show and discovering through our shared likes, we share things with others. In this regard The song and accompanying video foster a sense of male community identification. and discuss their attempts to negotiate identity. This signifies that the text provides a space for males to view their issues. enacted, and possibly to contrast them with their own lives in what was a period of financial hardship for many when many jobs that were typically held by men were vanishing.

9) How can gender theorists such as Judith Butler be applied to Ghost Town?

The band appear to be 'playing' the patriarchal institutions of masculine solidarity, brotherhood, and friendship. Butler asserted that society will find it difficult to reduce its reliance on gender stereotypes unless the media starts to push the boundaries of how gender is represented. This is due to the fact that stereotypes are spread across society and the media.

10) Postcolonial theorists like Paul Gilroy can help us to understand the meanings in the Ghost Town music video. What does the factsheet suggest regarding this?

Post-colonialists can contend that double awareness is present in this situation (Gilroy). This phrase describes the experience of being a member of a black minority in a largely white culture and witnessing how black representations are created for white people from the outside with minimal self-representation.