The Specials - Ghost Town: Blog tasks
Background and historical contexts
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?
This music creates reflects and engenders anxiety.
2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s?
The subculture is Mod and Punk.
3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981?
There were many riots going on by young people in places like London and Liverpool
4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video?
It doesn't meet the typical conventions of pop.
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?
I think this video was trying to highlights the struggles of being a young person in Britain at the time with no job or purpose.
A song haunted by unemployment.
2) What does the article say about the social context of the time – what was happening in Britain in 1981?
Unemployment was rising heavily and riots are starting.
3) How did The Specials reflect an increasingly multicultural Britain?
There is a mix of white and black members in the band.
4) How can we link Paul Gilroy’s theories to The Specials and Ghost Town?
This is racially diverse.
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?
He was a film score composer and he was famous for the James Bond soundtrack.
Ghost Town - Media Factsheet
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?
The mise en scene imitates a style of British social realist films which creates a atmosphere of hopelessness for the British youth.
2) How does the lighting create intertextual references? What else is notable about the lighting?
The lighting makes use of the natural light source and shows the shift between day and night.
3) What non-verbal codes help to communicate meanings in the video?
The expressionless faces show the zombie like state of Britain at the time.
4) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the editing and camerawork? Pick out three key points that are highlighted here. Shot where camera is placed next to driver.
The tilted angle for a unsettling feel.
The final shot leads to a uncomforting feel.
5) What narrative theories can be applied to the video? Give details from the video for each one.
Enigma code- Where the car is going?
Disruption- bands don't play anymore
6) How can we apply genre theory to the video?
Repetition and difference theory.
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.
Race- shows how multi cultured Britain is.
The city- shows the vast nature of the UK.
Masculinity- shows a hyper masculine view through the aggression of males.
8) How can Gauntlett's work on collective identity be applied to the video?
Shows the common issue with male identify and how masculine jobs are being taken over and economic problems are building up.
9) How can gender theorists such as Judith Butler be applied to Ghost Town?
Bulter says gender is not defined by sex but by behaviour instead. There is not a single female in this video which showcases that is issue is heavily male dominant.
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?
Shows there is a black minority is a white dominated industry.
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