Blog Entry #2: A Look at Music Videos

Initial Reaction
When I first saw this video, I focused on the excellent vocals and flow of the song. I did not appreciate the music video for what it was about as much. As I continued to watch the video for the music, I began to start to listen to the lyrics and appreciate the music video for the video part of it as well. I thought that the video added a whole other meaning to this video.


Analysis and Interpretation
The song "Runaway Love" is a very literal song. In it, it tells the story of many young women who go day-to-day living incredibly difficult lives and not being able to escape them. These children, some at the age of 9 or 10 decide the only way to escape their current lifestyle is to run away. The song does a great job of expressing the pain of the girls and what they are going through, although many of us have not or will not ever have to deal with such a thing. Towards the end of the song, Ludacris, the artist who raps throughout most of the song begins to preach to all of these conflicted children about running away together, and while he does this, posters and newspapers with missing person information are carried away by the wind. I believe this scene signifies the rebirth of these young women, as if they were never born into the lives they ran away from. This video is aligned with Gospel values because in it we see sorrow and help being given towards these lost children. I believe the ultimate purpose of this video is to raise awareness for all of the young women and children who seem trapped in their own homes, and without the video aspect of this piece, the purpose would not be fulfilled.

Consideration of Cultural Context
This vehicle was most likely inspired by young women and children who live in environments which do not allow them to perform to their full capabilities. We can make this assumption because the entire video is the exposure of different daily issues that conflicted teens and children across North America must face. 


Expression of Aesthetic Judgement 
Cinematography in this song is a great addition to it. It is recorded in many different slums of America to demonstrate the living conditions in them. The acting in this video, done mostly by children is genuine. It makes the view of the video feel remorseful for the children. There are several story lines in the video, all of which are about young women, being raised in poor environments, being trapped in different situations and not being able to escape. The lyrics of the song are ultimately a narration of what is happening in the video, and that aspect of the video keeps the viewer very interested. The visuals in this song make me admire it even more as the visual along with the audio creates a story with great meaning as well as a great rhythm. 


Ongoing Reflection 
My chosen music video influenced the reception of the song greatly. Originally, the song was a telling of many  occurrences of young women that were going through difficult times. The telling was also accompanied by a good beat, but with the added video, we can see what these women are going through and it helps us understand the meaning and cause of the song better.