RASTAFARIANISM
Rastafarianism developed in Jamaica in the 1920s and 30s. The most famous Rastafari is Bob Marley, whose reggae music gained the Jamaican movement international recognition.
There is significant variation within the Rastafari movement and no formal organization. Some Rastafarians see Rasta more as a way of life than a religion. But uniting the diverse movement is belief in the divinity and/or messiahship of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, the influence of Jamaican culture, resistance of oppression, and pride in African heritage.
The Rastafarian lifestyle usually includes ritual use of marijuana, avoidance of alcohol, the wearing of one's hair in dreadlocks, and vegetarianism.
Rastafari developed in an environment of great poverty, depression, racism and class discrimination, the Rasta message of black pride, freedom from oppression, and the hope of return to the African homeland was gratefully received.
Rastafarians believe in the Judeo-Christian God, whom they call Jah. In general, Rastafarian beliefs are based in Judaism and Christianity, with an emphasis on Old Testament laws and prophecies and the Book of Revelation.
Rastafarians do not believe in an afterlife, but instead look to Africa (called "Zion") as a heaven on earth. True Rastas are believed to be immortal, both physically and spiritually, a concept called "everliving."
An important Rastafarian concept is "I and I," which is said instead of "you and I." It emphasizes the oneness between humanity and God as well as the equality of all humans.
Another central concept is Babylon, which refers to the white power structure of Europe and the Americas.
Rastas seek to resist Babylon, which once cruelly enslaved blacks and still continue to hold them down through poverty, illiteracy, inequality, and trickery. The greed and conceit of Babylon is contrasted with the humble simplicity and naturalness of the Rastas.
BOB MARLEY
Bob Marley was a hero figure. His departure from this planet came at a point when his vision of One World, One Love -- inspired by his belief in Rastafari was beginning to be heard and felt.
Bob's story continues to have such a powerful and ever-growing resonance: it embodies political repression, metaphysical and artistic insights, gangland warfare and various periods of mystical wilderness.
Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became an ardent proponent of Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene.
PRELIMINARY TASK
In pairs, each research a music video in existence which is strong on
- Genre
- Conventions of genre
- Representation
- Definable audience
- Song genre - pop, but also has influences of R&B
- Video genre - Horror / Thriller
- Conventions of video genre - Piano glissando with just the hands showing
- A man dressed in a grey jail uniform with one eye
covered with a patch
- Twins-look like zombies
- A woman dressed in a red and black outfit lying
on a table, holding a fan
- A dog in the background
- Rihanna spinning on chair
- Rihanna dresses sexually and provocatively
- Distortion in the images set behind bars
- Creepy scenes of people's eyes rolling backwards
- Dancing is limited in some parts and the rest,
simple movements
- Musical instruments (piano, drums guitar)
- Shot - mostly panning shots
- Aimed at teenage audiences and young adults
audiences
- Creepy dancing, strong make-up, dim lighting,
dark coloured outfits
- The lyrics is very strange and shows psychological
confusion
confusion
- All of these conventions belong in horror genre and
they show the darker side of human nature.
they show the darker side of human nature.
PLANING
BOB MARLEY - ONE LOVE
Audience - Mainstream (7 - 70 years)
Genre/style of music - Raggae / rhythmical and moving
- Bitter-sweet story
- Bitter-sweet story
Representation - aspirational
- gives a mood of celebration
Initial ideas for our video - Intertextuality (PS I love you)
- Restoration / healing - Bob Marley's message from the song reflects this
First idea: Scenario - Intro - A girl cuddling a dog (shows love in a different point of view - love for other species)
- A woman in a park holding a letter that confirms her divorce to her husband.
- Children getting their results and shedding tears of joy.
End - All the actors in the intro form a circle, and a close-up panning shot will be used at this point to show each of the actors' facial expression.
We eventually decided to change the first scenario as it did not have enough details to represent Bob Marley's one love. However we still kept bits from the old scenario, but just added new details to it.
Intro: - Girl cuddling dog
- Woman holding a letter of divorce
- Children getting results and shedding tears of joy
First verse: (30 seconds)
- 'One love, one heart.....' - family eating dinner (laughing, talking and bonding as one)
- 'Hear the children crying..' - children crying after seeing results (teras of joy)
- another child crying because her dog had been put down (sad tears)
- Last two lines of the first verse - Random people dancing, but not the actors.
Second verse:
- 'Let them all pass..' - couple arguing and fighting
Third verse:
- 'One love...' - Sibling playing laughing and playing together (shows love in a different point of view)
- 'As it was in the beginning..' - Intertextuality - PS I love you theme (the airport scene at the beginning of the movie)
- 'Give thanks..' - the girl gets a new dog (old things have passed away - the girl's life is refreshed)
Fourth verse:
- whole verse - protest against different issues sorrounding equality
Fifth verse:
- 'saying one love..' - dancers
- 'i'm pleading....' - divorce gets granted a divorce (makes them happy)
Sixth verse:
- Everybody comes together and do a simle choreographed dance
After researching other music videos, we decided that we had a lot more to put in our music video to make it of a high quality. By doing this, we decided to change the whole idea entirely, however we still left out bits from the old idea that we found effective.
Main idea:
Title - 'ONE LOVE' in animation, using jymnasts to make the letters (this is to add effect to the video)
1st Scene - Airport scene ( Archi footage from PS I love you)
- 'Hear the children crying......' - Children crying when they get their results (tears of joy)
- 'Give thanks.....' sponsored walk, showing people walking together and enjoying each others company
2nd Scene - Beggar and business man (split screen)
- Proposal scene (shows love between a man and a woman)
- someone singing
- group of friends playing and having fun together
3rd Scene - group of people running towards each other (slow motion)
- group of orchestra players playing together
4th scene - Protest
- Famous figures
- Someone finishing race (metaphorical showing people helping others to finishing the race of life)
- people praying in church
5th Scene - a shot of a building site (showing the start of something - metaphorical)
- Dancers (different age range)
6th Scene - Airport scene (people saying goodbye to each other people departing)
- a shot of a plane taking off. *End of music video*
The whole idea of this music video was to show love in many different point of view. Love that occours between couples, family love, unconditional love for all (Agape) and love as a whole for the entire universe.
REPRESENTATION
The representation of our music video was an inspiration fom Bob Marley himself. Bob Marley has influenced different issues in our society such as politics and racial equality. This is greatly explored in more details on the link http://www.rasta-man-vibration.com/jamaican-politics.html With the knowledge of the influence Bob Marley had on life, we decided to use this as a main base for our music video. As self-explanatory as it was from the title, our music video basically represented love. We did not want to make it a clichè as it is very easy to show love using relationships between couples and marriages. We wanted to make it more broad and diverse
After researching other music videos, we decided that we had a lot more to put in our music video to make it of a high quality. By doing this, we decided to change the whole idea entirely, however we still left out bits from the old idea that we found effective.
Main idea:
Title - 'ONE LOVE' in animation, using jymnasts to make the letters (this is to add effect to the video)
1st Scene - Airport scene ( Archi footage from PS I love you)
- 'Hear the children crying......' - Children crying when they get their results (tears of joy)
- 'Give thanks.....' sponsored walk, showing people walking together and enjoying each others company
2nd Scene - Beggar and business man (split screen)
- Proposal scene (shows love between a man and a woman)
- someone singing
- group of friends playing and having fun together
3rd Scene - group of people running towards each other (slow motion)
- group of orchestra players playing together
4th scene - Protest
- Famous figures
- Someone finishing race (metaphorical showing people helping others to finishing the race of life)
- people praying in church
5th Scene - a shot of a building site (showing the start of something - metaphorical)
- Dancers (different age range)
6th Scene - Airport scene (people saying goodbye to each other people departing)
- a shot of a plane taking off. *End of music video*
The whole idea of this music video was to show love in many different point of view. Love that occours between couples, family love, unconditional love for all (Agape) and love as a whole for the entire universe.
REPRESENTATION
The representation of our music video was an inspiration fom Bob Marley himself. Bob Marley has influenced different issues in our society such as politics and racial equality. This is greatly explored in more details on the link http://www.rasta-man-vibration.com/jamaican-politics.html With the knowledge of the influence Bob Marley had on life, we decided to use this as a main base for our music video. As self-explanatory as it was from the title, our music video basically represented love. We did not want to make it a clichè as it is very easy to show love using relationships between couples and marriages. We wanted to make it more broad and diverse
