The Effects Model

'The Effects Model' (backed up by the Bobo Doll experiment) is still the main theory used by politicians, some parts of the media and some religious organisations in attributing violence to the consumption of media texts. One example of this was the influence from 'Child's Play 3' in the murder of James Bulger (1993). In some cases laws are changed, media is banned etc. however in each case it was found that no case could have been proven to show a link between the text and the violent actions. 

One video that was controversial at the time of it's release was 'Window seat' by Erykah Badu. This slow jazz song which speaks about freedom of speech and thought an could be interpreted as a concept and narrative style video. In this video the artist walks through a busy city whilst stripping down to show her freedom and disregard for what the people around her think. Badu goes from being fully clothed at the start to fully naked at the end in the middle of the city with the word 'evolution' painted on her back. Nobody around her in the city knows that this is happening and none of them were involved in any way so all the reactions were genuine, even to the sight of her pretending to die in the exact same spot JFK was assassinated. The video's purpose was to promote the freedom of thought and expression and also give a sense of confidence to the viewer. News report: 

There is some censoring to the video, covering the nudity via pixelation and blurring. This is because without this censorship the video wouldn't be legally allowed to reach as wider of an audience and therefore less people will be influenced by Badu's message. The target audience is very wide and could appeal to all demographics which is useful as the artists will want the video's strong message to reach a large variety of people in order to create change. Personally I think this is a great video and concept and whilst it sparked controversy I think it was worth it and probably intended as conflict brings attention. 

When considering camera movements, angles, shot composition and framing within this video we see how the director and camera operator have used them to add to the overall feel of the song and video. The camera movement in this video is fully handheld, with the cinematographer most likely walking backwards, the camera follows the artist from her front for the majority of the video but move to behind her when she is less clothed (this covers nudity and shows the message written on her back.) The shaky and raw feel of the handheld movement paired with the constant eye-level perspective adds to the purity of the video and it's message, with no distracting angles or movements. When thinking about composition the only rule of composition the video follows at times is central alignment (the artist.) There is sufficient head room, look room and walking room throughout the video which supports the easy feel of the song, yet contrasts the video's stimulating message and imagery.