Analysis of Eminem & D12 'My Band' Music Video Conventions
This video done by Eminem & D12 was released in April 2004. The song is a parody of the false concept that they were receiving from the media stating that Eminem is the lead singer of the "band" D12 and that D12 were a back up band.
The video is an excellent example of how conventions are used in a music video. As the song is a parody, the video is fun and is visually appealing to the audience as it contains humour throughout the entire music video mimicking boy bands and creating a negative view of D12 based on the bad publicity that the media has said. The lighting is bright so we as an audience can see clearly what is happening so it is visually appealing. Within the parody music video, it mimicks other music videos and icidents such as 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and Eminem's videos for "Lose Yourself" and "Superman". It also makes reference to Kelis' video "Milkshake" and the infamous Superbowl XXXVIII incident that happened between Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. These parodies worked well with the costume that was used to portray this. The video has a narrative which follows the lyrics to the song which is an important covention to a music video. The video is also set in a variety of locations. Sexual norms are also questioned in the video when we see Eminem dressed as two different women when they confront the rap artist. An important that we notice when watching the parody video, is that it contributes to the reputation and the image of rap artists. Eminem's reputation for having a fun and humerous element in his videos is shown in this video along with D12's element for doing the same. The video fits witht he pace of the song which is an important convention to have when making a music video.
In conclusion, the video has a wide variety of conventions that a music video should have and does not subvert music video conventions.
