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Since the release of the Buggles song “Video Killed the Radio Star” and the introduction of the music video station MTV in the early 80’s, music videos have progressed into a predominate part of our culture. Every generation has had its video icons. These icons have used the music video to convey messages to their viewers. Messages sent through music videos have included everything from what to wear, how to act, and who to vote for. With such an influence and with ever increasing availability, it is important that viewers become media literate in order to critically question what messages are being sent through videos to them. We have chosen fifteen popular videos that are on current, consistent rotation on music video stations. We have summarized them and added in critical questions to consider for visitors to this blog to answer. We have also linked the videos to this site. You can access each video by clicking on the picture of the artist that is found beside the title of the video.

Friday, March 30, 2007


Avril Lavigne- "Girlfriend"
This video opens with a boyfriend and girlfriend (played by Avril in a red wig) walking into a Family Fun Centre. Avril approaches the couple and starts singing to the boyfriend, "Hey You! I don't like your girlfriend!" She then continues to flirt with the boyfriend in front of his girlfriend, and images of her singing and playing guitar with her band are also shown. The video goes on to show Avril bullying the girlfriend in a variety of settings (for example, crashing into her on the go-kart track, pulling her out of a photo booth, and hitting her in the head with a golf ball which causes her to fall in the water). Throughout the video, images of these scenes are interspersed with images of Avril dancing in punk rocker/school girl outfits, including a scene at the end where she is dancing in a public washroom with her friends and her "new boyfriend". As for the girlfriend, she ends up trying to tackle Avril but misses her and rolls down a hill to end up crashing into an outhouse.

Questions to Consider:
What kind of message is Avril sending to teenage girls with this video?
How was the boyfriend portrayed in this video (i.e. how did he react to what was going on)?
Could Avril be considered a bully in this video?

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