Corporate Cannibal - Moving image analysis

The start of the video makes you wonder what is going on, this thick black line contracting and moving until it starts morphing into what you then realise is Grace Jones. The way that she moves, talks and looks seems quite robotic in a way. Everything merges into one another and is an extension of herself. Because of the post production effects, you cannot see the distinct features of the human body, you are not able to tell her arms from her torso which makes her whole body become one.

The video itself was filmed on a white background and it wasn't until post production where the effects were added in to distort her face, break up and multiple certain features. The distortion of the face by elongating certain facial features ends up emphasising expressions making them feel more tense or angry for example. However I also find that by extending different aspects of Jones and with the whole video being in black and white, it almost adds a creepy feel to it. It is not something I would choose to watch straight away, and definitely not something I would have thought would be used in a music video.

When you look at a music video some of them will have it relating to the lyrics of the song. Corporate Cannibal however doesn't fit into this as it is just Grace Jones on the screen herself, nothing to show how corrupted the corporate industry is. However the video itself, she comes across as very powerful, the effects which have been added change the size of her features and body which you could say it represents the way in which corporations have become huge in our society yet the whole industry can be quite brutal. That the way the corporate industry has become so distorted, only caring about gaining money from people could be shown by the distortion in her face.

The way it ends, shaking her featureless face continuously could possibly show confusion and that no-one is in control or has a say in the corporate world. Particularly at the end Jones growls several times which could emphasise the fact that the corporations are like animals: "...I can't get enough prey, pray for me...eat you like an animal..."

Even though it can come across as quite creepy it sends a powerful message by the way it has been produced. The way a video is produced and what colours and effects are used determine the meaning behind it. If this contained warm colours in relaxed setting, the message would not come across, it would become confused with the video itself. There needs to be a marriage between the lyrics/meaning behind the song and the concept of the video.

To begin with when I first saw this video, my instant reaction was that it was really quite creepy. I didn't particularly like the morphing of her face, to me it didn't make sense. However after analysising this further I have gathered a better understanding of what it might actually mean. I still find it a bit strange, but I can view it with an open mind and not be too judgmental straight off the mark.