ANALYSIS OF BLUR VIDEO FOR SUNDAY SUNDAY
Blur’s video for ‘SUNDAY SUNDAY’ is an example of a song from the ‘Britpop’ movement which was heavily influenced by the 60s Mod and psychedelic rock such as Small Faces and the Kinks. You can see this in the videos as Blur have been influenced by these bands to produce similar but more contemporary music videos.
The single was the last on the album. The video is colourful and shows their fashion but also incorporates Blurs’ colourful life into the dull city life with the high rise grey buildings and high rise flats.
Blur signed to EMI for their debut album and ‘Sunday Sunday’ was on their second album. EMI is one of the largest record labels but the album ‘Modern life is rubbish’ failed to meet expectations. However the album was heavily influenced by the Kinks and Small faces.
The video is about a typical Sunday afternoon in Britain with Sunday Roast, seeing family and walking in a park. The film Goodbye Charlie Bright must have been influenced by some of the video as it takes out sections such as brightly coloured 90s clothing and high rise grey buildings. In the 1990s there was a recession and coloured clothing contrasted the grey buildings and depressed estates and high rise buildings.
Damon Albarn the main character and lead singer in the video is a cocky cockney with a touch of cheek which makes the video comical and amusing. When he walks he places his hands behind his back and dances forward showing his confidence. His friends, the other band mates are similarly cheeky with one in a tweed suit and 1950s glasses as well as other band mates with their colourful clothing.
The clothes in the video are perfect examples of 90s Britpop clothing. Albarn’s Fred Perry jumper is a typical example of Casual 90s clothing. Also his shirt is a typically British Ben Sherman shirt which was styled by Mod’s in the 1960s. One of the band members is reading a tabloid newspaper reemphasising the Britishness and when the song is from. Britishness is important as this is what the Mod movement was for and against the American invasion and this is what brought the Britpop movement.
The beginning of the video is rather strange and shows a caravan parked up in an inner city area. This brings you to question it. There is also a man doing exercise but in his normal clothes and doing stretches. Another man is reading the paper like a typical Sunday Afternoon activity but this does not make sense with the caravan in the middle of the city. After this Albarn marches out of the caravan with his arms spread out showing his confidence and cheek with his funny walk which he does again. This shows his entertainment value and that he can perform to the masses with this British cheek.
The shots of Damon Albarn show his whole body and are mid shots which help show his confidence and his performance with his comical marching, it also helps emphasise his cool image (Cool Britannia). When the song speeds up the video becomes faster with quick shots which show the characters mucking around.
The audience for this video is likely to be older teens and young adults because of its ‘tell us how it is’ Britishness that is popular for that genre. It would also be popular to fans of the Britpop and Mod movement because of its intertextuality to Mod music of the past and its ‘coolness’. It also seems to be music for those who are bored of Britain and its connections with music from the US and its need for music like that from Blur which is different and is blunt.
We get the idea of a British summer holiday with the blue sky and the caravan with its bushes and shrubbery which is for bringing back memories of the British summer. It helps to bring back Britains cool past.
This video makes you proud of being British and represents everything good about it with Sunday and its importance in British culture with the Sunday roast and walks in the park but also with summer holidays in Britain.
Personally I believe that this song is important and the music video even more at showing the importance of the Britpop movement and kicking away the boringness that had been in Britain for years since the Mod movements. It uses quirky and cheeky characters to amuse and entertain the audience which puts the audience in a happy mood, there is also colour to reemphasise this. Also this is a very positive video with no sad people or unhappy people which puts the audience in a good mood.
By Tim Parker
