Africa Shox - Leftfield

The genre of this particular song is mainly electro, which is commonly found in underground clubs/bars. The genre rose from the streets, associating itself with dance which is later a feature in the music video. Firstly, this shot (shown above) sets the scene, letting the audience know that the video is mainly focused in a vast industrial city e.g. New York. The environment has already been established before the music sets in. The level of this shot indicates to me as the audience that the high risen buildings could be seen as intimidating and daunting. The main focus of this video is following a black African man around the streets of New York, therefore this shot may been seen as unwelcoming to him, suggesting that he doesn’t belong in this environment. 

The use of cars lights in the second shot reinforces the idea that this type of music rose from the underground and is now found in clubs, the lights symbolise the flashing strobe which is linked with this genre of music.  Although the headlights are used as a symbolic meaning, this shot also highlights who is in charge, the police car moving down the road without any disturbances, with the camera focusing on it.

The first 30 seconds of this music video is showing the audience the mise-en-scene, and bringing up certain problems that occur even within a vast city like New York, for example, the show of the man, clinging onto the fence is a sign of poverty. It suggests to me that he is trying to cling onto anything safe and secure. The background behind him includes dark and glim colours shedding a negative light onto the whole video, suggesting that the city is in a time of crisis, sinking into the dirt, linking back to the first shot as even the mist is rising above the skyscrapers, engulfing the city into poverty. 

The first time we see the black man, he is found in a backstreet alleyway full of old rubbish bags, suggesting to the audience that he is worthless. The music videos whole purpose is focusing on the difference between ethnicity, highlighting how white British people look down upon others. It is filmed from the both perspectives. The quick rough cameras shots of the city showing it slightly out of focus is seeing New York from the black man’s point of view, emphasizing his confusion in this unfamiliar environment, but the switch to high camera angles looking down upon the man also shows how society views on the African black race. 

 

His clothing also highlights what sort of character the director of the music video wants us to view him as.  If you look at both pictures you can see the resemblance of the clothing black slaves had to wear in America in the 1860’s. Both pictures show how they are dressed in little more than rags, this compared to the clothing of everyday people living in New York is quite different, it separates the two different kinds of people with class. 

 

The scene in which the black man reaches out for help towards the suited New Yorker also reinforces the difference between the two communities. It highlights society’s views upon someone’s skin colour, and how that even though in 2012 we are taught to be accepting of everyone, not judging them on their nationality, there will always be a hint of racism. This shot belittles the man, with the high class New Yorker covering most of the shot, suggesting to the audience that he is more important, and that the black man is of little significance. Everyone moves out of reach when he again tries to ask for help, supporting how they do not want to aid him, or even touch him, suggesting that he is dirty, that it will cause harm to them if they come into contact with him.

The lyrics “Let’s get electrified” combined with the mid angle shot of the black man clinging onto the fence, could symbolise that he is trapped in a cage, and the word “electrified” suggests that it is an electric fence, linking back to the running theme of slavery and how they were punished for the colour of their skin. The fact that throughout the video the city is destroying the man suggests that he is not wanted here, and does not belong. 

 

This scene links in with the genre of music, it is more commonly found that this type of dancing (breakdancing) is found when listened with electro music. The black man may feel more at home in this scene, however the fact that the white men are performing the breakdancing may take away his cultural signifier, suggesting to the audience that white British men are stripping him of his own identity, making him unknown. Again highlighting that the black man is of no importance in this environment.