Video Analysis : Willow Smith

WILLOW SMITH : 21ST CENTURY GIRL




Willow smith, only ten years of age released her hit single 'Whip my hair' in 2010 after already being noted as a child actress. She has been signed to the established artist Jay Z's record label Roc Nation and is predicted to go on and do big things. This single, '21st Century girl' is her new song and has an interesting video to analyse.

The song doesn't actually start for over one minute, instead there is a lady establishing the setting in a vast desert, and appears to be discovering things in the sand, including the artist Willow Smith. This has become increasingly popular to begin a music video with a narrative or acting to introduce the song. Computer graphics are used to make the sand move in the artists hand and create a butterfly. As the song begins, although only young, Willow is in a very striking and colourful outfit which is strong and stands out against the deserted background. Although this video involves a performance as she is seen singing, there is a strong narrative which links to the lyrics.

As she sings about being a 21st century girl, modern objects arise out of the sand to eventually make the setting become that of a 21st century America. This shows the artists character and portrays what her lifestyle is like, "a beautiful life". She is seen running across the desert with other young people also in very colourful attire. This gives a youthful, fun feeling to the video and again shows them pulling things out of the sand such as skateboards, trainers and bikes. All youthful modern things that 21st century kids desire to have. Eventually, presumably with computer graphics, the children pull up the sky scrapers of an iconic American city. Her dress then changes to also become more modern, but still showing a strong image and wealth.

The editing in this video is very artistic as it was used to essentially pull away one setting (the desert) to reveal another (a city). The shots are cut at an average pace, allowing the audience to take in what's going on, and to also match the pace of the song. As expected Willow is the main feature of the video, with many shots of her performing alone, and with her at the forefront of any group shot. To finish, there is a reference back to the start of the video as Willow whispers in a little girls ear just as the older lady did to her, and a butterfly appears out of the sand. In my opinion, this video is very watchable and will reach out to a wide youthful audience who will relate to both the artist and the message in the lyrics.