Case Study // Africa Shox (Chris Cunningham)

Leftield/Bambaataa - 'Afrika Shox'

(Director: Chris Cunningham)

'Afrika Shox' is a short music video directed by Chris Cunningham for the song of the same name by Electronica act Leftfield/Bambaataa. The song is a collaboration between British electronica act Leftfield and American Hip Hop artist Afrika Bambaataa, of 'Planet Rock' fame. 'Afrika Shox' is an IDM/Hip-Hop track with some world music influence and this is reflected in the video, directed by Chris Cunningham, a common collaborator with IDM stalwart Aphex Twin. 

The geometric building that introduces the video

The video's mise en scene is highly evocative of the Electronica genre, with geometric buildings, cold grey colours and frequent appearances of technology. The Geometric angles of the skyscrapers and crowded claustrophobic shots, evoke the technical and detailed works of Futurist artists and architects such as Antonio Sant'Elia and Gino Severini , which combined with the use of cold technology in the mise en scene such as Fluorescent lights and Police cars, present the setting of the video as callous, inhuman and unforgiving. Thus modern cities and modernity itself are criticised as with these qualities. The fact the video is set in and clearly identified as New York (through shots of the Empire State Building and yellow taxis) shows that cities, the centres of urban civilisation, exhibit little in the way of humanity or care, instead rendering their populaces cold and unsympathetic.

A Pedestrian crossing - one of many cold machines that dominate the mise en scene of the video.

This representation is further reinforced by the action that occurs against the video's protagonist. Despite stumbling , sweating and showing clear signs of distress, he is coldly ignored and judged by the population of New York, especially by the Man reading a newspaper and the breakdance crew. This is where the protagonists suggested social identity is made truly important. He is a skinny, black male with whitened irises wearing dog-tags and a combat jacket, so could represent Black people of all nationalities and/or Veterans from wars such as Vietnam. The fact he is so coldly rebuffed by those he encounters, even after reaching out for help and being physically struck by them, could show how these social groups are dis-enfranchised and de-humanised by the white males who appear prominently in the video. In addition, the fact that he has Whitened irises gives him the appearance of something like a zombie, suggesting that that is how he is interpreted as some form of monster by a society that fears his 'otherness'. This choice is perhaps inspired by the title of the song: 'Afrika Shox' as he is black, a race originating from Africa. In fact the only character in the film seen aiding the protagonist is the cameo appearance of Afrika Bambaataa, also the only other Black person to appear in the film, suggesting it is primarily whites or other franchised social groups who are the cold and uncaring ones.

The Video's Zombie-like protagonist

Another possible message within the video is how the lives and culture of Black people are appropriated and disregarded by white people. For example, there is a scene in which the protagonist finds a group of white break-dancers. Breakdancing of course originated in Black communities along with Hip-Hop, but in the video, is being performed instead by whites. When the protagonist becomes interested in this feat, he is only punished by one of the dancers hitting his leg and shattering it which the dancer proceeds to ignore. This could be representative of a form of white supremacy in which desirable aspects of Black culture are appropriated whilst the Black people themselves are believed to be of little value. This scene may also be a reference to the generic convention of the association between Hip-Hop and breakdancing, drawing back to the Hip-Hop target market as the song shares many generic conventions with the Hip-Hop genre. This correlation between genre of the song and the content of the video conform to the first of Goodwin's Theories- "Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics".

The group of White Breakdancers - cultural thieves?

To finish and continue, This video fits in with Goodwin's Theory on Music Video's. One of the most obvious ways in which this is the case is the appearance of Afrika Bambaataa himself in the video. The appearance of the artist is a classic convention in music videos as it helps to personalise and therefore promote the artist themselves, as audiences are shown to be more likely to enjoy content from personalities they are familiar with. This sort of appearance is often demanded by the record label for this very reason, one of Goodwin's conventions that is firmly adhered to. 

A close up of featuring artist Afrika Bambaataa

Another of his theories is that of "frequent references to aspects of voyeurism". Many characters are seen to be watching each other and the world around them. This happens on multiple occasions, such as the breakdance scene and the scene were the protagonists first arm is knocked off. This is related to passivity in this video, where people observe suffering but choose to do nothing. But it is also related to the voyeuristic aspect of music videos themselves, encouraging the most complete consumption by audiences of the content.

A New Yorker Coldly observes- a voyeuristic representation

A different theory that the video engages is that of intertextual references. Although I cannot identify any especially blatant references there are many elements similar to other texts. The first for example is the setting, New York City, an incredibly popular setting for both mainstream and arthouse films. Films as diverse as 'Taxi Driver' 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and even 'The Avengers' .To give one other example, another possible reference is in the angular architecture and towering skyscrapers, echoing to some extent the Futuristic metropolis in films such as 'Metropolis' and 'Blade Runner'. 

A yellow taxi cab- one of New York's main identifiers- Seen commonly in many texts

The final two theories followed by the video are those of the video complimenting or referencing the music and lyrics. For example, the song is in the electronica genre and much of the video features directly both aspects of modernism and techology, linking it to the modern and technological basis of the genre. Also when the lyrics "let's get electrified" are heard in the song, the protagonist grabs a fence, linking back to ideas of electric fences and confinement.

A bright neon sign- A clear symbol of technology

Overall, it is a highly engaging, creative and intelligent video but also surprisingly conventional. It will be a very appropriate starting point for the inspiration and education regarding music video's that I will need as I begin to look into and plan my own production.

Andrew Goodwin's 6 Features of Music Videos: http://larsosmediatwo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/music-video-research-andrew-goodwins-6.html