Sober

In this case study I will apply the theory of narrative to the music video for ‘Sober’ by Childish Gambino and explain how the narrative structure adds to audience appeal and to the storytelling/meaning.

A case studyBy James Coy

Childish Gambino

‘Sober’ by Donald Glover a.k.a Childish Gambino

In this case study I will apply the theory of narrative to the music video for ‘Sober’ by Childish Gambino and explain how the narrative structure adds to audience appeal and to the storytelling/meaning."Sober" is the first single by American recording artist Childish Gambino from his EP Kauai and belongs to the genre of PBR&B. The song was released on September 14, 2014 and has won the mtvU Woodies Award for Best Video Woodie. The music video was directed by Hiro Murai. Donald Glover is a rapper, actor, voice actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, record producer, and writer.

The video depicts a lonely, slightly creepy, young man who attempts at impressing a woman he finds in the diner. He does this through performing this

song to her accompanied by creepy looks and unnatural dancing. This video explores many things such as the loneliness of drug abuse and the aftermath of a failed relationship. The video starts and ends with him alone dreaming of

better things. Childish Gambino himself appears as the main role in this video.

The structure of the production follows continuity editing. The circular style of the main story line provides a simple and effective portrayal of a drug abusing

lonely male. Additionally, the use of visuals enhances the story telling and illustrates and amplifies the lyrics and music - Goodwin. The ambiguity of the

ending and the lack of match on action leaves it as an open text - Claude Levis Strauss/Barthes codes.

“the new video for his single, ‘Sober,’ hits all the right notes. There's a romance, dance moves, fast food — and, small

spoiler, an unexpectedly melancholy ending.”-The Verge

The Concept behind the Music Video

A circular narrative is when the media text begins and ends with the same scene/moment.This music video begins with a pan to a shot of Gambino sitting at a table under the clock staring at a girl in a café. The music video ends with this exact shot but without the girl and the time on the clock has not

changed. This circular narrative hints that maybe this was all a hallucination/his imagination due to being “So High” as the lyrics suggest. After a possible breakup with a girl, he is going to get over his emotions by turning to alcohol and drugs, which takes him to a different reality, perhaps the one where the events of music video occur. However, he believes he’ll never get over her so he’s going to never stop drinking and he’ll

“never be sober”.This narrative structure could also suggest that he is high off her love.

The girl’s love, is his drug. Now that it’s “over”, he accepts how he’ll always keep coming back for more. Furthermore, he’s predicting/foreshadowing a relapse into her addicting love. Which forces him into a circle of rejection and addiction.

Circular Narrative

Images on next

Slide

First Shot

First Shot

Last Shot

Last Shot

Montage is the art and technique of motion-picture editing in which contrasting shots or sequences are used to effect emotional or intellectual responses. The montage technique relies on the symbolic association of ideas between shots rather than association of simple physical action for its continuity.

This music video contains no montage and is instead a continuous edit of a single scene. Continuity editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots.

This immerses the audience into one moment of the whole story, allowing us to create our versions of what happened before the events of the video due to it being an open text.

Montage & Continuity editing

Barthes Codes

The Media theorist Claude Levis Strauss suggests that all media texts are either open texts, ambiguous and open to interpretation, or closed texts, non-ambiguous and tell the exact story with no possible interpretations.

This music video has an open text narrative due to the ambiguity on whether the events take place in reality or the drug/alcohol filled reality he has turned to since their failed relationship.

Most films and media texts follow this open text code in order to enhance the storytelling of the film. This is because it allows the audience to fill in the blanks instead of the filmmakers simply telling them. This creates a more personal film for the audience.

In this music video many intertextual references are made.However, the the most dominant one is the reference to Michael Jackson, especially Thriller. This is done through the creepy dance moves, the ‘moonwalk’ he does with his fingers, his

dead, zombie-like looks. Sonically, this song is also very similar to 1980s Synth-pop/R&B. Very similar to Michael Jackson in particular. Gambino himself said “It’s Michael Jackson-esque.”This suggests his drug abuse has turned him into a mindless zombie like we see in Thriller. Alternatively, he could be suggesting that it was the love and relationship that he was that

‘zombified’ him.Another reference is within the diner, this locations features in movies such as Pulp Fiction. In one of the Pulp Fiction diner scenes in ends in them connecting/uniting over a dance. This

could be what Gambino was attempting to do her however in the real world it does not work as well as his fictional world inspired by the media.

Intertextuality