Textual Analysis - Billy Joel

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl (1983)

Genre

The genre of the song is pop rock, but within the video the stereotypes of pop are played upon more so than that of rock. Often with pop songs you have a dance routine and a narrative to follow, and you receive both with Joel's video for Uptown Girl.

Narrative

The narrative is very easy to follow along with, and links very well with the lyrics. It is clear that an upper class girl has come into a downtown car garage, and the mechanic there develops a liking to her. After 'wooing' her, they ride off on his moterbike, his succsess in breaking down the upper/lower class barrier. This is reflected in the lyrics to the song, most easily seen when singing about the uptown girl, the upper class girl appears on screen.

Representations

Here, representations delve into both class and to some extent gender. The upper class, in this instance the girl, is presented in a stereotypical way with her clothes very clean and a hat typical of upper class pretensions. However, she is presented un-stereotypically because she does eventually go off with a man of a different class, something that is not commonly associated with upper class people. Lower class is also represented in a stereotypical manner, with those in the lower class much more dirty and in obvious lower paid jobs. Gender is only represented within the consignments of who is male and female, with only one significant female present in the video. This could suggest a male dominated environment, which a car garage usually is seen to be, but there are no telling camera angles on either gender to suggest such dominance or lack thereof. 

Mise-en-scene

Setting has been carefully considered in order to create a convincing scene. The lower class man must be placed in an environment that would be seen as lower but convenient enough for an upper class person to visit. The garage is a classic American garage, with bright neon lights and dirty cars waiting for work. Costume reflects the surrounding, most people seen wearing dirty overalls in dull colours, a complete distinction from the contrasting black and white worn by the upper class. The lighting used is natural, and occasionally low-key because of the use of a storyline. Artificial lighting would not give the same gritty affect as what is achieved.

Sound

Diegetic sound is used through this piece. Although instruments are not playing, the music is in key with the stroyline, the main character singing and dancing along with his friends/colleagues.

Camera Angles

There are uses of mid-shots and a few close-ups in order for the audience to be able to see the differences between the upper and lower class, but most of the shots are long, getting in the whole body to see the dance routines.