The institutions behind Plan B/Ill Manors tapped into Plan B's music fanbase to promote both the film and soundtrack album. Analysing the music video gives you another superb example to discuss in your MEST1 Section B essay and allows you to write about the synergy (links) between the two texts.
Ill Manors: music video
Ill Manors is a hip hop protest song by English singer and songwriter Plan B. The track was released in the United Kingdom in March 2012 through the American company Atlantic Records (a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group conglomerate) as the lead single from the Ill Manors soundtrack, a low budget film which Plan B also directed. The song was written in reaction to the 2011 riots across England, and specifically Plan B's perception of "society's failure to nurture its disadvantaged youth." The song deals with both the causes and the consequences of the riots, concentrating on society's attitude towards the disadvantaged youth population. Drawing upon Plan B's own experiences of being expelled from school the song sarcastically attacks the media view of working class children: "Keep on believing what you read in the papers / Council estate kids — scum of the earth."
Writing in The Independent, Tim Walker called it "an all-time great protest song." However, Samuel Breen, also writing for The Independent, describes the song as "a cliché riddled attack on politics" and suggests that Plan B is justifying the action taken by the rioters, something Plan B denies.
The music video for "Ill Manors" expands upon the themes of the song, and uses footage from the 2011 riots. David Cameron and Nick Clegg, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, both feature in the video, despite not being mentioned in the lyrics. However, Cameron's "Hug a Hoodie" campaign is alluded to.
Ill Manors music video: blog task
Watch the music video again and analyse it closely, making detailed notes. Use the same skills you are developing for the MEST1 Section A unseen text.
Answer the following questions on your blog using the minimum three-paragraph structure we have discussed for MEST1 Section A:
Media Forms
How is it typical of a music video?
(Use this PowerPoint on the key conventions of music videos to help you).
Media Representations
How does it represent the London riots/rioters?
Media Audiences
What audience pleasures does the music video offer?
Media Institutions
How does the music video help to promote the film of the same name?
Ill Manors soundtrack research task
Research the Ill Manors track and soundtrack album - focusing particularly on the institutions and critical reception. Find out:
- the record companies/institutions behind Plan B
- sales/downloads for the soundtrack
- music reviews
- Plan B's fans' reviews and comments
Complete for homework - due next week.
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