COMMON PEOPLE - PULP

PULP – COMMON PEOPLE

The music video begins with a black screen opening up to a group of people still then dancing, this takes away elements of realism from the video as the audience sees doll like people then moving as the screen is fully open. The singer and creator of the video, Jarvis Cocker comes walking down though an aisle between the people dancing, there is then a close up on his face and him doing dance moves as he sings

‘She’ comes down and lip-syncs her words to the music, there is then a close up of her mouthing the words about what she wants to do.  Having her close up creates a relationship between the viewer and her as she’s basically the only thing they can see, so all focus is on her.

As the song goes on about going to a supermarket, there is a shot of them there, cocker in a shopping trolley representing a prison like façade with her laughing above him. Behind them are boxes with the band name, ‘PULP’ written on them and people shopping, stealing, waiting or doing their job. Cocker being in the shopping trolley makes him seem trapped, another interpretation is him being seen as childlike

The scene then changes to cocker in a street in front of houses with people in and in front of. Not only are the clips of people reused and come up several times, but multiple clips of Cocker are also presented as the camera pans along the set

When there’s no singing in the song we cut to the dance floor where people start leaving, then a fight starts. Cocker and several other people then dance together simultaneously. It then goes back to the supermarket where ‘she’ is above him laughing and the man in the background is stealing a box of PULP’. The video then closes alike to how it starts, people stop dancing and the screen closes to blackness.

MEDIA REPRESENTATION AND AUDIENCE: It tells a story of an interaction between Jarvis Cocker (singer) and another student at Central Saint Martins and her middle-class view on life compared to his. This and how patronising she seemed is represented through how he’s seen being pushed around in a shopping cart by her, as well as the repeated use of people outside flats and in the shops representing the real world she’s saying she wants to be exposed to.

This music video is representing the working class, broke students and Pulp’s audience. It shows people stealing, in love and fighting. The audience are Pulp fans, most commonly teens from the mid-nineties and onwards

MEDIA LANGUAGE: a supermarket signifies normal, basic needs, food, and a usual and casual area. Houses signify usual, everyday places, shelter, home, living area. A club esq place signifies fun, music, dancing, drinking, and night out. A band on stage signifies excitement, fun, and something to look forward to, yet this is contrasted when people begin to leave while the song is still going on. Repeated use of clips of the same people – makes them and where they are seem repetitive and dull, normal actions, sometimes relatable. It signifies everyday life. NEST SLIDE

CONTEXT: There is a mention of cms in the song, an art university in London. This relates to their audience and style

The video and song portray the differences between expectations ‘she’ had and the reality as well as class differences and tension created due to it

Band name used throughout – the band’s name, Pulp, is shown throughout the supermarket scenes as brand names on things such a cereal boxes. This makes them seem like products and usual everyday items