Textual Analysis - "Inner City Life" by Goldie

The beginning of the video enters with serveral establishing shots of the setting of this video. It shows councils flats and the long running stereotype with council flats is that they are considered poor areas. So already it's showing us that the "inner city life" isn't going to be a very good one.
The filter used on the camera throughout the majority of the music video has a golden tint to it. This could be used to signify that it is one of the artists': Goldie's music video. However it can also be seen to subvert the previous images of council flats. Gold is a colour that connotes wealth yet council flats aren't a wealthy area.

The singer is finally revealed as she is dissolved in quite a unique manner. She opens her hands has she is being transitioned from the previous scene almost as if she has direct influence on the video somehow. Also the transitioning seems to be mostly dissolves and fades to match with the music's calm feeling at this point in the video.
It then dissolves again to what appears to be a single mother washing the dishes then another close up of a BT bill. This clip implies she is struggling as we can only see her and the children we instantly believe that she is a single parent dealing with two kids, housework and the bills. Further implying that this "inner city life" isn't all it's cracked up to be.

We then recieve a High angle shot of a trolly to the ground and the singer is holding her note on the word 'free' as the trolly is falling. This could suggest suicidal thoughts are going through the single mum's head. She wants to be free of this harsh life.
It dissolves again to a close up of a young teen wearing a hoodie. Hoodies connote gang culture suggesting that this council estate is home to some criminal gangs because of this area being poor they have to resort to crime to live.

You get serveral low angle shots of the council estates within this opening sequence. This could suggest that this "life" is too big for them, that they can't handle the "pressure" of it.

Dissolve to another clip and you get some kids playing what appears to be football or basketball. It is a common fact that council estates do not allow ball games in the area for fear of damage to parked cars or windows, but these kids are doing it anyway. This suggests that these kids have no respect for the rules and are being rebellious, making life even harder to live in this estate.
The camera then tilts upwards to a high angle shot of the kids playing implying that they are vulnerable, vulnerable to the hard life that awaits them.

Now next we have a rather perculier shot as we see someone parked in a BMW. BMWs are generally expensive cars so to see one in the video after all the scenes before sort of subverts everything about this estate and the hegemonic control. But then it changes. The camera keeps tilting until we've done a full 180 degree and now looking at the car and what the car is looking at upside down. This may further emphasise that this car is just a dream of what the people in the estate could have but can't and therefore turns upside down. Or it could imply that something strange is happening or about to happen. Maybe revealing the true nature of this "inner city".

The colour scheme rapidly changes and is now a dark, purpley colour. This could be the "true nature" of the inner city life. The setting has now changed to a club. Clubbing usually suggests drinking and/or drug taking i.e. The true nature of the inner city life finally shown which in turn maintains the status quo if you will. When it appears to us as an audience seeing a close up of serveral people passing on something discreetly, it instantly suggests drug dealing, HOWEVER what appears to be drugs is ACTUALLY a CD or a mix tape.
The video is now starting to throw in a lot of subversions now, where the stereotype was drug dealing within the inner city life of crime, we're getting a completely different perspective. This "CD dealing" may imply that these people in the inner city are trying break free of the stereotypes of the inner city life and are trying to make something of themselves. By selling this CD they wanted to make money, become successful and perhaps turn that dream of a BMW into a reality. However they feel they can only do it in a discreet way because the pressures of the inner city life won't allow them to succeed.

The camera is spinning to mimic the DJ spinning the disc, then we get another dissolve (with the camera still spinning) of the single mum again, with the golden tint making its comeback. The camera spinning with the mum in frama may suggest her feelings of stress. The camera is also in a high angle shot exposing her vulnerability. The room is also a mess suggesting she can't handle cleaning up because she's handling too many things at once without her husband there to help her. This is further established in a clip with her washing the dishes and wiping her forehead. It's hard work and she is struggling alone.

To another dissolve and we get to see biker riding past the screen, however there appears to be railings in the shot covering up most of the scene. This could be used on purpose to suggest a prison lifestyle. That kids from this neighbourhood are going inevitably end up in prison after resortng to crime because of the harsh life withn the inner city.

The singer is again dissolved into the video by her opening her arms. This could not imply she is their change, their salvation. She is opening herself up to them.

The camera dissolves to the single mum a lot but this time she is with someone, the ex husband. and they're both sleeping together. Does this mean he has returned or is this just the woman's dream fabricated on screen of them being together again?

A dissolve once more leads us to a car on fire with the purple filter on the camera again. This could the suggest car theft in the neighbourhood and criminals are trying to torch the car for evidence. Further emphasising the darkness of the inner city life.

The words "life" and "pressure" are repeated now as we get closer to the end of the video. This part seems to tie all the clips together in a little montage to truely emphasise the harshness of the inner city life.
A small is shown to us of the woman without the husband again. This time, her child is dissolved in and out sleeping next to her. Then her ex husband is dissolved in and begins to have sex with her, but she's too tired. This could imply why they split up, the husband was using her for sex.

Finally, the woman and a guy in a hood, each in their own filters (woman in gold, hoodie guy in purple) start to burn something. This to me suggests that they are both tired of the inner city pressure and want to get rid of it or get away from. In turn, tying the two filtered scenes together.
Marxists would suggests that some of the messages in this video were realistic (council house, hoodies, single parents) so some audience could relate to it. The target audience being young people because they can relate and also, this seems like their kind of music (drum and bass).