Textual Analysis: Destiny's Child - Survivor.

 The video I am analysing is Survivor by Destiny’s Child. Darren Grant, who is known for directing many of Destiny’s Child’s songs, directed this music video. The genre of the music is R&B/Dance-Pop and this video reflects that genre in many ways, including when the group are dancing to the song on a large platform on what looks like an abandoned stone-wall building with many back up dancers all dressed with camouflage patterns. This sequence of choreographed dancing with lots of back up dancers, etc. in the middle of a video is very common to the R&B genre of this time as can be told by the R-Kelly video ‘Ignition' which came out around the same time as Survivor and also inolves a large dance sequence similar to in this video.

When looking at the lyrics to the song, it is very clear from the beginning that there is a connection between the lyrics and the visuals of the music video. Examples of this would be, “I’m a survivor, I’m not gonna give up, I’m not gonna stop, I’m gonna work harder...” This lyric of the song describes the group as surviving something and not giving up until they triumph/succeed from this. This is clearly linked to the music video as it gives a clear example of the group being faced with a problem (i.e. being stuck on an island) and them finally succeeding in the end due to their persistence to get rescued by being air lifted by a helicopter.

Another example would be, “You thought I couldn’t last without ya, but I’m lasting, you though I would die without ya, but I’m living. Thought that I would fail without ya, but I’m on top, thought it would be over by now, but it won’t stop…” This links to the video as it is the use of basing the video on an island and being rescued which is very general that allows the audience to distort this power to ‘survive’ that is told in the song in relation to their own life struggles by giving many examples in which people can survive things as can be seen in the lyric above.

There is also a contrast between both visuals and lyrics as the subtext of the lyrics explains that they don’t need men to survive and don’t have to rely or feel the need to do things for men in any way, however this contrasts the visuals as even though they are preaching this very feminist message about how strong and independent women are, in the video they are dressed very provocatively with lots of camera shots that were clearly used to emphasise their sex appeal.

If you look in more depth at this idea, then you will notice that at the beginning of the song is when they are mostly shown in a very sexual way with them having torn clothes and being all dirty from lying on the beach. This is when they start to awaken and rise as the song begins, which can lead to the interpretation that only when giving men what they want and pleasing them by using their bodies in a seductive way is the only way in which they are able to rise (not only from the beach but symbolically in a woman’s life) and get any sort of power or recognition in the media. This could also be spun in a way in which they are exhibitionists in which they are using their sexual dominant to their advantage by choosing to use their sexuality to gain power, etc.

When looking into the actual production of the song, from the very start of the music video there is a clear connection between the music and the visuals. When the music video starts, it shows how the shots cut in relation to the songs beat, for example when the song starts and they are all waking up next to the ocean, the shots are cut between them at the change of every beat. With this change of shot between every beat being clear from the beginning, it is not a surprise that the pace of the video changes when the pace of the music changes. For example, while each band member would sing their verse, due to this part of the song being very fast paced it was reflected in the video by having them all charge through a forest, etc.

As I touched upon above, the music video focuses on the dominance of not only women but also anybody who has faced any sort of set back and is determined to survive. This allows the song to really apply to anybody who has suffered something that has held them back, which is almost everybody in the world. This immediately opens up a large target audience for the song, but is then further widened by having the band also portrayed in a sexual way which will appeal to a lot of men as usually this song would be more aimed at women due to the stereotype of women being less dominant so having their feelings or desires repressed. This shows an example of how the record company are looking to sell this track, simply by allowing the song to be applied to anybody around the world and make the audience feel like the song relates to their average Joe life.

A more obvious way in which the record company are using to sell the track is the popularity of the band and its members. This is by right away using close ups of the band members from the very beginning of the music video so the audience know straight away that it is Destiny’s Child’s song and associate their popularity with the song. They also portray these band members in a certain way in this music video to make the audience believe that this is what their real personality is like even if they not like that portrayal at all. This is by portraying them as, at the same time, normal people who go through struggles in life, but also very dominant and powerful women who will stand up and not be pushed around. This makes people who are facing struggles to admire them and make them feel like the band are just like them and the are what the audience want to be, which is powerful and in control.

This song is also perfect for the target audience in the sense that it relates back to their previous single ‘Independent Woman’ in which that song also clearly shows the women as independent and completely replying on themselves which is a very similar message to what is given in this particular song, showing a clear motif which had been previously used. This creates a great image for the band as it portrays them as a group that isn’t scared to stand out and tell people that they only rely on and need themselves which reflects the view of a lot of their audience. As this portrayal of the band was already there and were known before the release of this song, this then shows an intertextual reference of the girls personalities that have already been seen in the media aso reflected their public image.

As I touched on earlier, things like camera work, costume, etc. are used to present the girls in a very sexualised way. This is by having their costume being short and ripped and having the lead singer and most popular member Beyonce Knowles in a different colour with the least amount of clothes on in comparison to the other two girls to make her stand out the most and show her as significant as she is the most popular and will sell the track more than Kelly Rowland or Michelle Williams.This is by showing many close-up shots of Beyonce to show her significance. There is also a very unnoticeable reference to ‘looking’ at the start of the clip in which the girls are on the beach in their tattered clothing. A beach has a representation, especially when looking into young sexually attractive women like the girls in the band, as people sunbathing in their bikinis and wearing very little clothing. This video almost shows a look into this representation as the women are shown as, at first, not being aware of the cameras and rising from the sea very seductively and walking around the beach in clothes that are so tattered they are almost look like they are wearing bikinis.

In this music video, I noticed one intertextual reference straight away after seeing the concept of which the video is about. I recognised that the video is very similar and in reference to the American TV show ‘Survivor’ in which contestants are made to live on an island and carry out tasks, etc. This intertextual reference makes the music video immediately recognisable to the American public who are aware of the show so are using the popularity of the show to help benefit the song. One other, less obvious intertextual reference that I noticed was at the beginning when one of the girls are rising from the water. This scene in which a sexually attractive young woman is in little clothing and, with the help of slo-motion editing, gracefully rising from the water all wet is very recognisable due to being used all the time in films when a woman is being represented in a sexual way, therefore creating an intertextual reference.

I believe that the music video is both performance-based and concept-based. This can be seen in two ways. It is very performance based as the music video follows no real story line and has no linear structure as in the middle of the song, the band randomly have a large choreographed dance sequence. This allows for the focus to be on the performance of the girls and their dancing, etc. which helps build an image for the band members as being very talented. I also believe that it is concept-based as the song has a very clear and precise message about people not repressing themselves but fighting the problems in their life and surviving them. This goes hand-in-hand with the music video as, like I mentioned earlier, the visuals by having the girls performing and the lyrics and music by showing a clear strong message work together to create a very powerful music video that is both fun but serious at the same time.

In conclusion, I believe that this music video is successful in many ways, such as having the beat of the music corresponding with the change of shot, using the idea of people going through struggles and ‘surviving’ to target people and make it apply to their life, and using intertextual references to make the music video recognisable not only by the emphasis on the girls of the band and playing off their popularity but playing off other popular media products such as the successful TV show ‘Survivor’. All of these points that I noticed about the music video tell me that it is both a performance and concept based music video and use these to help target audiences and give the audience what they want so they enjoy it and ultimately buy the single.

By Harry Luke Mulvany