Studium, Punctum and Music Videos (Assignment for Tuesday)

Roland Barthes was a French Philosopher born in 1915 in Normandy. He began writing Camera Lucida following the death of his mother in 1977 after looking at old pictures of his mother.  Barthes begins by saying ” what I feel about these photographs derives from an average affect, almost from a certain training “, when referring to viewing a photograph. He goes on to states that when viewing pictures he has  ” A kind of general, enthusiastic commitment of course , but without special acuity.”   (acuity – Sharpness or keenness of thought, vision or hearing). This is the studium, which is a latin word to study.  The studium is the subject or the general meaning of the photograph.

Barthes then talks about “the second element will break or punctuate the studium”. ” This element which rises from the scene, shoots out like an arrow, and pierces me”. This element that disturbs the studium, Barthes refers to as “punctum” .  The punctum holds your gaze and it is a very subjective response.  The punctum is what stands out and gives the photograph specific meaning to the individual.

What is the studium(s) and what is the punctum (s) of this piece?  How does the music help you understand the studium and the punctum?

"The photograph is handsome, as is the boy: that is the studium. But the punctum is: he is going to die. I read at the same time: This will be and this has been; I observe with horror an anterior future of which death is the stake. By giving me the absolute past of the pose (aorist), the photograph tells me death in the future. What pricks me is the discovery of this equivalence. In front of the photograph of my mother as a child, I tell myself: she is going to die: I shudder, like Winnicott's psychotic patient, over a catastrophe which has already occurred. Whether or not the subject is already dead, every photograph is this catastrophe. (Camera Lucida)"

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For today's assignment, you will be adapting the idea of the "studium" and "punctum" to music videos by telling me what is the music video about and what specifically draws your eye in the music video to a meaning that might be different than the original intent.  Use a separate sheet of paper to take notes, but type your comments and print them out.

1) Watch the fan created music video created by the other class from yesterday.  Watch it multiple times if necessary.   What is the studium (or studiums) of their music video?  What is the punctum (or punctums) of their music video?  How does the music help you understand the studium and the punctum?

2) Watch the officially created music video created by the band here.  Watch it multiple times if necessary.  What is the studium (or studiums) of the official music video?  What is the punctum (or punctums) of their music video?  How does the music help you understand the studium and the punctum?

3) Looking over the studiums and punctums that you have listed, what are similar and what differ between the music videos?  Why?

Print this out and bring this to class tomorrow.  This will be Quiz #1.

For Wednesday's Class:
1) read over  http://www.slideshare.net/Westhatchmediastudies/music-video-analysis-of-burn-by-usher, which we will discuss in class tomorrow as an example of a music video analysis.
2) read over the  assignment sheet