Dream - C1

Question 1

Who is the singer of Dream?

Answer 1

Dizzee Rascal a solo rap artist from London

Question 2

What awards has Dizzee Rascal won?

Answer 2

the Mercury Music Prize for his debut album, Boy in da Corner, in 2003.

Question 3

When was Dream released?

Answer 3

Dream was released as a single in 2004, taken from Dizzee Rascal’s second album Showtime.

Question 4

What is sampled in Dream?

Answer 4

Dream samples lines from Happy Talk, a single that was released in 1982 by Captain Sensible and originally featured in the musical South Pacific (a Broadway stage show in 1949, film version released in 1958).

Question 5

Who directed and produced Dream?

Answer 5

The video for Dream was directed by Dougal Wilson for the Colonel Blimp production company. Wilson is an award-winning director of commercials and music videos.

Question 6

How is intertextuality used in Dream?

Answer 6

• The video references 1950s children’s television,
  most specifically Muffin the Mule, which was aired
  on the BBC from 1946 and was presented by
  Annette Mills who interacted with a puppet mule and other characters who appeared on her piano. The programme was broadcast live and was hugely successful, becoming the first children’s television programme to have its own merchandise. The actress who plays the pianist in Dream bears a resemblance to Mills, the puppet mule is also featured, and the set is similar.
• Dizzee Rascal also intertextually references
  Captain Sensible, who recorded Happy Talk in
  the 1980s, when he says ‘This is too sensible for
  me, man’ as he climbs out of the musical box.
• Puppets such as Lord Charles and the policeman performing a ‘punch and Judy’ like scene connotes a sense of the uncanny.

Question 7

What codes and conventions of music videos are used?

Answer 7

• Two ‘worlds’ are constructed – the 1950s living room and the contemporary city setting, established through the mise en scene
• The pianist directly addresses the audience, introducing Dizzee Rascal and singing some lines from Happy Talk. She acts as a presenter and reacts to the action, arguably reflecting the ‘typical’ response of an older audience to rap music.
• Dizzee Rascal performs and directly addresses the audience, also commenting on the narrative and
  actions of the puppet characters.
• The narrative is linear, featuring disruptions and a resolution that reflects the dominant message of triumph over adversity through a commitment to a dream.
• There are postmodern elements for example by juxtaposing 1950s children’s television characters with familiar contemporary iconography such as the nightclub and off-license which creates a fable-like quality to the video, as Dizzee Rascal tells the story
  of the development of a successful career.
• The images are highly illustrative, often
  featuring a literal interpretation of the lyrics e.g.
  ‘off licence’, ‘young baby mothers’. This adds
  to the sense that a vivid story is being told.

Question 8

What form is the music video?

Answer 8

performative and narrative

Question 9

How does media language connote meaning in Dream?

Answer 9

• The period setting of the sitting room is established through the mise-en-scène of the striped wallpaper, floral curtains, and piano, connoting a middle-class environment that contrasts the contemporary setting of the narrative.
• The stereotypically socially deprived, innercity environment is constructed through the set and props on the piano (e.g. off licence building with letters missing, graffiti).
• There are many props that reference childhood such as the pastel coloured building blocks, the music box from which Dizzee Rascal emerges, the toy police car, the toy helicopter, and the puppets.
• Dizzee Rascal begins to use the microphone prop which connotes power as his voice can now be heard and this signifies a move away from deprivation and rebellion towards achieving his dream and becoming
  a respected member of society.

Question 10

Why does the video use the intertextual reference of children’s television shows?

Answer 10

• the jaunty happy sounding music fits with the reference
• It can be seen that having a dream is often connected with children
• it could also be interpreted that the children’s shows are constructed narratives and don’t show the verisimilitude of city life.
• to create a fable-like narrative
• to position the audience as children hearing a story
• nostalgia

Question 11

What technology is used in the video?

Answer 11

A green screen

Question 12

How can Levi-Strauss’ binary oppositions be applied to Dream?

Answer 12

• Young black male vs older white female which reflects the idea of hierarchies of power in society. She is bigger than Dizzee Rascal, she shows disapproval of the anti-social behaviour and puts him in the box at the end.
• youth vs police – especially black men - link to Black Lives Matter with some sense of resolution as they
  all dance together towards the end of the video.
• Anti-social behaviour vs hard work - reflects a dominant ideological message that hard work offers
  an ‘escape’ from social deprivation.

Question 13

What happened in post 2nd world war Britain which influenced Dream?

Answer 13

In post-war Britain, many people from the Caribbean, as well as from India and Pakistan, moved to Britain to work and British society was becoming more ethnically
diverse. Dizzee’s dad was Nigerian and his mum was Ghanaian.

Question 14

Why is it significant that Dizzee is wearing a hoodie in the video?

Answer 14

In the early 2000s when it was released, in relation to concerns about antisocial behaviour amongst inner-city youths the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent to ban ‘hoodies’ in 2005 received widespread media coverage. ‘Hoodies’ have been worn by hip hop artists
since the 1980s and have become to be associated
with rebellion and antisocial behaviour. David Cameron, prime minister at the time, told people to “hug a hoodie” which was deemed patronising.

Question 15

How is the pianist represented in the video?

Answer 15

• The pianist is constructed as a stereotypical 1950s white, middle-aged, middle-class woman through the mise-en-scène of her upright posture, formal jacket with large floral brooch and hairstyle.
• She fulfils a matriarchal role and uses a patronising mode of address (‘Hello boys and girls’), especially as she introduces Dizzee (‘he’s such a rascal’).
• Her horror as the helicopter flies past her face connotes her stereotypical British reserve – she does not like this invasion of her personal space and is not used to encountering antisocial behaviour.
• She reinforces dominant messages and ideologies, smiling her approval on the positive elements of the narrative, for example holding up Dizzee Rascal’s
  album and singing ‘just do it’.

Question 16

How is Dizzee represented in the video?

Answer 16

• Dizzee Rascal is constructed as a rebellious young black male through the dress codes of red tracksuit and trainers.
• He appears to be a stereotypically defiant youth who challenges authority at the beginning of the video, reinforced by the lyrics e.g. ‘reckless with no shame’.
• As the narrative progresses, a more positive representation of Dizzee Rascal is constructed as he describes his strong sense of purpose, hard work and achievement. The youths also partake of more creative behaviour (e.g. kicking a football, break-dancing),
  establishing him as a role model. This positive representation of a young black rapper challenges many negative stereotypes of this social group.

Question 17

How are the puppets represented in the video?

Answer 17

Many clear stereotypes are constructed through
the ‘puppets’ to create recognition and humour such as: - Youths are constructed as irresponsible and having no purpose in life – skateboarding, spraying graffiti, stealing the TV.
- The Scots character (red hair, tartan) is constructed as a drunk.
- The police officer is constructed as a brutal, baton-wielding white male, beating a youth in a style that references ‘Punch and Judy’.

The puppets are attached to strings, linking to the notion that this story is a fable, but also suggesting hierarchies of power and control – they are conforming to stereotypical, possibly pre-ordained roles.

Question 18

How can Paul Gilroy’s theory on post-colonialism be applied to Dream?

Answer 18

• The narrative embeds positive messages and values, constructing a representation of a successful black rapper and subverting negative stereotypes of ethnicity.
• However, the white woman can be seen to be in control, especially as Dizzee Rascal is diminutive, arguably depends on her for ‘endorsement’ of his album and returns to the box at the end.
• While the story suggests that 21st century Britain is inclusive and multicultural the repeated shots of the TV presenter looking shocked and her patronising tone towards Dizzee Rascal imply that society is not yet fully integrated.