Andrew Goodwin's theory

‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (1993)

Andrew Goodwin puts forward the idea that pop videos approach narrative from a different angle to films and he proposes a few reasons for this:
- Pop videos are built around the song
- Pop videos often use the main singer both as a narrator and as a character
- The singer often breaks the forth wall (singing directly at the camera) which is used to try and involve the viewer at home with the performance.

 Andrew Goodwin argues that there are three types of relations between songs and videos:
1. Illustration: The video tells the story of the lyrics.
2. Amplification: The video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning.
3. Disjuncture: There is little connection between the lyrics and video or the video contradicts the lyrics.

Examples: 

Illustration: Lawson – Standing in the dark.

- “Sitting here wide awake” – Sitting on the end of the bed
- “She’s dancing on the table” – The women behind the glass is seen dancing
- “As he looks into her eyes” – The man is seen looks into the women eyes while they stand in front of the lead singer.

Amplification: Katy Perry – Wide awake.

- “I’m not blind anymore” goes from the dark maze into a brightly lit garden with colourful flowers. The lyrics suggest that she can see her situation more clearly now and the video further enhances this idea by showing her punching the ‘knight in shining armour’ which then reveals a bright light at the end of the forest.

- “I wish I knew then what I now know” The lyrics suggest that she wishes she could go back to before the relationship but the video shows the character as a little girl which implies she wishes to go back further into the past.

Disjuncture: Maroon 5 – One more night

- “We keep throwing things and slamming the door, you and I get so damn dysfunctional” Through these lyrics we would picture a couple arguing and throwing things but in the video we see them as a happy family where the mum is cooking and the dad is looking after their daughter. This contradicts what we would expect to see in the video as it shows the complete opposite to what the narrator is saying.

- The male sings “I’ll only stay with you one more night” which implies that he would leave his partner but in the video it is actually the women who packs her stuff and leaves the man.