Star Analysis - Harrison Twinn

 Ricky Wilson - Kaiser Chiefs

The star which I will be analyzing is Ricky Wilson from the band 'Kaiser Chiefs'. He, as the lead singer, along with his band have gained a large popularity due to their partaking in the commercial breakthrough of a new music genre that was a big craze at the time called 'Post-Punk Revival'. This band, along with others such as 'Arctic Monkeys' and 'The Strokes' were mostly well known at this stage due to this period in time, but Ricky Wilson and the 'Kaiser Chiefs' is one band in particular which rely on their image along with other means to sell their videos to the audience.

Oh My God - 2004



In 'Oh My God', Ricky Wilson as well as his other band mates are dressed in a worker's uniform whilst playing their instruments, which in the beginning are actually children's toys. The use of costume they are wearing is mentioned in the lyrics as a dull and boring reference by Wilson. But as the video progresses into the chorus, they are placed in extraordinary settings such as an arctic tundra, and other places in the world. In the beginning of the video, Wilson's appearance seems normal and calm, but as the video progresses, his appearance becomes seemingly more manic and strange. This change in appearance is mostly seen at the points when the setting drastically changes. This video is sold on Wilson's image as well as the rest of the band and their capabilities with their respective instruments during their performance.

Everyday I Love You Less And Less - 2005



Like 'Oh My God', 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' also sells their video using their boy band image. But another thing that the video was sold on what the use of editing and visuals to make it more appealing. In this video, they used the idea of x-ray vision to make the surroundings and people around them see-through, which was another reference made in the lyrics of this song. The transitions used to make some clips of the video seem as if the audience is looking through a kaleidoscope reinforces the abstract imagery so that it makes it have a sense of confusion and disturbance. The x-ray vision could have been a means of representing people's badly-kept secrets and how transparent everyone can be, especially if they were your relatives as said in this video. Wilson seems to be the main character and lead singer in the video that is going through the enigmatic imagery the most, which in turn returns to his insane appearance that was also seen in the previous video.

I Predict A Riot - 2004



'I Predict A Riot', unlike the previous two videos, fully relies on the band's live performance to sell their video to their audience. But what the band does to make this concert performance unconventional is to allow the audience to bring their pillows to the crowd. This idea was used, so that when the video was at halfway, the crowd would start a big pillow fight with one another. This was also used so that the criteria would be met for the themes of the video, which would be fighting one another, violence and insanity. These themes all fit the title of the video as well as the video itself.

Summary

In these three examples of the band's videos, along with many other works they have produced, most of what they sell to the audience is of Ricky Wilson's persona that he uses to make the visuals around him match his expressions. Also, it could be said that Wilson takes on these personae so that he could get his message across to us. For example, in 'Oh My God', the message he tries to send to the audience relates to the problems of the people, such as unemployment (which is also the album name of where these three songs originally came from) and how it can affect the lives of many - to Wilson, these problems can drive you insane, like how he represents with his facial expressions in these videos.