The Specials - Ghost Town: Blog tasks
Background and historical contexts
Read this excellent analysis from The Conversation website of the impact Ghost Town had both musically and visually. Answer the following questions
1) Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition?
This is because the music video is constructed like a film.
2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s?
2 Tone had emerged stylistically from the Mod and Punk subcultures and its musical roots and the people in it, audiences and bands, were both black and white. Ska and the related Jamaican Rocksteady were its musical foundations,
3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981?
England was hit by recession and away from rural Skinhead nights, riots were breaking out across its urban areas. Deprived, forgotten, run down and angry, these were places where young people, black and white, erupted. In these neglected parts of London, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool the young, the unemployed, and the disaffected fought pitch battles with the police.al critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video?
4) CulturUK in 1981 and what was happening in the band, which was riven by internal tensions.
England was hit by recession and away from rural Skinhead nights, riots were breaking out across its urban areas. Deprived, forgotten, run down and angry, these were places where young people, black and white, erupted. In these neglected parts of London, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool the young, the unemployed, and the disaffected fought pitch battles with the police.al critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video?
5) Look at the final section (‘Not a dance track’). What does the writer suggest might be the meanings created in the video? Do you agree?
It’s just a cry out against injustice, against closed off opportunities by those who have pulled the ladder up and robbed the young, the poor, the white and black of their songs and their dancing, their futures. Drive round an empty city at dawn. Look at the empty flats.
See the streets before the bankers get there and after the cleaning ladies have gone. And put young, poor, disadvantaged people in that car. See how “Ghost Town” makes sense. Now.
I agree with this statement this is due to the fact that that throughout the music video of ghost town they mention the political state of the natation saying "do you miss the good old days of the ghost town" and bands will play no more
Now read this BBC website feature on the 30th anniversary of Ghost Town’s release.
1) How does the article describe the song?
its blend of melancholy, unease and menace took on an entirely new meaning when Britain's streets erupted into rioting almost three weeks later - the day before Ghost Town reached number one in the charts.
2) What does the article say about the social context of the time – what was happening in Britain in 1981?
against a backdrop of rising unemployment, its blend of melancholy, unease and menace took on an entirely new meaning when Britain's streets erupted into rioting almost three weeks later - the day before Ghost Town reached number one in the charts.
3) How did The Specials reflect an increasingly multicultural Britain?
The special reflect a multicultural Brittan by having both black and white members in a time where it was uncommon.
4) How can we link Paul Gilroy’s theories to The Specials and Ghost Town?
Black Atlantic," can be meaningfully applied to The Specials and their song "Ghost Town" by examining the band's racially diverse membership, their ska music's hybridity, and the song's portrayal of a racially divided society. Gilroy's ideas about diasporic identity, cultural hybridity, and the fluidity of cultural expression help us understand how The Specials created a unique sound and message that resonated with audiences across racial lines.
5) The article discusses how the song sounds like a John Barry composition. Why was John Barry a famous composer and what films did he work on?
John Barry's fame as a composer stems from his iconic work, particularly his scores for James Bond films. He also won numerous awards for his work on films like Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves.
Ghost Town - Media Factsheet
Watch the video several times before reading Factsheet #211 - Ghost Town. You'll need your GHS Google login to access the factsheet. Once you have analysed the video several times and read the whole factsheet, answer the following questions:
1) Focus on the Media Language section. What does the factsheet suggest regarding the mise-en-scene in the video?
The mise-en-scene of the Ghost Town video uses the style of British social realist films. This genre is characterised by sympathetic representations of working-class men, the highlighting of bleak (often urban) environments and a sense of hopelessness.
The video’s low-budget shoot, the social and political nature of the subject-matter of both video and song all reflect the codes and conventions of this film genre. The bleakness of the final shot where the band throw stones into the Thames is very powerful and nihilistic. This example gives you an idea of the look of these films for comparison.
2) How does the lighting create intertextual references? What else is notable about the lighting?
like a handheld torch to light the faces of those in the back from a low angle. This is a highly effective low budget filmmaking technique suited to the aesthetic. The low angle creates references to horror
3) What non-verbal codes help to communicate meanings in the video?
Non-verbal codes play a memorable role in contributing to the atmosphere of the video. The singing of the song with expressionless faces and direct mode-of-address with zombie-like, stiff body movements are suddenly relaxed in the manic middle section.
4) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the editing and camerawork? Pick out three key points that are highlighted here.
Editing is used to control the pace of the video and camerawork distorts our sense of day and night. One scene is cut like an action sequence of a car chase. Both its style and short shot duration give a frenetic feel. This is reinforced by handheld, disorienting camerawork with whip pans and canted angles.
The band are generally shot as a group, emphasising the relationship between them. Most of the shots are on-board travelling shots. Some are in the interior of the car, as seen in a previous example. This invites audience identification with the band. The sequence near the start consists of a series of establishing shots and low angle shots which make the scenery loom in an intimidating way. The video ends with superimposition of a long cross-dissolve of the tunnel lights tothe stone-throwing shot, to unsettling effect.
5) What narrative theories can be applied to the video? Give details from the video for each one.
Equilibrium
The band setting off together looking for something to do, accompanied by the eerie diegetic sound and the green traffic light, an arbitrary sign that things are being set in motion.
Disruption
This could be seen as the bleakness and emptiness of the streets because, ‘Bands don’t play no more – too much fighting on the dance floor’.
Recognition
Could be identified as the upbeat break in the middle of the song that contrasts times gone
by with now: ‘We danced and sang, and the music played inde boomtown’. Attempt to repair The is the continued aimless drive, the shadowy figures and ghostly conflicts encountered in the car chase style scenes.
New equilibrium Their bleak arrival at the river, having found nothing else to do.
6) How can we apply genre theory to the video?
Neale’s approach to theorising genre tells us that genres hybridise. Ghost Town is an example of how music videos often borrow from different cultural reference points. As discussed, the visual aesthetic for Ghost Town draws strongly on two cinematic influences - expressionist cinema of the 1920s and the social realist mode of film-making that began in the 1960s. The musical genre of ska had strong links to the 1960s, when it became popular in the UK with the mod sub-culture. Two-tone culture had diverse influences as reggae, ska, and punk / new wave.
7) Now look at the Representations section. What are the different people, places and groups that are represented in the Ghost Town video? Look for the list on page 4 of the factsheet.
• ‘Thatcher’s Britain’
• The City
• Urban youth
• Race
• Masculinity
8) How can Gauntlett's work on collective identity be applied to the video?
The song's lyrics directly address the hardships faced by working-class communities, such as "No jobs to be found" and "Government leaving the youth on the shelf," becoming a voice for the voiceless. This direct confrontation of social issues served as a challenge to the prevailing political and economic climate, pushing for change.
9) How can gender theorists such as Judith Butler be applied to Ghost Town?
ow gender is constructed and reinforced through language and social representation. The song's imagery and themes can be used to understand how certain gendered expressions are valued, while others are marginalized or silenced. For example, the song's depiction of a "ghost town" can be seen as a metaphorical representation of the lack of agency and power experienced by certain groups, especially young men, within the broader social and political context.
10) Postcolonial theorists like Paul Gilroy can help us to understand the meanings in the Ghost Town music video. What does the factsheet suggest regarding this?
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