Noah and the Whale: 5 Years Time

This video takes a fun, light-hearted form which represents the song’s cheesy nature. There are many elements of nostalgia, and the video is filmed in an old-fashioned, amateur-like style that gives the impression of it being dated back to the band’s school times.

In terms of Goodwin’s Theory, this video uses the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals extensively. Throughout the video, the actors are matching the lyrics, for example ‘cigarettes’ and ‘wine’ are matched by somebody holding them. More evident, though, is the lyrics being written on-screen e.g. ‘sun sun sun’. This is used when words are repeated in the song, and it causes the viewer to remember the words. The words ‘sun’, ‘fun’ and ‘love’ are also what the song is all about, so this connects the song with the video strongly. Furthermore, it adds to the catchiness of the song as it is memorable.

The camera-work and editing effects such as the blotches on the screen and the old-fashioned transitions adds to the dated, nostalgic feel of the film. This matches the lyrics that suggest the younger years were fun and care-free. This makes the video appealing to both today’s youth and all adults who remember, and yearn for, their youth again. The fashion and props seen in the video adds to this, and the ‘5’ balloon links the visuals to the song title – this sub-consciously keeps the song in the viewer’s mind.

The iconography is a central aspect to this video. The dancing, hairstyles and clothes are all iconic of past times, therefore adding to the nostalgic feel. The band itself are dressed like this, which means those that enjoy the video relate to them meaning it promotes them favourably. They are the main feature of the video, and are named in the beginning too, ensuring they are a focal feature of the video, as per Goodwin’s Theory. This also helps to build a ‘star image’ of the band, despite them being dressed up. However, this does also add to the fun and lightheartedness of the video, as the band are happy to look silly and enjoy themselves.

Unlike The White Stripes video, the voyeurism here involves encouraging the viewer to look at the dancing, clothes, setting and props rather than encouraging desire for an attractive person. This causes the video to be friendly, fun and removes any potential discomfort or awkwardness in its viewing.

To conclude, this video adheres to many of Goodwin’s music video theory. The visuals are linked to both the lyrics (actions and words on screen) and the music (dance moves match the song’s rhythm), whilst building iconography and a star image. There is voyeurism to an extent, and people whose youth matches the times shown in this video may spot intertextual elements. Therefore, this video matches most, if not all, aspects of a typical music video as per Goodwin’s Theory.