Letters to the Free analysis

L.O: Identify historical, social and cultural contexts of a music video.
Context;
Themes;
Representations of;
(Race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality
This is shown through;

How does "letters to the free" use technical elements to achieve its purpose? (use all these but in an essay format)

Narrative
- The story is about racial awareness. Jim Crow mentality amongst the elite and our country itself. Nowadays, the n-word has been politicized to "criminal," but the racial and destructive under-tones are still present. Although the Civil Rights Act was supposed to give equal rights to all races, we still have the same problems. Highest incarceration rate of any developed nation per capita, most of them black or Hispanic. Plus, you have the private prison industrial complex that would rather incarcerate more poor people because it's profitable. They don't want any reform at all. All in a prison and in the end they are outside and free however we still feel as if they are not really free in the world due to racial prejudice.
- It could be argued that there isn't really a narrative but we just follow the life of a black person and see what they see. it shows how black lives are predetermined with racism and things like stop and search which makes it inevitable that they will go to prison and won't be leaving. Exploited by society which prisons do to make money by making them do labour (reminder of how slavery still exists)
- However there could be a story because it shows how the prion is a storyline of their life in prison as a dull, lonely place

Cinematography
Very slow as if there is no angle. loads of zoom in slow motions, trying to very much focus our attention on the big black square in the middle.
there are point-of-view shots with someone holding the camera as its shaking a bit trying to make us feel as if we are there so we can visualise it and understand what black people go through
- Progression of the cause is slow and an aimless quality of the camera which shows it has no purpose
- We don't see anyone's face clearly (no close up shots) so we don't see their emotions . The USA sees black people as faceless and not human. the more unrecognisable they are all viewed the same by whites.
- the use of the long shot makes the artists appear small in the frame, implying their insignificance in society

Editing
The black box is so en-captivating by there just being a fully still black box in the middle, the editing is still and the background is more or less empty with it just floating around
- The video is quite dull and it black and white which suggests separation and their differences. they dont belong together
- The Black box signifys how they are treated like objects. Also, there is a Jesus Cross on it and Jesus was treated unfairly like the blacks are today.

Mise en Scene
- The video is completely in black and white, displaying the seriousness of the situation and shows how old and long this inequality and racism has been going on for. They need equality
- They are dressed in really dark clothes
- Everything is dictated with the writing on the wall which says "no excessive noise". Its contradicting because a basketball court should be noisy. Restricting black people from their rights, treated differently
- A lot of the framing is behind bars

Lyrics
- "institution ain't just a building" Prison is making money out of prisoners about making them work.
- "the caged birds sings for freedom to bring" Reference to intertexuaity of 'i know why a caged bird sings' which is a book about a black women who is fighting for her freedom
- "Prison is a business, Americas the company" Metaphor. Social microcosm for the world