Green Day - Minority

Minority, was taken from from the album Warning in the year 2000. The song was a success, staying at #1 for five weeks on the Billboard modern rock chart.

Conventions of a rock video:

• Performing with or without an audience (performance clip)
• Fast, choppy editing in time with the rhythm of the music
• The mise en scene generally gives a 'darker atmosphere'
• Focus on instruments; i.e. shots of guitar solos and drumming and so on
• Tends to be both narrative and performance clips
• Usually little use of special effects

This video does follow some of the typical conventions for a rock genre music video.

The video could be categorised as a performance clip as Green Day are performing their clip on a carnival float, although there is no strict audience. A performance clip is also heavily associated with this type of genre (punk/rock)There are a lot of shots of the band playing together, especially a focus on Billie Joe (lead singer), the video opens with a zoom out from him playing the acoustic guitar. This is what you would expect from this style of music video and this shows that it is following the conventions in terms of focusing in on the bands musical abilities. There is not really a narrative in the video that matches they lyrics, the video does not contradict the lyrics, the video just has no relevance to them.

In the video Green day remain on the carnival float performing their song without an audience. The theme seems to be carnivals as in front there are women baton twirling; later on in the video we see massive balloon floats of Billie Joe, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool. Although typically, rock videos are dark and dingy, this video is quite colourful in terms of props; the carnival float is decorated in bright blue and pink tinsel. However, there are props such as the massive metal signs on the float. This prop again reinforces what genre the music is and the color of it (grey) is Representative for the grungy look.

                           

Other factors in the mise en scene such as characters also contrast against the colourful float and happy theme of a carnival but compliment the genre and in some way shows lyrical meaning. For instance, the actors (in the pictures left) are dressed in dark baggy clothing, dark makeup, alternative hair; they are very stylised to the rock genre which matches the song. It could also portray song meaning as it shows them to be the 'minority' and against the crowd. The lyrics "a free for all, f**k them all, you are your own sight" are showing that you shouldn't care what people think and I think that attitude is shared amongst most people that listen to this genre of music.

Following the conventions, there is hardly any use of special effects, apart from the computer generated balloon floats. The end sequence is shots of the band destroying the carnival float. I think bashing or messing something up is an iconic thing for this genre. For example, you normally hear or see Rockstars bashing their guitars against a wall or how they have totally obliterated a hotel room. Therefore I think it fits in perfectly them doing the same to a float.