Amy Winehouse-Love Is A Losing Game

Released from album Back To Black, in Dec 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfC6CCtZjxk

What Is It About?

• This song is about pain as a consequence for having loved someone. Here the artist compares love to a game, one that can’t be won and the odds are stacked against her and her lover. She is speaking directly to her lover of her regret ‘while I wish I never played’ –meaning that she wishes she had never fallen in love. She also goes on to say that even though she was devoted to him- ‘for you I was a flame’ –he was willing to gamble their love- ‘know you’re a gambling man’- and as a result their relationship and love fell apart. Yet she does not completely blame him and suggests she is equally to blame- ‘what a mess we made’. There is also mention of her being tortured by memories of him and their time together- ‘memories mar my mind’.

What Type of Video?

• The video is a performance and non-conventional narrative, as instead of telling a story the images shown are back stage footage and almost create a documentary style compilation.

• The video is contradictory to the lyrics in many ways –the video is predominantly performance and therefore the message of losing her love and suffering as a result Goodwin’s theory of illustration and amplification are not directly shown during the video.

• At moments the theme of love is explored, showing a slight relation between the lyrics and on screen action. Love is the focus of the lyrics and at several moments during the video we are shown back stage footage of the artist and a man who, due to media coverage, we know to be her husband. This shows correlation between the lyrics and visuals, although the footage shown does not suggest love lost as we often see the two kissing or physically close to one another.

• There is a repetition of visuals of whichthe eyes of the artist are the focus. Byusing such footage, emotion is provoked from audiences as there is the suggestionthat we are seeing into the soul of the artist. Somethingthat will be appealing for audiences as they will feel as though they can relate with her and share her pain and emotion.

• Also interestingly an emphasis is placed repeatedly upon her wedding ring. This highlights the strength of their relationship, allowing audiences to understand that she has lost her other half and life partner and not just a boyfriend or lover. Coinciding with this is footage of the artist with a depressed or sorrowful expression. This will provoke empathetic feelings from the audience. There also may be a subliminal message that marriage is no longer valued in society and is the source of specific misery or pain.

Target Audience• The target audience for this video remains the same as the music

videos previously analyzed- young adults aged roughly between 14-25.

• This video will appeal to these audiences as, first of all, it is highly emotionally charged and the documentary style footage creates the illusion that we as an audience are given access into the private life of the artist who many fans and audience members will admire. This is attractive to audiences as they will feel involved and feel as though they can relate or sympathize with the artist.

• Also, the many performance scenes shown will catch the audiences attention, making the video appealing to them as the artist and their image- here one of sorrow and great mistreatment, while always, of course, maintaining her signature bee-hive look- are the focus of the video.