Essay

Essay on music video ‘Ooh La’ by The Kooks

The song was released in 2006 and was included in the bands’ debut album. In the UK chart the single reached number twenty. The band feature heavily throughout the video as they portray a star image of young, rough cut men who attract young females and young males who aspire to be like them. In several of the scenes including ones in Paris guitars are shown and played to highlight the bands musical ability.

There are several sequences of camera shots which begin as close ups then transform to medium close ups and end as a mid long shot which shows the importance of the singer and reveals that he is in a large grassy area in front of the Eiffel Tower. This shot agrees with Goodwin’s theory that there is a connection between the visuals and the lyrics as the lyrics at that point say “The world can be a very big place, so be yourself don't get out of place” as the singer looks out of place. This reoccurs throughout the video as the female is shown looking interested when the lyrics “Go to Hollywood and pay the price” are sung which suggests to the viewers that that is what she wants to do and there may be a negative outcome.

The narrative shows a petty woman choosing a life in Hollywood and being a star over her current life with the man whom she is supposed to love. There is a connection between the lyrics and the narrative (as suggested by Goodwin’s theory) when it says “go to Hollywood and pay the price… don’t be a star, it’s such a drag” which acts as a warning towards the woman. It has been debated that the woman featured in the song is singer Katie Melua as around the time of the song release the lead singer of the band had just been dumped by her so is therefore holding resentment towards her for becoming famous and leaving him. However, it is unclear as to if she lives or dies but it is suggested by the sudden serious turn in the performance that the woman either dies or moves on and is therefore dead to him. It is left unclear because this makes the audience more interested and are left wondering about the lyrical meaning.

The editing is in time with the music and shows the viewers that they are definitely in France by the show host at the beginning, the closing credits and additionally the Eiffel Tower and berets. The edits are mostly straight cuts with a few blurry screens turning into clear shots also. The filming at points is done via handheld camera in order to create a homemade image and suggest that the artists are not stars but in fact just young men making a video. There are very few props within the video which suggests they wanted it to appear more natural and mainly featuring themselves.

There is voyeurism in the video because the band contains four good looking young men who enjoy being part of a young act. The video additionally includes a pretty woman who appears to be dating Luke Pritchard who is the lead singer and guitarist. They seem to be having a carefree time by running around Paris, stealing ice cream signs and riding bicycles hence inviting the viewers to want to be similar to them.