Dizzee Rascal's Dream

 Narrative:

- Dizzie's rise to success (autobiographical)

- genre: pop/grime, hip hop 

- personal journey represented 

- indicated the difference between white middle-class Britain and young multi-cultural Britain 

Technical codes:

Props:

- The video starts off with soft toy colours like baby blue, light green, baby pink etc.. suggests that the narrative and the video itself will be playful and Happy- a strong contrast from the stereotypes and true narrative of the video. hoodies are shown 

- The puppets presented in the video further exaggerates the positive and happy narrative, mocking the genre of grime by undermining what it truly represents. The puppets being quite small compared to the woman ( as well as Dizzie) suggests that they have less importance compared to the older 'sensible' white woman that is controlling Dizzie's box. 

Setting:

- The puppets (as well as Dizzie) being controlled by the older white woman show status is presented in the video, conveying that people of colour are being controlled and manipulated by upper-class middle-aged people even if they're given the slightest bit of freedom.

- the iconography present is the graffiti on the store- representing that the puppets are those from poorer backgrounds. 

Lighting and codes:

- washed, dull colours, along with soft pastel colours - showing a clear contrast from the genre of the video and the atmosphere followed from dizzies and the puppets.

Representation:

an old woman is shown to be a reference from old kids show from the 1950s referred to as the 'muffin and the mule- indicating that the old woman is portraying the older generation of British people and their presence. as the woman is playing her piano, ushering dizzie to come out of his box- indicates that she is of a higher class, and her confusion towards Dizzie's style of music shows the difference between the older gen of Britain and the younger more multicultural gen

In Dizzee rascal’s dream, the main narrative and message of the song are shown through numerous techniques and elements, such as lighting, sound, props, costume etc.. for example, at the beginning of the video, soft pastel/neutral colours are introduced, such as baby pink, baby blue, light green etc.. completely throwing off the viewers from the true narrative of the video by making it seem that the soft toyish colours represent a much happier and playful narrative- the video itself clearly shown to be an intertextual reference to a 1950s children’s show called the muffin and the mule- as an old white woman is being shown sitting by a piano with a confident stature and soft smile being a reference to the woman in TMATM, which adds to the happy atmosphere of the video to deter the viewers from the true narrative. A strong contrast is created as the puppets and Dizzee’s introduced, with grime music, racist/offensive stereotypes. Props and costume (such as hoodies, baggy jeans- differing from the woman’s neat and plain clothing)

one prominent technique which stresses the main narrative to the viewers is the use of puppets throughout the video during Dizzee’s appearance. These puppets clearly show racist/offensive stereotypes of certain groups in Britain with the puppets consisting of stereotypical black men shown as thugs and thieves listening to loud rap music as well as hanging around with other foul individuals as well and the Irish men stereotype perceiving them to be drunk, foul-mouthed and publicly indecent. This technique strongly hints the narrative as Dizzee raps about his rise to fame as well as addressing the differences between young multicultural Britain and white middle-class Britain. To further emphasise the main message, not only do the puppets represent the young multicultural side of Britain in white middle class’s eyes but also the puppets themselves exaggerate the positive and happy narrative of the video-  distinctly mocking the genre of grime present in the video by diminishing what it truly represents as the puppet’s happy nature clashes with the music. Along with this, the puppets and Dizzee being small represents the idea of how the multicultural side of Britain is quite insignificant and has less importance compared to white middle-class Britain being represented as the old white woman in the video who’s controlling Dizzee’s box- further accentuating the induction of how different young multicultural Britain and white middle-class Britain is through the main narrative of Dizzee’s rise

to fame.

As well as this, the representation of age, gender class and ethnicity is stressed upon in the video as it links together with the true narrative- the true narrative being Dizzee’s rise to success and how both the representation of white middle-class Britain differs with young multicultural Britain, creating a clear contrast shown. Going back to the idea of the muffin and the mule reference, and how in the 1950s, discrimination towards POC and black people was quite high as well as in the 2000’s- indicating to the audience that throughout time, racism and discrimination towards groups of people have still been a major problem in Britain. This is reflected throughout the video itself, with one prominent example being the old white female sitting by the piano, acting as the narrator in the video- but in-depth seems like she’s controlling the puppets and Dizzee as she is much bigger than Dizzee in the setting making Dizzee seem less important and weaker- both people being representations of two sides of Britain, conveying the idea that white middle-class Britain reign and manipulate the people of colour, even if they are given the slightest bit of freedom. In addition to this, the setting hints a lot to the social classes of both people as the older white woman is seen to be in a decorated home with a piano (that was quite expensive during the 1950s) suggesting that she is part of the middle or higher class whereas the graffiti on the storefronts and the different settings that Dizzee is seen to be in represents that he is part of the lower working class, showing a clear contrast with both classes as the old woman’s body language and facial expressions indicate that she is uncomfortable with the circumstances Dizzee’s in but doesn’t get involved- suggesting to the audience the lack of empathy towards those who are black/POC working class from the white middle/higher class reflecting the migration spike in the 1950s as many white middle/higher class citizens received a culture shock from the POC and black people who had migrated to Britain- and the feelings about race. Furthermore, the washed and dull colours in the background and on the women’s clothes creates a contrast between Dizzee’s setting and clothes as the washed and dull colours represent innocence and happiness whereas the bright colours used in Dizzee’s setting and clothes such as his bright red hoodie connote the bizarre, wild and rebellious nature of the working class. Referring to the audience that the bright colours used in Dizzee’s setting and clothes, as well as the puppets and the multiple scenes of crime and violence being shown in the video, shows the stereotypical representations of young black men. In addition, the extent of power and freedom that Dizzee and the puppets have is very limited as the puppets strings represent how young black people often lack freedom and independence as they are tied down to the racist stereotypes that the white middle/higher class have pinned to them.

However, towards the end of Dizzee’s video, he and the puppets challenge many of the commonly known stereotypes towards young people, people of the working class and ethnicity as he’s shown to be dancing and with the other puppets (including the policeman) while rapping about his rise to success, motivating the viewers by becoming a role model that challenges/subverts these stereotypes nonetheless to become the successful person he is now. Notably, as he’s doing so- the woman next to the piano is shown to be nodding in approval as he’s motivating the audience, showing her support for Dizzee to the audience by encouraging Dizzee’s role model attitude. This video challenges quite prominent stereotypes towards black people by making the woman seem powerful compared to Dizzee but also kind and calm, in contrast to him and plays with the ideas of how black people are seen compared to how they act. The last key idea is shown in the last few scenes in the video suggesting to the audience that being part of the music industry has kept Dizzee safe from all of the stereotypes and racial violence signifying to the audience that music can help people join together as a community to overcome barriers such as race, age and class.