The Specials Ghost Town CSP

 Background and historical contexts

1) Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition?

It begins with six ascending notes from a Hammond organ and moves into a sombre flute solo before painting a gloomy aural and lyrical picture. Written in E, which is more in line with "mood music" and pays homage to music hall history and movie soundtracks, it expresses and fosters uneasiness.

2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s?

Mod and Punk subcultures.

3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981?

This rage, which Dammers expressed in "Ghost Town," inspired both what he had witnessed while touring the UK in 1981 and what was taking place within the band, which was split by internal conflicts. Away from rural Skinhead gatherings, riots were erupting throughout England's urban regions due to the recession. 

4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video?

Due to the fact that the young people in the movie are driving through deserted neighbourhoods and displaying the disadvantaged youth, it is a cry of injustice for young people who have been denied opportunity. 

5) Look at the final section (‘Not a dance track’). What does the writer suggest might be the meanings created in the video? Do you agree?

This film, in my opinion, aimed to emphasise the difficulties of being a young person in Britain at the time without a job or a purpose.

1) How does the article describe the song?

It begins with those hazy, lurching organ chords and a siren. Then the eerie, haunting woodwind enters, interrupted by blasting brass. A West Indian singer murmurs warnings of urban deterioration, unemployment, and violence over a sparse reggae bass beat. 

2) What does the article say about the social context of the time – what was happening in Britain in 1981?

The city was suffering due to the fall of industry, increased unemployment, rioting on British streets, a difficult economic climate, and Thatcher's dictatorship over Britain.

3) How did The Specials reflect an increasingly multicultural Britain?

There is a clear mix of white and black members in the band making it multi cultral.

4) How can we link Paul Gilroy’s theories to The Specials and Ghost Town?

That the video and band is racially and socially diverse.

5) The article discusses how the song sounds like a John Barry composition. Why was John Barry a famous composer and what films did he work on?

Englishman John Barry Prendergast, OBE, was a composer and conductor of motion picture music. In addition to arranging and performing the "James Bond Theme" for the first movie in the series, Dr. No, in 1962, he wrote the soundtracks for eleven James Bond films between 1963 and 1987.

Ghost Town - Media Factsheet

1) Focus on the Media Language section. What does the factsheet suggest regarding the mise-en-scene in the video? 

The mise-en-scene of the Ghost Town video uses the style of British social realist films. This genre is characterised by sympathetic representations of working-class men, the highlighting of bleak environments and a sense of hopelessness.

2) How does the lighting create intertextual references? What else is notable about the lighting?

The lighting makes intertextual references to cinema. The way the lighting makes use of natural sources, There is a mixture of day and night, and light and dark.

3) What non-verbal codes help to communicate meanings in the video?

The dress code represents working class males; the faceless and the direct way of address are zombie-like these get relaxed in the panicked section. 

4) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the editing and camerawork? Pick out three key points that are highlighted here.

Editing is used to control the pace of the video and camerawork distorts our sense of day and night. One scene is cut like an action sequence of a car chase. Both its style and short shot duration give a frenetic feel. This is reinforced by handheld, disorienting camerawork with whip pans and canted angles.

5) What narrative theories can be applied to the video?

Enigma code and Disruption.

6) How can we apply genre theory to the video?

This video fits into Steve Neal's repetition and difference theory.Through the performance aspect of music videos, the recurrence would be demonstrated. The band The Specials performs the song while lip-syncing in the music video. 

7) Now look at the Representations section. What are the different people, places and groups that are represented in the Ghost Town video? Look for the list on page 4 of the factsheet.

• The City
• Urban Youth
• Race
• Masculinity

8) How can Gauntlett's work on collective identity be applied to the video?

Demonstrates the persistent struggle with male identity, the appropriation of tasks traditionally performed by men, and the escalating economic challenges.

9) How can gender theorists such as Judith Butler be applied to Ghost Town?

According to Bulter, gender is defined more by behaviour than by sex. In this film, there isn't a single female, demonstrating the issue's strong male dominance.

10) Postcolonial theorists like Paul Gilroy can help us to understand the meanings in the Ghost Town music video. What does the factsheet suggest regarding this?

This film illustrates double consciousness because it features a black minority in a white dominated field demonstrating how they are also a part of it. The band's diversity demonstrates how different genres and representations are both together, as well as how the representation of white influence affected the black people and groups.