Christina Aguilera-Beautiful

Christina Aguilera's music video, "Beautiful" is a music video which consists of  very contraversial narratives, consisting of many sub plots. The visuals and the lyrics have a very powerful relationship as the lyrics are made to reassure those who are insecure about themselves that they are beautiful no matter what. The visuals imagery supports the lyrics in a very strong way.

The video begins with the artist herself directly speaking to the audience in a very shy way. She says "Don't look at me" and suddenly a harsh piano is heard and she begins to hum. The camera focuses on her facial expression with the use of an extreme close-up. The expression on her face suggests a significant sigh of relief as she hums.

The visual imagery of the dead flower creates a contradiction between the lyrics and the visuals, as some viewers may believe that is impossible to think that a
dead flower is beautiful. However, the artist is trying to say that everything has its own natural beauty and its just the question of you accepting this or not. The dark lighting within this shot illustrates the hidden beauty and individuality of this dead organism. The shot is effective as only a certain amount of the flower is shown in the shot which makes you feel mixed emotions about the organism. If the entire flower was displayed then I believe that the same emotion wouldnt be conveyed and no relation would be created with the lyrics and this particular shot.

This is a ver powerful shot within the video as it illustrates a very touchy topic within the world. A same-sex couple are portraying their love for one another in public and those who pass them begin to stare with a disgusted look on their face. The woman in the back of the couple stands over them suggesting that she believes she is the only one who is right.
She is aligned in the centre of both men suggesting that she is a disruption to the couples happiness. At this point of the video the artist talks about being ashamed, which creates a relationship with this shot as it creates emphasis on the time of the day that the shot is set. The fact that the couple is out in public at night suggests that they feel people are ashamed of them and they attempt to avoid any attention.

In this shot the artist is in a very dull and deserted room where she is sitting on the floor taking up a small amount of space as possible, suggesting that she  feels unnoticed and small. The high ceilings and spacious area almost overpowers her existence within   the setting. The lyrics match the visuals in this shot as at first the artist feels shes lonely and people are disapproving her in many ways judging by her body language. The lighting is dark and dull suggesting a very sad atmosphere within the entire video.

This close-up suggests that a girl has been physically abused and she feels that she cannot possibly have any hope of happiness or joy in her life. However, the lyrics contradicts the girls thoughts as it reassures her that she is beautiful no matter what. The shot is very intense and tense as it focuses on her scared expressions.

As the artist sings these lyrics, towards the end the characters begin to accept their insecurities and illnesses. The lighting changes the mood as the characters begin to smile, the light shines on them and the setting stays dark, we can interpret this as they are shining and standing out from the glum setting.

The dead flower earlier in the video suddenly is alive suggesting new light and gives a very positive mood to the end of the video as everyone is not ashamed and scared of other peoples thoughts of them. The close-up of the flower symbolizes that peace is restored.

The continuous cross-cutting within the video creates a very harsh atmosphere to the video as the picture is constantly changing to a different characters within the video. It shows a matter of self-image being portrayed in different ways and how people learn to accept their appearances. Although the video only consists of  basic shots, it sends a very powerful message out to the world with the different issues tackled within it.

The video can be said to be of the soul and soft rock genre as it consists of very strong vocals being used in a very subtle and soft way.

• A form of voyeurism is shown within the video as it includes those women being bullied in a violent manner.
• Many inter-textual references have been used when creating this video, as it involves many insecurities which can be seen within films and TV soaps. 
• The artist has developed a very strong star iconography which has become their personal star image due to specific and powerful close-ups within the video.
• The video is a hybrid video as it involves conceptual, performances and narratives. 

Lyrics

[Spoken]
Don't look at me

Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly, it's hard to breathe
Now and then, I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

To all your friends, you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The pieces gone, left the puzzle undone
Is that the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down
Don't you bring me down today...

No matter what we do
(no matter what we do)
No matter what we say
(no matter what we say)
We're the song inside the tune
Full of beautiful mistakes

And everywhere we go
(everywhere we go)
The sun will always shine
(sun will always shine)
And tomorrow we might wake on the other side
All the other times

We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down
Don't you bring me down today

Don't you bring me down today
Don't you bring me down today