Textual Analysis Charli XCX Break the Rules

The video makes use of diegetic noise to establish the setting, this can be seen at the start of the video which features the sound of a school bell ringing this is accompanied by a bunch of school kids running down the corridor, this fits in with the theme of the song, which is about not attending school.

The start of the song has Charli and her friends in some sort of mock school uniform, walking towards the camera, trying to look cool, it then cuts to a shot of the same girls walking down the race track and then on school bus showing various different places all associated with school. The back of the bus also has Charli XCX spray painted on it. This all enforces the message of the song, basically saying they are supposedly rebels, not wanting to go to school just wanting to break the rules.

Whilst they are on the race track, the camera is in front of them, movie backwards and tracking the as they walk forward. During this it cuts to Charli standing on the bus in a completely different outfit, one that she might use on a night out rather than go to school in, this shows she is embracing the fact that they don't like school and she is ready to have fun. Just before they get on the bus, a close-up of one of the girl's arse is shown, this is tracked for about two seconds. This soon cuts to the friends on the bus, this includes various close-ups of Charli and her friends on the bus, showing how gleeful they are that they have finished school.

It then cuts to a long shot, showing the bus arrive at a shop called 'Trashy Lingerie' this reflects the vibe of the school girls because they appear pretty trashy, there is even a close-up of the sign, emphasising just how trashy this shop is. Once inside the shop, there is a mid-shot of the man behind the counter who's eyes follows the girls' arses as they walk past, this clearly shows the male gaze, as we are supposed to be attracted to these girls, even they're in school uniform they are being sexualised constantly throughout the video.

After this, the main scene is the prom, this cuts between various different shots including close-ups of Charli, to show how much fun she is having, mid-shots to show her interaction with other people and also long-shots to show the whole room. All of these shots emphasise the party vibe, showing how much fun Charli is having, that she is dancing with other people and also that the room is packed, this emphasises the fun that Charli is having, if we see her interacting with other people we can tell that she is actually enjoying herself. The end of the video cuts again to a long-shot of Charli walking away from the bus on top of the school bus again as this happens the screen fades to black showing the end of the video and that Charli is still just as lively as ever.

This video follows the basic design of a music video nowadays, sexualising women and supporting partying, what more could be wanted by the audience. The video is clearly made for teenagers and as such uses things they can relate to in the mise-en-scene such as the school bus, school uniform and the whole party scene, near the end of the video it even features some girls kissing, showing the strong sexuality amongst teenagers today.