Christina Aguilera - Candyman music video research

Concept
This music video is set in the 1950's. Christina Aguilera is an entertainer for pilots. She is singing and dancing with a brass band, whilst there is an audience of men who look like they work for an air force who are admiring her. The brass band gives connotations of the type of bands that were around in the 50's and she is trying to create a 1950's image throughout the video.



Mise en scene
Location
The first location in the video looks like it is in a 1950's club, filled with men who are entertained by women. Christina Aguilera sings for these men and she also plays another character who is dancing with the men. The club represents the 50's style, as in this period of time, women entertainers would perform acts in these types of clubs for men such as pilots who were home.
The second location used in the video is in a 1950's diner. It is presented in the style of 'Grease' which is a very famous 1950's film. Christina Aguilera is accompanied by female dancers and male dancers in the background. The 'grease' style location gives connotations of the 50's which are what is trying to be portrayed in the video.
The third location is at an airbase, where she is dancing with men from an air force. There is an old fashioned airplane in the background in which they are dancing in front of. Again, the pilot image is being reinforced, but instead of performing for the men, Christina is performing with then men.


Costume
In the video, she wears 4 different outfits. The first is a white pilot outfit, with a pilot hat. Here, she looks very sexy and gives off connotations of sex. Christina is performing for these men however her image gives a feeling of sophistication and authority over the men as they are dressed in a brown pilot outfit. So although her costume is made to fit in with that of the pilot's, she is also made to stand out by being dressed in a brighter colour than them. Also, famous women of the 1950's were seen to be perfect. E.g. Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor. In this video, Christina is also made to look 'perfect' as she is wearing white which gives connotations of purity.
Her second outfit is a baby pink coloured v-neck sweater and short skirt. She wears frilly white socks and black high shoes. The pink colour sets her apart from the men and gives connotations of femininity and innocence. In this period of time, women did not often wear trousers, so her outfit emphasises the expectations for her gender at this time. Her frilly white socks and black shoes are what school girls stereo-typically wear. They connote innocence and femininity as well as being a sex symbol to the men.
The third outfit she wears is peddle pushers, a red shirt that's tied at the bottom which shows her mid-riff. This gives connotations of a sexual nature. She also wears a red scarf tied around her head. This was the fashion in the 1950's. The colour red gives connotations of sex and seduction. the female dancers that she is accompanied by are wearing the same style of costume but in slightly duller colours, which makes Christina stand out from the others and makes her look more sensual.
Her final outfit is supposed to represent a pilot outfit; however it has been designed to make her look more sexual that before as it consists of blue hot pants and a blue cropped top. Here, she is dancing with the men instead of performing for them. Her outfit is representing the male desire for her.


Make-up
Christina wears a typical Marilyn Monroe hair style throughout the video; a bleached blonde curly bob. This was a popular hairstyle in the 1950's. She wears bright red lipstick which gives connotations of sexual desire. She is made to look like a glamorous sex icon, admired by all of the men.


Props
In the shot of the diner, Christina Aguilera held a pink milkshake and so did her dancers. This is a typical item found in a 50's diner. The pink connotes femininity. There are many props in the diner such as the stools, which are used for the girls to dance on. Another prop used in this video is an airplane, which Christina and her male dancers dance in front of. This is showing that the dancers are pilots and the flag represents the military feeling that is trying to be portrayed in the video.

Actors
At one point in the music video, when she is singing to the men, there are 3 singers; however they are all Christina with different coloured hair. There are male dancers and a brass band in the background. There are also female dancers in the diner.

Music
There is a traditional brass band playing trombones and trumpets, which indicates the time period that the video is set in.