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Katrina Tynan

English Composition 2

Professor Cassel

21 June 2020

You’re my Venus

The song Venus is not about the planet. Interestingly, it is sung about a woman being a

goddess. The song itself has two separate music videos for the same song. The videos show two

separate meanings even though they are both singing practically the same lyrics. That is crazy

right? You are probably wondering how that is possible. Here is why, the two videos are sung

by two different groups of people as well as they have two completely different types of music

videos. Both are similar and different in many ways, but to see that each video needs to be seen

and talked about.

The first group of artists are called Bananarama. Bananarama is a group of three white

girls with some rather interesting haircuts dressed in all black kind of like a rock band, which is

shown at (“Venus” 00:06). In “Venus” by Bananarama, the way they portray Venus herself she

is considered someone who makes men fall for her like it is a trap. The artists believe that she is

like fire and is toxic to the men that she encounters and lures. Venus is considered big and bad

and is in total control. The audience in this video is meant for young women who want to feel

empowered or are and do not have the control over men like they hope. Some key things that are

noticeable are that Goddess Venus was dressed in a wide range of costumes. Some of them were

the devil (01:19), goddess (00:31), and a vampire (00:38). Another thing that is noticeable is

with each costume change came a different scenario such as fire, a coffin, Venus on a hilltop and

so on.
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The second group of artists is called Shocking Blue. Like Bananarama, the Shocking

Blue are also all white, but instead, they have three guys and one girl. Two of the men are

playing guitars; one is playing the drum kit while the woman is the main singer. They are all

rocking the long hair style kind of dressed a bit like hippies. Their outfits are seen at (“Venus”

00:06). In “Venus” by Shocking Blue, the artists look to perform their song in front of a group

of people. The guys that are playing the guitars look more like the acoustic kind and the woman

is seen holding a microphone that looks yellow. The guitarists and the singer are seen swaying

back and forth. They do add a range of vocal noises from the lead singer at (01:52) that is not in

the Bananarama version.

The way the groups perform the song is not the only thing that stands out. The tempo in

the Shocking Blue version is more of a laid back, peppier slower version compared to the

Bananarama version which is more of a dark rock fast tempo. Based on everything that was

included in the Bananarama, the audience is for young women of any race who want to feel

empowered or are and do not have the control over men like they hope for. Based on the things

that are shown throughout the Shocking Blue music video it is safe to say that the younger

population, before the age of 35, are most likely to be the viewers. It is also likely that because

the outfits match those of hippies that any skin color is acceptable viewers as well as the

economic class is probably those in the working class and lower. Christians believe in only one

God so the audience is most like polytheisms.

Both versions share the same lyrics except for that the Bananarama group adds another

verse, but they did share the same idea of Venus. Both versions use more of a pathos appeal,

trying to get the audience to move around in their seats. The lyrics “Goddess on the mountain

top; Burning like a silver flame; The summit of beauty and love; And Venus was her name”
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(“Venus” 00:21) at the very beginning of the song as well as at 02:19 from the Bananarama

which could be a sign that the artists want them to join in at that point, keep the song catchy.

Also, the Shocking Blue video does not repeat that verse in their video; it is only sung once, but

it does repeat “I’m your Venus” several times throughout the song. It is very clear that both

groups rewrote the music of the song a bit differently and wanted different outcomes.

Although not everything is the same the two groups did have the same general idea on

how they wanted it viewed and remembered. Digging into the music video a bit really helped

get an understanding of what the artists wanted the viewers to use as a takeaway. They did have

two different styles, but in the end, it worked out well for the groups. Looking at the comments

it is easy to see that they have a lot of fans of the video. Some like the newer version and some

like the older version, it all depends on the style that each individual likes.
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Works Cited

Bananarama. “Venus.” True Confessions, London Recordings, 1986. Youtube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4-1ASpdT1Y

Shocking Blue. “Venus.” Venus, Music Videos. Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=aPEhQugz-Ew