Robyn Electro-Pop Conventions Analysis

“Dancing On My Own”
GC1: Lyrics and Visual Narrative
• The video is performance, and narrative
• The two main scenes of the video are a
performance stage and a club
• The singer keeps a distinct look and has some
variation in clothing
• The scenes are in industrial settings which does
not anchor a specific location and makes it
more available to the mainstream
• Narratively, it is extremely elliptical
(Vernallis), with no narrative structure
(Todorov) denoted
GC2: Genre Characteristics
• The genre of the song is electro-pop
• The video is unconventional as it is dark,
and limited scenically and narratively
• The use of an artificial studio mise-en-
scene is conventional as it is a low-
budget option, and so is the club location
• There are flashing lights and dramatic
colour tint
• The editing is fast-paced to match the
beat
• There are dark lyrics with upbeat
movements
GC3: Intertextuality
• There is postmodernism through the elliptical
and Postmodernism and non-linear narrative (Vernallis)
GC4: Representations
• The music video depicts a young woman as the
star and allows for the primary target audience
of females ages 13-25+ to personally identify
(UGT) with the artist
• The artist does not adhere to Butler’s notions of
gender performativity, as she has a pixie cut that
can be deemed as masculine, and queers the
presentation of the artist
• The singer is conventionally attractive and appeals
to the male gaze (Mulvey) through revealing shots
and costume but shows agency (Paglia)
• There is a large emphasis on the club scene which
appeals to a younger audience as it is aspirational,
and relatable to an older one
• The artist is the Proppian protagonist of the
narrative, and no other cast is seen which removes
a wider appeal
 • The colouring is bright and neon for colour-pop
GC5: • There is high-key and low-key lighting
Cinematography • The editing matches the tempo of the song, and there
is a glitch/reverb effect on the artists movements
and Editing • There is shaky editing (Barthes, action codes), and a
large variation from ELS to ECU to make the video
dynamic
Notable Marketing
• Promoted on various high profile series post-release
• Famously covered by Calum Scott in 2015
• In 2020 it went viral on TikTok due to a dance created by the artist
Notable Shots
Possible Influences
• Use of colour-pop and neon
• Performance based
• Limited but contrasting locations
• The use of a single protagonist