Music video analysis : 'Janie's Got A Gun' by Aerosmith

'Janie's got a gun' was released by Aerosmith in 1989 and was written by frontman Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton. The video was directed by noted film director David Fincher. The video follows a narrative of a young girl who shoots her father after he abuses her, whilst also having a performance aspect from the band. The video was groundbreaking at the time, featuring gruesome and realistic scenes of rape and incest; two topics that were never spoke about in a music video before. The video went on to win two MTV music video awards and has over 3 millions views on youtube. The first shot in the video is of a crime scene and a close up of police tape- immediately establishing the video's genre. 

The video conforms to the rock music characteristics, with edgy lyrics and shocking themes. Throughout the video the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics is constant, as stated in Andrew Goodwin's analysis (Dancing in the distraction factory,1992). The repetition of the lyric "Janie's got a gun" and the shots of a gun illustrate this, as well as the verse which repeats "Run away, run away from the pain" at 2:18 and 4:04 when we see slow motion shots of a girl running, which again illustrates the lyrics and visuals working together as well as symbolising the pain of the young girl. 

Another point of Goodwin's analysis that is featured is the relationship between the music and the visuals, seen at 0:50, 1:33 and 2:55 where the visuals change as the beat of the music does. This is effective in gaining cohesion and further explaining the narrative. As well as the narrative, we also see a performance by Aerosmith at different points throughout the video, including close ups of the band's frontman Steven Tyler. As stated by Goodwin this is essential in meeting the demands of the record label and creating a visual style for the artist. 

The mise-en-scene helps to amplify the strong narrative of the video. The two main colours used are black and white; symbolising the good and the evil. The contrast of these two colours juxtaposes the characters identities whilst also enhancing them. The only other colour used in the video is red which holds connotations of blood, sex and danger. The shots of possessions being smashed also form part of the mise-en-scene. The literal destruction of these items can be seen as a metaphor for how Janie has been destructed by what has happened to her. The use of flowers being destructed is also an effective motif for the destruction of her innocence. 


Gender representation plays a big role in this video. Both the lyrics and the visuals portray gender stereotypes but then go against them by flipping them around. At the beginning of the video men are presented as powerful, evil and villainous whilst women are presented as vulnerable victims. The shots of Janie writhing in bed are a clear example of this. The use of slow motion helps to convey the pain she is going through.This again follows Andrew Goodwin's analysis of music videos demonstrating the voyeuristic view of women, and also Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory, where she believes that film audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. This is amplified by the first shot we see of Janie; a birds eye view of her laying in a white bikini, showing how she is seen by men as an object. The white bikini also shows her innocence and purity. Janie's costume is shown again when we see her wearing a white shirt towards the end of the video, a sign of her desperately clinging to her innocence. A grey blanket is wrapped around her illustrating how her purity has forever been clouded/blackened by what her father has done. Fincher breaks up the gender stereotypes by eventually making the father a victim and giving Janie power. A zooming out shot of the fathers bullet wound and him lying helpless strengthen the change in characteristics, as well as Janie finally gaining power over her father (a child overpowering a parent).