Research: "Leftfield - Afrika Shox" Analysis

Leftfield is a British electronic band formed in 1989 in London, England. From 1989 to 2012, Leftfield was a duo of artists and record producers that consisted of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (formerly of The Rivals, A Man Called Adam and the Brand New Heavies). In January 2010, Barnes resurrected the band name and having toured the world for a couple of years is now writing new material for a third album. Daley has declined to be involved and is focusing upon his solo career.
This is the music video for the song "Afrika Shox", the first single released from their album Rhythm and Stealth. The song featured vocals by Afrika Bambaataa. It was written by Neil Barnes, Paul Daley, Afrika Bambaataa and Nick Rapaccioli and produced by Leftfield and Nick Rapaccioli. It was released on CD and 12" on 6 September 1999 on the Hard Hands record label, published by Chrysalis Music. The song was their highest charting single, reaching #7 in the UK Singles Chart.(Source: Wikipedia)

Conventions of the dance/electronica genre are displayed instantly via the immediate shot of urban settings. This suggests the genre using cutural signifiers for New York, as dance/electronica was founded in urban America. The grey block-like buildings also connote the "warehouse party scene" of the late 1980s, which popularised the genre. The fact that the buildings shown are the twin towers adds an extra layer to the meaning of the video for a modern audience, due to the terrorist attacks that occurred in 2001.

The flashing lights of the police car reflect the lighting of the rave/clubbing scene in which dance/electronica music is most commonly played in modern day. However, a contrast is created due to the rave scene being based on freedom and the police car suggesting oppression and a chaotic society. Politics are clearly important to this band, as the band's name 'Leftfield' suggests that they are part of the left wing party. This is reflected in the way they represent New York as a dystopia and the themes found within the narrative, suggesting that they believe racism and inequality are still apparent in the USA.

The main character is shown as isolated and broken off from the rest of society, mainly through the camera focus being on the main character and the surroundings and other people being out of focus. This continues the theme of racism and inequality as all the other characters in the video are white. There is a sense within the video that the character is similar to an animal, for example when he is first shown, he emerges from the shadows of an alleyway. This connotes the way in which black people were, and in some cases still are, treated like animals in the USA. The way that the character is stumbling around the city and his facial expressions of confusion give the impression that he is alienated, amplified as his stumbled, jittery movements look inhuman.

The white characters within this video react to the main character in a highly negative manner, looking at him with expressions of disgust and hatred. The white characters clearly see themselves as higher in the ranking of society. For example, a middle aged white man looks up from his newspaper when the main character is calling out for help, however has no expression of empathy or concern, but a look of annoyance.

This theme is entirely turned around at the end of this video. As the main character stumbles into an underground car park, he comes across a group of white males break-dancing. As this form of dance originated within black culture, it creates irony in that the video has constructed a view of white people being racist against the black main character, and yet then shows white people engaging in activities that originate from black culture. This could also suggest that the white people are ignorant, as they hold negative feelings towards the man and yet still incorporate aspects of his culture into their own lives, almost without noticing.