Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Analysis

Camerawork

The slow tracking shots of the gym's audience move with the quieter parts of the song. Then as the pace increases into the chorus, we see shots of the drummer, guitarist and the crowd who are jumping manically. At the star of the verses, frontman Kurt Cobain sings directly to camera. This implies a connection with the audience and the message that he is putting across to them. The lyrics of the song are very hazy but generally deal with apathy among youths, and the music is menacing, rebellious and threatening. Kurt Cobain was often labelled as "the voice of a generation" and the choice of camera shot of him certainly links in with Dick Hebdige's theory of music video's techniques of attracting subcultures.

Richard Dyer's idea of a "star image" is indeed present within the video, and there is no doubt that lead singer Kurt Cobain is the star. Towards the end of the video at a slow point in the song, he is cast in almost complete shadow. He then emerges into harsh light, which casts itself on his face. This implies a level of almost religeous importance.

Editing

The editing of the video follows the beat of the song. It slows down as the verse do, then as the chorus builds, so does the speed of the editing. To start with there is approximately a shot every three seconds in the verse, then every second as the chorus arrives. Slow motion is also used for the shots with the audience. It gives these shots a slightly unreal atmosphere and shows the chaos and angry force of the song.


Mise-en-Scene

Lead singer, Kurt Cobain's clothes are very casual and normal and perhaps are meant to reflect his laid back attitude and every-man image. The smoke used in the video within the school gym makes the concert taking place look rather 'underground' and grimy. The crowd are a specific type of people, and are a lot different to a crowd that could be presented in a pop video. The theme that Nirvana are most famous for using is apathy within youths. This is most probably why the video is set in a school gym. Kurt Cobain's social commentary on youths makes this the perfect setting for the performance of the song. It is almost as if he is preaching in a place where he thinks it will have the maximum effect.