'Afrika shox' by Leftfield is an integrated genre of music, in other words, you can't put one label of genre on it. You could define it as Dance/Electronic/Progressive house. The Dance music aspect of it could be re-enforced by its connection to the slave trade, also the main character in it, moves in a choreographed way within the video. This could be because the director wanted to the two aspects together, slavery and dance. Different styles of dance originated from slavery, like the limbo dance, which can be inter-textually referenced to the poem 'Limbo', written by Edward Braithwaite. "and the music is saving me...knees spread wide...and the dark deck is slavery"
The first quote "and the music is saving me" is a reference to this music video because you could link the fact that the slaves smuggled tiny drums or small instruments on board to play when not being 'used'.
The second quote "knees spread wide" means that the area the slaves had to live in was tiny, cramped and inhumane, but this is where the limbo dance was invented. Perhaps this is where the director wanted the character's background to be like to create such a contrast between the life in NYC and the character's reactions to it all.
The third quote "and the dark deck is slavery" is self explanatory. The 'dark deck' could be NYC and it is driving the man to madness.
As well as the inter-textual reference, the video is highly representative of many things, including Racism, political issues, slavery and a dystopia.
The first shot is of a high-rise building, the shot is panning-down from the top of the building down to ground level, this could represent the character's status in the hierarchy, it is implying that he is at the bottom of the heap, and the least priority. In society today, it is usually those who are most insignificant that are
invisible to the public eye. However in reference to slavery which is what the man is representing, the slaves would be the 'lesser person' or maybe not be seen as a person at all. So again this links to his status in society as a citizen and representing a slave.
The mse-en-scene is an urban area, very different to what he may be used to - rural landscape maybe not even in the US. Lighting is Noir and saturation is low, possibly showing the bleak reality and how everyone is the same, there is no colour or difference anymore.
The second shot is of a police car roaming the streets for crime. This can represent the pressure on the people to do 'the right thing' and not to 'step out of line' to fight for what they believe in. The police car also represents the constraints and rules that lay on society, looking at this in greater detail, in times of slavery, it could be the buyers of the slaves that the police car represents, one who 'owns' the slaves is the one to be afraid of. In the video, the car move out of the police cars way, showing that they are important and you need to respect them.
The third important shot is of the man rising out from the shadows with his own strength and standing up into the light. Almost like in the 'Limbo' poem when Braithwaite describes the slaves getting off the ship and about to enter a whole new world. "hot slow step on the burning ground". He is becoming a part of a world which he has never been in before. This can be linked to immigrants from other cultures in society who move to find a better life but are stunned by the harsh reality which is modern society. The mise-en-scene is in a small alleyway, te brick wall maybe representing his support, but will have to cast off from his life line. The lighting is chiaroscuro and is coming from a natural spotlight of daylight, possibly representing his way out of his rut.
The next representative shot is one of the character crossing the road, the way he carries himself/walks is unsteady and wonky, like he is unbalanced and hasn't been on his feet/stood up properly for a long time. This could link in with the slaves boarding off the ship having not stood up properly for many months, their muscles would have weakened, they would be very thin and unbalanced. Society back then took no pity on those people, felt no sympathy and left them to deal with it them selves when they could have used some assistance, again highlighting the harsh reality of society. The streets (mise-en-scene) are urban, cars and people surround the character, representing that society is closing in on him and he is the odd one out. The lighting is ambient and the saturation of the shots is low.
Shot 5 I have picked up on is the tracking shot of the man crossing the road, his legs are like twigs, so fragile and look like they are about to snap, much like the slaves legs would have been after months of neglect and no exercise.
The next shot/s included are two that work only together, without one another they would not have such a strong meaning. There is a shot of the man falling over on the pavement and looking around maybe for some help. The shot then cuts to a shot of a flashing sign saying 'walk', like it is dictating to the man what to do. An object is giving a human being orders. Something is not right. This shot raises anger and is frustrating. A human with natural faults is sad, but this is even more saddening because in time of slavery neglect and lack of space would have led to this and this is the fault of the dictating humans. However the character appears to not be affected by this stumble and neither does anybody else around him, keeping themselves to themselves and not caring about others around them.
This shot of the man exhibits him showing interest in the character, however he makes no attempt to assist the man whatsoever. The expression on his face appears to be 'disgusted' by the man, and possibly that he is a disgrace to that society of Aryan people. One thing changes that man and it is the colour of his skin. And that shouldn't change anything at all.
While the man watches the white dancers, he looks distressed and confused, maybe to the fact that some dancing originated from the slave trade. He may feel like the white people have ripped dancing away from his culture and their traditions. Like the white people are trying to control everything he does. The mise-en-scene of this shot is basic, however expensive cars expressing the wealth of the people can be intimidating to those who do not have much. There is little lighting, what is there is probably non-ambient, excluding the lights running along the ceiling, much like prison bars to subtly highlight his confinement.
The last and probably most memorable shot is of another coloured man in modernized yet traditional tribe 'uniform' or accessories. He is the only person who realises the man needs help. After the character has fallen on the floor, it cuts to a low angle point of view shot of the man in his recognisable (to the character) attire. To this man he must seem like an angel. This shot exposes that there are few people in society that will be willing to help, it may also appear a little intimidating as the man is leaning over him with a kind of stick. This could mean that he is in charge of the white people and he has flipped apartheid on its head. There is a spotlight just out of shot, but near enough for you to be able to see it.
Referring to Andrew Goodwin's music video analysis, "There is often inter-textual reference"and there is of course, inter-textual references, not necessarily to a video but to 'Limbo' as stated earlier, there is a very strong connection between that poem and this video.
Another link could be "There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals" There are aspects of this as well. "Africa... cities of angels... some say the year 2000 has been here since yesterday" 'Africa' is shown through the character and the colour of his skin, it is almost a cultural signifier. 'cities of angels' is said just before the 'angelic man' helps the man up which links as Goodwin's theory states. 'some say the year 2000 has been here since yesterday' This could be referring to the fact that slave trade was a very long time ago but it is still here today.
