Analysis of Marina and the Diamonds- Oh No.

In this video there is a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. When the singer, Marina Diamandis, sings “don't need love” and a cartoon graphic of a heart appears on the screen and when she sings “I'm only after success”, there is again a cartoon graphic of money and a look of determination on the singers face. This continues throughout the video, with graphics appearing to accompany the lyrics, amplifying their meaning. The visuals in this video do however remind us that the lyrics are meant to be taken as ironic and 'tounge-in-cheek'. She does not actually believe what she is saying and the fact the cartoons reminds us that what she is saying is suppose to be taken as a joke although she is trying to get a message across. As well as the cartoons that appear in the video there is also an obvious relationship between music and lyrics, especially in terms on money in the video. Throughout the video she holds piles of cash, is wearing a dress that is designed to look like a dollar whilst laying on a bed surrounded by money. These shots emphasise how the desire for her to succeed, and for her success means having money.

There is also a relationship between the music and the visuals. This song is a pop song and therefore as you would expect in a pop video there is lots of bright colours, a dance routine and an emphasise on the lead singer. The dance routine also ties in with the fact that this is an upbeat song.

In order to maintain 'star-texts' there is often the demand from the record company to have a number of close ups of the artist or vocalist. This is also the case in this video where throughout the video there is a number of close ups of Marina. These shots remind us of the emphasise there is on how videos are used to sell the music and the artist as a package. One thing this video doesn't do, which is often the case with music females in music videos, there is not a sense of voyeurism, throughout the video she is very aware that she is being watched and is therefore performing to the cameras. Although the record company is playing on the lead singers looks and are using female dancers in short dresses, the voyeurism is lost because these women know what is going on and are acting up to it, which is something that also ties in with lyrics as it is clear that she wants to be noticed because of what she is singing about.

This video is similar to other Marina and the Diamonds videos, as her music videos tend to be colourful and bright, particularly her single 'Hollywood'. The use of close ups is also something used in her other videos, with shots of her nails also becoming recoccuring. She is also becoming synonymous with having this look that involves her wearing bright, quirky dresses, which she carries over into her videos. The look of 'Oh No' is not a one off for Marina and the Diamonds, but it is instead an image that is being built around her, her music and her videos. She does also have this appeal of being a bit like a cartoon character with the clothes she wears, which is being referenced with the graphics. (Shots from 'Hollywood' on left)

There are many other intertextual references in this video. The main one is the link between the cartoon graphics and work by artists such as Roy Lichenstein and Andy Warhol (on right), again something helping build on this image of her being like a cartoon character(on left).