Analysing the Media

Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me (ft. Big Sean)

As much as I want Justin Bieber to fight for my love and the approval of my father-figure, this video is not a realistic view of the world. Although this isn't a realistic view on the world, this is one of Justin's most realistic videos. With the opening and closing sequences, I get the vibe that the director of this video wanted fans to connect with it on an emotional level. This video certainly fits the meaning of the song, which basically is: no matter what challenges Justin and his love interest face, he will always want to be with her. With how the video so strongly connects to the song, it also connects with the fanbase. I mean, it's every girl's dream to have Justin running down a train station hallway on his way to steal you from your overly-protective father that just doesn't understand how in love you are. In today's pop culture with songs mostly being written about heartbreak or love, this video certainly fits the criteria. Not only does the song itself give you a mental image of a handsome lad loving you through all of the bad times in your life, the video gives you the actual visual (which makes it even more perfect).

The stereotype displayed in this video is that overprotective parents have a hard time trusting their kids. This is shown in the beginning of the video when Justin went to the video girl, Chanel Celaya's house and was turned down when asking for approval from her father. He was told that her father knew guys like Justin and that he didn't want his little girl to get hurt.

In the song, however, the stereotype is that true love is worth fighting for. During Big Sean's verse he says:

So I know we got issues baby true

But I'd rather work on this with you

Than to go ahead and start with someone new

By saying this he knows that his relationship will go through it's struggles, but in the end it's worth working out because he is so in-love with whomever he's singing about.

The values that this video is expressing is that love hurts emotionally and physically. Emotionally with Chanel being distressed that her father won't allow her to see her beau; and physically with Chanel's father beating up Justin at the end of the video because he tried to run away with his daughter.

The lifestyle choices that this video portrays are the rich (Chanel and her father) and the poor (Justin). You can tell Chanel and her father are rich from the opening sequence. They live in a big beautiful home, with a lovely yard, and gates guarding the front of the entrance. You can tell Justin's lifestyle is poor because he's not calling his love from his cellphone or from his house phone, he's calling from a pay phone. Although he drives to the girl in a nice car, in one scene he was carrying a duffle bag. Probably holding his belongings. I can see his parents kicking him out of the house for being troublesome or him rebelling against his parents and moving out.

In this video the two groups of people shown are adults and teenagers. The adult in this video is wealthier than the teenagers; he also has a lot more power. He is seen as an intimidation and as a threat to his daughter's love-life. The teenagers are seen as hopeless romantics. They both want to be together because they believe that they're in love. They're also seen as rebellious. Ignoring the implied consequences, Justin and Chanel disobey Chanel's father by running away together. No matter what happens, they still try to be together.

This is an effective way to sell the song, as it is giving a visual to every teenage girl's fantasy of being with Justin Bieber. Seeing the music video will put an image in to their head, thus giving the viewer something to think about while they're listening to the song on their iPod or on the radio.

The target audience of this song is 14 - 18. It appeals to this audience because when you're in your early teen years, all you want is for that perfect guy to sweep you off your feet and to fight for your love. When you're in your late teen years, you want to find Mr. Right that will stay with you throughout the ups and downs of your relationship.

Overall this is a good music video because of how it fully displays the meaning of the song. Giving the listeners a visual that is so complex to the song that it ties it together. It makes the viewer feel an assortment of emotions, that can range from pure happiness to anger and frustration. It is also a good music video because from the dialogue and the scenery, it is shot like as if it was a short film.

                  Chanel Celaya                                                          Justin Bieber