‘Inner City Life’ by house and garage/ funky house music artist Goldie describes the harsh reality of growing up in an inner city area. It establishes the struggles and emotional ups and downs faced by those living in an environment they feel imprisoned in as the lyrics support ‘living free, I long to feel’ suggesting the area is an unpleasant solace to live. The lead female singer captures the mood of the female character within the video who struggles to pay the bills and support two children whilst seems to be displaying symptoms of depression.

The high angle wide shot of the high rise buildings establishes the environment of the council estate as dangerous and uninviting. the mid –close up of the main singer in a performance shot conveys the messages in the video as everything she sings about is neatly expressed by the actors . The Mise-en-scene of the women and children in a cramped ,dingy flat representing the working class suggests the song is a reflection of the mood and tone of the video appealing to those who may life in high rise housing projects .the shopping trolley falling off the top of one of the balconies in the estate is use to disorientate the audience in a canted shot . The aggression of the trolley falling would startle members of the audience as well as creating a sense of chaos and anger, which may reflect the attitude of some residence living on the estate that would prefer to live elsewhere. The idea of chaos is also represented ina a hand-held camera shot in a rave scene, the circulatory movement of the camera filming the residence (mainly men ) ‘raving’ as if there’s a build up of pressure linking to the song as she states ‘inner city pressure’.

The Mise –en-scene helps create the rugged effect of the urban lifestyle and portrays a message of the harsh reality of the working class urban lifestyle. Marxist would argue that the messages evident in the text are realistic lifestyle. Marxist would also argue the messages are positive as the children are happy, however negative as the stereotypical single mother living in a high rise looks miserable as she struggles to pay bills and ‘make ends meet’.

The text seems to maintain hegemonic controls as the residence of the urban area are black which is a stereotypical representation of black people nowadays is. Unchallenged by the masses the video also shows a BMW convertible with a black male in the driver’s seat who seems to be a representation of a common drug dealer. This hegemonic control is an acceptance of the societies expectations a.k.a. the ‘status-quo’. The text also challenges hegemonic control as the children in single-parent homes are usually miserable but the mother seems like a good mother to her innocent children, there are suggestions of her prostituting herself in a birds-eye view of her and a man on a bed in there underwear, reinforcing the difficulty of women having to juggle work and family life in urban areas. The rave scene shows mostly black men in a smoke-filled room –signifying the use of cannabis which is a common stereotype associated with black young males as a cultural habit. The absents of women in the rave scene breaks out of the stereotype of men going to raves to woo women as in the video it is represented more as a form of escapism from the hardship of inner city life. Because of the urban setting and black casting crew the videos target audience seems to point towards those from the ethnic minorities in society as well as appealing to those who enjoy urban house and garage upbeat music. Audience gratifications are evident in the video as the urban setting may appeal to those of the working class status as they can identify with the environment and the need to feel free from its restrictiveness. The upbeat tempo relates to those who enjoy the funky house music scene usually those in their late teens early 20’s. the artist and main singer both being mixed race can therefore appeal to both genders and appeal to people from ethnic minority backgrounds.