Classical Pop/Dance analysis: The Name Game

The Name Game (1964) - Shirley Ellis

The black and white filter is intrinsic to theme of the video. As the video was filmed in 1964, coloured videos were short in abundance. Therefore, a grey scale demeanour is an expected convention of this genre. Since Shirley Ellis is the star of the video, the camera mainly focuses on her. Her costume consists of a dress & since she is the only female wearing a dress it makes her stand out; drawing the attention to her & making her centre stage. Due to the grey scale, the lighting is artificial & has a constant level of brightness throughout the video 

The video features a group of dancers executing dated dance moves. At this time, there was a clear divide in the racial segregation between black & white people. Because of this everybody except Shirley are white as white people were substantially more prominent in the media due to the discrimination against the black community. Therefore, 

Furthermore, as this is a relatively old music video, it follows the expected convention of the the song writer in one costume, in one location, performing to a crowd/audience. This aspect is prominent throughout the earlier development of music videos in the 1960s.

The lyrics of the song creates playful rhymes of the following people's name in chronological order:

1. "Shirley" (Main vocals/ song writer/ performer)
2. "Lincoln" (Co-song writer)
3. "Arnold"
4. "Bob"
5. "Fred"
6. "Mary"
7. "Tony"
8. "Philly"
9. "Marcia"
10. "Nick"

American Horror Story: Asylum rendition of "The Name Game" - Performed by Jessica Lange (2012)

American Horror Story: Asylum incorporated a scene in the series where Judy (Jessica Lange) performs "The Name Game". The modernised version takes a similar approach to the original version with 'horror' aspects within it such as the location being within an Asylum.

Similar aspects are shared with the original video & American Horror Story's modern rendition. Much like Shirley, Judy is the sole person wearing a dress. The dress adds a sense of glamour to her appearance which makes her stand out amongst the crowd. Her glamorous aesthetics juxtapose the location of an insane Asylum. The lighting becomes increasingly brighter to foreshadow 

The lyrics of the song creates playful rhymes of the following people's name:

1. "Judy" (Main character/ performer) - Jessica Lange as Judy
2. "Lana" (Main character/ dancer) - Sarah Paulson as Lana 
3. "Pepper" (Side character/ dancer) - Naomi Grossman as Pepper
4. "Bob"
5. "Fred"
6. "Mary"
7. "Kit" (Main character/ dancer) - Evan Peters as Kit