Textual analysis of music video - Shakira "She Wolf"

At the beginning of the video there is a close up of Shakira's eyes as they open. She has pale skin and is wearing only mascara to define her eyes. The image looks as though she is just waking up, probably in the middle of the night.

The camera then changes to a medium shot of a window. The curtains in the window are flapping in the wind and a full moon has been framed in the centre of the window by both the curtains and the window itself which helps the audience to focus directly at the moon.

We then see the silouette of a woman walking towards the window, the only light used is the light of the moon which stands out in the background and makes the siloutte of the woman more in focus. As the woan walkes closer to the window the moon seems to get bigger, at rises to frame the womans head from the back. As these shots are going on, there is an eerie tone in the background and a distant werewolf cry. It then cuts to a close-up of her nails. They are presented on the side infront of the moon. Throughout this shot her nails grow into claws. They are presented red which shows the genre of horror. It then cuts to a medium close up of her black leather boots as she zips it up at the side.

The camera then cuts to a medium longshot of a white closet and the shadow of a womans silouette walking towards it. We then see a pair of shoes and the camera pans up her body as she walks into the closet. The boots show the start of the sexual genre presented throughout the video. The only sound we can hear are the sound made by her boots as she walks across the laminate floor. She walks through the middle of the closet with black garments hanging at either side on the rails. This makes Shakira stand out as she has pale skin and long blonde hair and the rest of her surroundings are dark.

As she walkes through a red curtain the camera cuts to a close up of the top half of her face through bars. The camera then cuts to her walking through a room with red cave style walls. The camera continues to cut between these two seens, but making their timings longer when she walks through the cave. She then starts dancing in a robotic way through the cave. Which also shows the sexual genre. The camera then cuts to Shakira in the middle of a cage, contorting her body as she sings the lyris of the song. The camera then repeats the same selection of scenes with Shakira dancing in a robotic way in the cave. And then cutting to the scene in the cage.

When the lyrics "standing across the bar" are sung, the camera cuts to a medium longshot of Shakira dancing in the club. There are a large group of people dancing in the club behind her. Shakira stands out from the group as the other people in the club are slightly blurred but the camera is handheld and moves with the moves that Shakira makes. The next shot goes back to the shot of Shakira dancing in the cage but this is a medium close up of her from the waist up. In all the scenes with Shakira dancing in the cage she is wearing a cream, embellished leotard which makes her perfect complexion look even paler. The camera then changes to a medium shot of a wolf walking across the camera. Throughout the shots of Shakira dancing in the cage and in the club , there are medium close up moving shots of a wolf. Walking through what looks like an alley, with only the reflection of the moon making the wolf stand out from its surroundings.

The next location used is one on the roof of a building. shakira is wearing a sheek black dress and her underwear is shown through. She dances on the balconey at the edge of the roof. The camera then goes to the scene of Shakira in the cage and then goes back to the scene on the roof and with the final lyrics "so it can breathe" she leans back off the edge of the roof with four deep breaths. The camera then cuts to inside the closet, where Shakira falls to the floor, as thought thats where she landed after jumping off the roof. An ariel shot is used to show Shakira lying on the floor in the closet, inbetween a variety of clothes.

We then see a medium close up of the closet door as Shakira opens it and walks out. We then see a medium long shot of her bed and one side of her bedroom, as her partner is asleep at one side of the bed. The camera then goes back to the shot of Shakira but this time closing the closet door and then back to the medium long shot as Shakira climbs ito bed next to her partner.

There is then a medium shot of Shakira lying in bed smiling, then the camera changes to a medium close up shot of the moon framed in the window with the curtains blowing. Then finally the camera goes back to the shot of Shakira as she closes her eyes with a smile. Which shows the audience that she is the only one who knows what events had just gone on.