Music Video Analysis of "Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal

Released in may 2009, Dizzee Rascal's "Bonkers" song caused quite a stir in the music charts of the time; it peaked at no.1 in the UK charts for dance purposes and general consumption, ending the year as the 15th most popular song in the UK. In the UK and Australia, Dizzee's album has reached platinum status.

"Bonkers" is considered to be grime, hip/electro-house in genre. In the music video, we see Dizzee dancing frequently, addressing the viewer directly as he is often looking at the camera. It is here that we can also observe the camera distortion effects that are in play; as the lyrics go, "Some people think I'm bonkers" - his possible insanity is represented through the distortion of the world around him; camera and lens effects are used to warp the shape of objects to create a sense of confusion and disorientation. This is clearly a link between the visual-audible content of the song, where we see the world through the eyes of Dizzee and that world is indeed 'bonkers'. 

As is the convention of grime/electro-house music, the music video includes scenes of club dancing, albeit in strange, semi dream-state locations. The setting is that of a generally urban theme, which lends strength to the song's purpose as music for modern consumers. The content of the music video has been deliberately selected to strengthen the song's intended purpose - one of which would be its use as a club/dance track. The song's genre is geared towards this demographic of course, so including this imagery allows for the music video to appeal to the audience that would likely be watching.

Dizzee Rascal himself is centre-stage for the duration of the music video (excluding some shots of a crowd dancing). Whenever the camera warps the screen, for the most part, the screen is warped around him. Overall these are techniques of artist promotion and narrative story-telling; Dizzee is the most important thing on screen,. It's his song. It's his album. The world in the music video bends around him, it hinges on him; he's at the centre of the universe, in his video. This is promoting his power as an artist and ensures that no viewer may escape the fact that they are watching a music video made by Dizzee Rascal. His face is the symbol of his music, one might say.