Since the emergence of MTV in the 1980s, the music video has been envisaged as both an art form and a commercial product. In this course you will examine the history of music video from the theoretical perspective of popular music studies, which considers music video as filmic text, musical production, creative form, promotional vehicle and postmodern narrative. In doing so, you will develop an understanding of the intersection between music video and various issues in popular culture, such as race, gender, authenticity, and the body. Overall, this course provides an introduction to one of the most political, provocative and spectacular audio-visual forms.