There is a relationship between the music and the visuals. This can be seen at the very start when the silhouettes of people flash in time to the beat of the music. Also the later images of explosions and fireworks amplify the beat of he music at that point as it includes thumping sounds.
There is also a relationship between between the lyrics and the visuals as the song talks all about America and throughout the video there are images of points in American history as well as American flags. However, there is a slight contradiction as the song mainly mentions the 'American Dream' however as it says this there are flashbacks of the negative points in American history such as the destruction of the Twin Towers.
During the music video there are also many close ups of the artist Rihanna which is demanded by the record label in order to sell her star image.
There is slightly less reference to the notion of looking or voyeurism because of the nature of the video. The camera occasionally focuses on Rihanna to sell her star image. However, the video mainly highlights the important and serious aspect which are the different events that took place throughout American history.
There are not inter-textual references to other media products but there are a large majority relating to American history and different iconic moments throughout it. This is to highlight the message of the video that America has a lot of history, both positive and negative, to ultimately achieve the 'American dream'.
The genre characteristics include the element of performance which is singing however the main focus is American history.
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