Over time, music videos have transitioned from being utilised as promotional tools to becoming a way to express creativity. Initially they were created to promote music on TV, but today they convey deeper messages which viewers are able to interact with through social media platforms like YouTube. As Gina Arnold rightfully notes, music videos provide a “new depth” to an artist’s work, offering a platform to perform while also having a cultural impact. Kanye West’s Stronger, is a significant example of this evolution, blending commerce, experimentation and striking imagery to captivate viewers. 

Daft Punk MV

Stronger, directed by Hype Williams, is based on Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger; which is based on a sample from Edwin Birdsong’s Cola Bottle Baby. Kanye’s production contains influences from Daft Punk’s techno-funk sounds and visual themes from Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1991 film Akira. The track’s iconic hook, “That that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger,” has now cemented it as a motivational anthem for many. 

Side-by-side comparison of Stronger and Akira

Visually, Stronger is full of chaotic yet purposeful editing. As Carol Vernallis explains, modern music videos often emphasise “cultural work” over a linear narrative, creating a dynamic multimedia experience. The futuristic setting, industrial machinery, and vibrant Japanese typography work together to create an overstimulating world that aligns heavily with the energy of the song itself. The use of freeze frames, rapid cuts, and handheld camera movements intensify the video’s fragmented aesthetic, mirroring the high-tempo of social media consumption today. 

Kanye is shown as the focal point of this video through recurring close-ups, reflecting Arnold’s concept of music videos as a “vehicle of celebrity performance.” Meanwhile, women are depicted as visual spectacles, evoking Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory. Their presence appears to serve no narrative purpose, but appeals to the audience’s desires, hightings the tension between artistic intent and commercial appeal 

To summarise, Kanye West’s Stronger epitomises the modern music video’s power; a blend of experimentation, cultural references and marketability. By combining Daft Punk’s influence with his artistic vision, West created a work that remains relevant across evolving platforms. 

by K.S 33741956

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Breihan, T. (2023). The Number Ones: Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’. [online] Stereogum. Available at: https://www.stereogum.com/2218062/the-number-ones-kanye-wests-stronger/columns/the-number-ones/ 

Carole Vernallis, ‘Music Video’s Second Aesthetic’, Unruly Media: YouTube, Music Video, and the New Digital Cinema, 207-233

Gina Arnold, Daniel Cookney, Kirsty Fairclough, and Michael Goddard ‘Introduction: The Persistence of the Music Video Form from MTV to Twenty-First-Century Social Media’, Music/Video: Histories Aesthetics, Media, 1-14

Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16, 6-18.