Goodwin's lyric theory

Goodwin's lyric theory is the idea that music videos can fit into three different categories when looking at how the lyrics work with the video. Goodwin states these three categories as:

• Illustrate
• Contradict
• Amplify

When the visuals illustrate the lyrics, the characters in the music video seem to act out what the song is saying through the lyrics. When the visuals contradict the lyrics, the visuals are asynchronous and seem to have no relation. When the visuals amplify the lyrics, the visuals represent what is being said through the lyrics but in an exaggerated way.

I've made this video so you can see some examples of the three different categories: