Moving Image analysis: Corporate Cannibal

Grace Jones' song Corporate Cannibal is an abstract and subtle metaphorical criticism of the greed of large multi-national corporations and thoughtless consumerism. The accompanying video by Nick Hooker greatly supports the message put forward by the song. The video simply consists of Grace Jones wearing a suit throughout the video against a harsh white background, however he image has been greatly distorted into harsh abstract shapes making her look only vaguely human.

The video is also coloured in a harsh black and white with very few shades of grey, this gives the feeling of digitalisation as though Grace Jones is merely a computer personified, reminiscent of cyberpunk literature, such as the corporate sentient A.I known as Neuromancer in the novel of the same name by William Gibson. The cyberpunk themes are also supported by the line Digital Criminal, with mega-corporations as an entity being the antagonist of the story. This is further supported by the imagery of Jones, because although her body and forehead are distorted, her face remains recognisable and unchanged, perhaps representing the company logo of a corporation. The idea of the corporate world is also suggested through Jones' body shape with her shoulders curved like exaggerated shoulder pads and a harsh strip of white against the black of her body going down the centre of her torso suggesting she is wearing a suit.

The use of the harsh and disturbing imagery alongside the industrial sound of the song suggests the cold and inhuman aspects of the corporate world, her eyes are often fixated on the camera, as though the corporation is watching you, knowing everything you do, and her mouth is often the focal point of the image on screen, constantly whispering to the consumer, telling them what they want, and telling them what to buy. Criticism against corporatism is also a common theme in the industrial music theme, with the band Throbbing Gristle forming the industrial music record label as a form of rebellion against the mainstream music industry, with other industrial band such as Ministry being for notorious for criticising consumerism and right-wing politics.

The fact that Jones is the only subject throughout the entire video. with no other props or actors being present, seems to represent a kind of market dominance and superiority, with the corporation having complete control over not only the market but the consumers as well, slowly consuming them for its own survival. Her presence in the video is also almost predatory, as though she is there to feed upon the consumer, but with her looking straight at the camera and her massive stature against the stark white background it is almost as if she is ready to reach out of the screen and consume the viewer.