The Man Eating Machine.

Corporate Cannibal is a music video performed by Grace Jones, directed by Nick Hooker and released in 2008. It makes use of a variety of video effects to make it look like Grace Jones’ body is twisting and warping in impossible ways.

The effects being used throughout the video are relatively simple; the colours have been de-saturated to leave only black and white and a mirror like effect in certain parts of the frame to distort shapes. Despite this, the end product this produces is quite eye catching, creating this bizarre, alien figure, shape shifting in a seemingly endless void.

The only colours on show through the whole music video is black and white, this adds to the ‘dehumanising’ effect that both the lyrics and the shape shifting visuals are putting onto the character. It also coincides well with the warping effect, as it makes the parts of her body which are greatly exaggerated seem smoother and real.

The camera never deviates from showing the top half of Grace Jones’ body; however the positions of where the warping effect takes place change throughout the entire video. Close ups and extreme close ups are also used, sometimes highlighting or even multiplying an eye or a mouth. The fact that we never see her body makes her seem more alien and keeps her the centre of attention throughout the whole video.

According to Grace Jones, she was "very obsessed with the subject" of the video. She takes the role of ‘Man eating machine’ which she describes herself as a “a corporate cannibal, a digital criminal”. This could be references big businesses in general and how ruthless they can be. The fact that she is portrayed in the video as such an intimidating, alien being seems to strengthen this.

Unlike other music videos, the music and the visuals stay together. Without the effects, the video would simply be Grace Jones singing to the camera. I personally feel that for such a long music video, someone may get desensitised to the warping figure after seeing it so much, however it may be for the best that she is the main attracting and there are as little distractions as possible.

When I first saw this video I was initially surprised by the warping figure in the video, but I quickly got used to this and got tired of it. In my opinion after a while, the effect looked quite cheap; it reminded me of the ‘Photobooth’ feature that certain Apple computers have built in using the webcams.  I was quite surprised to find out the music video was made in 2008, as I initially thought it was released much later than that, the visuals to me seemed more commonplace for something in the early nineties.

 I do not think it is not entirely without merit; the symbolism and the lyrics in the music video is very good, and the warping effects do an excellent job of making Grace Jones into something completely alien. Throughout the video I couldn’t help but be reminded of the sci-fi short story “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream”. Perhaps it’s the line “man eating machine” that reminds me of it (the short story features a mad artificial intelligence) or that the warping visuals remind me of HR Giger, which the story uses his art as an influence.

Overall I felt Corporate Cannibal was more dated than it should be and went on for far too long, but it certainly was an interesting watch, to say the least.