As we entered the 1980s, a whole new realm of music was among us. Thoughts on music during the 1980s began to change due to music videos. Instead of focusing on lyrics and music, the new focus was  on acting and the new prevailing taste. Hearing the title of Rick Springfield's 1981 hit, "Jessie's Girl," I could guess, being the seventeen year old girl I am, that the song was going to be about love. Love is a common subject of many songs, but this song is about a one-sided love. From the beginning to the end of the music video it is blatant that the speaker loves "Jessie's Girl" but the love is not reciprocated. The speaker is in love with his friend's girl and does not seem to stand a chance.

The main purpose of this 1981 hit music video is to tell a love story; to tell the cliché story of a boy in love with another boy's girl. The 1980s power pop music video tells a tale of a loveless boy watching a couple as he envies the boy for being with the girl he loves. During the video, Springfield runs into the couple again and stares at them as they cheerfully walk away. As the video progresses, Springfield seems to go home and stare at himself in the mirror mourning over his unattainable love. He becomes enraged when he sees an illusion of "Jessie's girl" in the corner of the mirror, and begins to smash the mirror with his guitar. This scene is repeated four times to emphasize his anger towards the girl who will not love him; he is confused because he does not see why she will not reciprocate his love for her. It is also significant that Springfield smashes the mirror with his guitar, he seems to be showing that he is fixing his problems with music. He is using music to deal with his love for "Jessie's Girl" which will never be returned.

The opening scene of the music video the camera shows "Jessie's Girl" being spray painted onto a brick wall. At first, the camera is only focused on the word "girl" but then eventually shows the whole picture, "Jessie's Girl." By doing this, it tells the audience that the song is about a girl, but by showing the full spray painted phrase it quickly informs the audience that it is about an unattainable girl. The use of camera techniques creates an idea of the song's meaning and the intent of the music video for the audience. The different angles and choice of showing what images and parts of the video at different times can all create a meaning for the audience.

"Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield tells a love story, appealing especially to a specific audience of girls and young women everywhere. Winning the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, being nominated for the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single, and being the #1 song when MTV launched, this song was a success in telling it's story and appealing to the audience. Twenty years after it's original release, "Jessie's Girl" was still being used in films. This classic song has an attraction and keeps coming back no matter how old and washed up it may seem.