AFRAID – THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

(CONTINUED)Sayema Begum

Notion of lookingMost of this music video supports Goodwin’s theory of the notion of looking (through screens, telescopes, crowds etc.), as we see the band through someone else’s eye, literally. This may have been done as the boy is looking at what he has become.

Goodwin’s theory also states that there is a particularly excessive use of female sex appeal. This music video completely subverts this notion as there are no females present in it. However, the main singer is naked and there is a second of the music video where his penis is shown. Nevertheless, this is not done in a sex-appealing way or to attract a female or male audience. This has been done as a form of art, in which the artist is completely baring his soul to the audience and his fans. This contradicts Berger’s Ways of Seeing theory where he says that females are usually the ones who are naked.

Intertextual referencesThe video is shot in mainly black and white, which is a similar style to some of their other music videos, where greyscale is used, such as in ‘Sweater Weather’, ‘Daddy Issues’ and ‘Female Robbery’, although the band themselves do not feature in ‘Female Robbery’. This may have been done to give the videos a more retro look or a gloomy atmosphere.

‘Female Robbery’‘Daddy Issues’‘Sweater Weather’

 Narrative, concept or performance based videoNarrative and performance work hard in the hand it makes it easier for the audience to watch over and over without losing interest. The artist acting as both the narrator and the participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of the music videos. The audience needs to believe this is real.

This could be seen a performance-based music video as the band members are giving a little performance on how their life used to be and what they are interested in. There is also a moment in the music video where the audience get to see the band performing.This could also be seen as a concept-based video the video is based around the concept of anxiety and depression.This could be seen as a narrative-based music video as it tells a story that the audience can relate to and it leaves room for the audience to use their imagination to put further meaning into the video.

Overall, this music video has a very deep meaning and message behind it which revolves around the theme of depression. The song deals with the notions that not everything lasts and that you need to spend your time wisely, giving a good message to the audience.