Despite having already deconstructed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video, I feel it is crucial to also deconstruct a music video which belongs to the alternative rock music genre.
Summary of research
Whilst researching and examining pre-existing rock music videos, such as Slash’s “Back to Cali” (2010), Linkin Park’s “Faint” (2003) and Grenday’s “Do you know your Enemy” (2009), I realised that all of the above music videos were entirely performance based. I also found that other music videos incorporated more sophisticated concepts that exist alongside the performance based elements of their music videos. For example: Guns N’ Roses’s 2009 music video for “Chinese Democracy”, intertwines clips denoting war and conflict alongside the performance based elements of their music video. This use of juxtaposition gives their music video a political subtext, where the music video could be interpreted as a criticism of war, thus elevating the meaning of this concept based music video far beyond that of a music video that is entirely performance based.
My research highlighted that most alternative rock music videos were either performance based or concept based (which typically comprised of thematic imagery and various shots of the band performing the song).
I am currently considering the possibility of creating a narrative based music video as my research has identified a gap in the market. Furthermore, the results of my audience research (see “Graphs denoting the results of my questionnaire” post) illustrated that my participants were critical of alternative rock music videos for either lacking a narrative or not successfully communicating their narrative. This further reinforces that a narrative based music video would prove successful.
I am currently considering the possibility of creating a narrative based music video as my research has identified a gap in the market. Furthermore, the results of my audience research (see “Graphs denoting the results of my questionnaire” post) illustrated that my participants were critical of alternative rock music videos for either lacking a narrative or not successfully communicating their narrative. This further reinforces that a narrative based music video would prove successful.
Whilst I am considering creating a narrative based music video, I have decided to deconstruct Linkin Park’s 2010 music video “The Catalyst” as I really admire its provocative and symbolic approach. As with “Thriller”, I will once again use Andrew Goodwin’s ideologies surrounding music video production in my analysis of “The Catalyst. True to Goodwin’s beliefs, Linkin Parks, “The Catalyst” embodies various genre characteristics of alternative rock music videos. These characteristics include an emphasis on the individual where the lyrics of the song highlight the significance of the individual who ultimately has the power to act as the “catalyst”, which sparks a change in society.
The following screen shots symbolically connote the band’s anger and frustration towards the passive individuals who fail to act, as well as the corrupt governments who are engrossed in waging war, whilst their own country is on the brink of destruction.
As seen in the above screen shots “the Catalyst” displays the extremity of emotions (anger, bitterness and frustration) that are synonymous with alternative rock music videos.
Yet another genre characteristic that “The Catalyst” conforms to is the presence of performance based elements in their music video. However, I feel it is important to note that when compared to the majority of other alternative rock music videos, the performance element does not overshadow the underlying concept of the video.
Screenshots denoting the performance based elements in the music video can be seen below.
“The Catalyst” also conforms to Goodwin’s belief that in a music video there is a relationship between the lyrics of the song and the subsequent visuals of the music video. For example: when the lyrics “when I close my eyes tonight/To symphonies of blinding light /God save us everyone” are delivered, the corresponding shots of the music video concentrate on Chester Bennington (a band member) who is submerged in water as seen in the screen shot below.
“The Catalyst” also conforms to Goodwin’s belief that in a music video there is a relationship between the lyrics of the song and the subsequent visuals of the music video. For example: when the lyrics “when I close my eyes tonight/To symphonies of blinding light /God save us everyone” are delivered, the corresponding shots of the music video concentrate on Chester Bennington (a band member) who is submerged in water as seen in the screen shot below.
In my opinion, the above screen shot represents the act of baptism where Chester Bennington is trying to purify his soul and repent his sins in order to be accepted by the “symphonies of blinding light”, which I feel one could equate to heaven. The religious connotation present in the lyrics “God save us” and the above visuals of the band member submerged in water could also symbolise that humanity is lost and drown as a punishment” For the sins of our hand/For the sins of our tongue”
The religious connotations of the lyrics are further explored through the music videos theme of the apocalypse as seen in the screen shots below.
A post-apocalyptic city which has been abandoned
People fleeing in desperation
A member of the band in a pose that parallels Jesus on the cross
The Catalyst also illustrates a relationship between the music and its visuals as suggested by Goodwin. At approximately three minutes and eleven seconds the instrumental of the song changes, becoming much slower. This change is also reflected in the visuals of the video, where the pace of the editing is decreased and the shots are manipulated so that they are in slow motion.
People fleeing in desperation
A member of the band in a pose that parallels Jesus on the cross
The Catalyst also illustrates a relationship between the music and its visuals as suggested by Goodwin. At approximately three minutes and eleven seconds the instrumental of the song changes, becoming much slower. This change is also reflected in the visuals of the video, where the pace of the editing is decreased and the shots are manipulated so that they are in slow motion.
Furthermore, “The Catalyst” also conforms to Goodwin’s theory as it has various close ups of the band members as seen below.
Whilst Goodwin believed these close ups are a product of the demands of the music industry, I believe these close ups are not only needed to promote public awareness of the band, but in this instance the close ups are employed in order to capture the anguish in the facial expressions, and are key in communicating the overall message of the music video.
Notably, “The Catalyst” concerns regarding the state of humanity, the apocalypse and its criticisms regarding nuclear warfare are motifs which reoccur throughout Linkin Parks, 2010 album: “A Thousand Suns”. It is also worth noting that each single from the album has had a very elaborate and distinct style. “The Catalyst” visual style is dark and pessimistic whereas, their subsequent single “Waiting For The End” is still pessimistic and shares the themes of the previous single, however its experimental futuristic visuals are in contrast to the realism of the visuals present in the “The Catalyst”. The reoccurring motifs in the album “A Thousand Suns” combined with each elaborate video symbolises the journey undertaken by Linkin Park in exploring the destructive nature of humanity.
In my opinion, the notion of looking as idenified by Goodwin , is clearly apparent in “The Catalyst”, where the sustained presence of smoke could suggest that society’s vision is distorted by the corruption in the world and we, as individuals, need to look past the smoke and see the truth.
The lyrics of the “The Catalyst” are multilayered, in that many of the lyrics that can be interpreted as alluding to the biblical concept of the apocalypse, can also be interpreted as alluding to the atom bomb, where the destruction caused by nuclear war is equated to the apocalypse. For example the lyrics: “Oceans bleed in to the sky” could be seen as a sign of the apocalypse or the devastation that can be caused by the atom bomb. The album’s Title “A Thousand Suns” is taken from the Hindu scriptures which states: “if the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one”. The above quotation was made famous by the J. Robert Oppenheimer, who used it to reference his invention , the atom bomb.
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