Julian is represented in several different situations that run parallel to the lyrics, although in all of them he plays himself as a performer. He in turn represents the lyrics through his actions and uses his role to illustrate the key points of the key points of the song. The song and video fit in with a moral ideology with references to forgiveness: “forgive them even if they are not sorry” and war. This provides a great opportunity for Casablancas to represent himself as a man of morals as he wrote the song, suggesting that it is embedded with his beliefs and feelings.
The video has several denotative levels of meaning. These are shown in the three morals that are addressed within the piece, represented by the three levels of the building that creates the establishing shot of the video. Julian is faced with three situations in which he acts within the boundaries of the three morals that we are shown after every scene. The situation we see involves Julian as an actor, who makes it as a famous actor, and still his manager pays him a tiny amount even though we are shown how much money was made. However, instead of becoming angry at him, he simply turns away, showing his disappointment in the man’s behaviour. This then prompts a clip of Julian writing on a wall the phrase “anger is weakness, patience is strength”. He is then shown running up the stairs, representing his travel to the next scene and situation. On the next “floor” Julian is shown to be a singer in a club, and goes over to greet his friend who is stood with whom we assume to be his girlfriend. He greets them both, but when his friend is looking the other way, the girl mouths “call me” at him. Julian’s response is to shake his head at the girl and start conversation with his friend. This is then followed by another clip of Julian, this time writing “sin is honouring desire above what you know is right”. The final scene is set in a recording studio, and deals with another situation that requires a great moral decision. A man bangs on the door and it is made clear that he is being attacked by three other men. At first he ignores the scene, but after a while he goes out to help the man. This creates a basis for the final phrase of “every positive action has a reward”.
The connotative levels of meaning within the piece are represented by the building itself. It could be seen as a metaphor for the different levels of moral wellbeing Julian faces within the piece. The three different coloured floors could be representative of the three issues Julian faces with the white, neutral coloured top level connoting a feeling of wellbeing and wholeness. Between the different scenes we are shown clips of Julian on a black, techno background that seems to be an empty space. Stood next to him is a mannequin. This could be seen to represent Julian’s conscience and the mannequin is his body; connoting an ideology that it is his conscience that is making the decisions in each situation as when the problems arises in each situation, it freezes and we are shown the clip of Julian and the mannequin. Another explanation for the different levels could be that Julian is in limbo, and we are looking over the situations from his past and how he dealt with them. This would explain why the last level he visits has a white light and we do not actually see what happens there, as this could represent heaven.
Throughout the piece, there is a general dark and dirty theme with the lighting being dim and the locations look used and neglected. This contrast against the end of the piece when Julian is shown to be running towards a higher level that has a white light and connotations of purity. By repeating the phrase “forgive them, even if they are not sorry” throughout the song, this suggests that Julian has lived by this phrase and this is shown in the situations within the video. It could be viewed that Julian is suggesting that by living by this phrase, you will make the right decisions in life and go to heaven.
The audience views the narrative as a story. The video conveys elements of voyeurism as the characters are not aware that we are watching them within the scenes. However, this element is contained within the three “morals” as Julian presents the chorus to us within his character whilst looking directly at the screen as if he was performing to an audience. It is hard to distinguish the heroes and villains within the piece. Although it is made clear that Julian plays a protagonist role, the only clear antagonistic roles are played by the men who attack the man in the last situation shown. The other characters, although having slightly different wishes to what may be viewed as right, simply add to the scene and are not used to make Julian look like a “hero”.
The video belongs to the alternative, abstract genre as it has no surface meaning as a video. It shows elements of the abstract genre through its alien setting and the design of the clothing and props used which have a surreal, techno theme to them. The genre is supported by the artist himself, as he is often related to alternative music and more abstract videos.
The text has been mainly distributed by its institution over the internet on video sites such as YouTube and not produced in DVD format as the target audience is not large enough for them to make a profit on such a large scale of production. The source is a commercial institution so the text doesn’t try and please or persuade anyone, it can be as controversial and eclectic as it wants as it is expressing itself in a form of art rather than commercialism.
The audience the text is aimed at is those who are interested in alternative/indie music. They may have sourced the artist from his involvement in the better known band The Strokes who are also involved in the indie/alternative scene. As an audience member myself, I see the text as an interesting metaphor for the journey through life and the problems we face. I like the way it shows different situations and how we should deal with them by representing them with moral codes.
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