Music video analysis

ARCTIC MONKEYS - ‘THE VIEW FROM THE AFTERNOON’

The video was the first promo produced by the band who had just recently burst onto the scene with there post punk, highly energetic indie rock. This is relevant because it can

be linked to the fact that the band make no appearance within the video. They have recently acclaimed fame

extremely quickly and therefore are reluctant to initial promote themselves. The song itself is the first off of their

album and keeps to the style of the album which focuses its attention on social commentary by a group of 18 year olds

living within sheffield.

It has been stated that the video follows the story of Buddha and that many elements from the video mirror

parts of the story, which in most cases explains the various surreal elements within the video.

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

Within the video there is a huge focus on the way in which the black and white colour

scheme is used. Multiple times throughout the video the action switches between night and

day, which in turn drastically changes the contrast of the scene. The reason behind this in

its simplest form is to distinguish the large period of time that transpires throughout the video, but I feel that it is far more symbolic, especially when other factors are taken into

account. I feel as though that the night represents the sinful, tempestuous nature of humanity, that everything out to tempt the

drummer into sin occurs during the night, such as the girl with the devil horns. Whereas the

day time elements represent a more inherently dangerous time, when all who judge come out

to see who and what the man is doing .

COLOUR SCHEME

THE SAME SHOT BUT WITHIN THE CONTRASTED COLOUR SCHEME, MAKING THE VIDEO VISUALLY

APPEALING

Within the video there is clearly an attempt to create a specific cultural representation in all aspects from the characters to the setting. The very first shot in the video depicts a homeless person pushing a shopping trolley through the

courtyard between two high rise flats. Instantly as an audience we make judgement

about the tone of the video, that it will involve ‘dodgy’ characters in a rough neighbourhood

doing questionable things. This is very important because it contrasts the nature of

the core narrative and it also distinguishes the band and their music as far more relatable. Especially in comparison to music videos for

pop songs which tend to involve incomprehensible characters in situations that do not bare true to home. The main character

of the video is a prime example of this with him being dressed in a parker jacket and

hoody, he is represented in a very stereotypical manner. The reason being that his actions juxtapose this stereotype and the audience like the character more. Another

example that ties in with the general representation of the video are the 3 men who torment the drummer during mid way through,

we assume that they are from the estate and all have things such as the portion of chips, the lighter and the eye bandage as things

associated with people living in council estate

REPRESENTATION

When watching the video it is at first hard to distinguish the genre due to the abstract narrative. But I

think thanks to the combined technical elements and the

representations it is quite clear that the genre is drama. It fits due

to the struggle of the main character in such a deprived area and with his struggle against the

odds (Temptation of the girl, fear/embarrassment of the 3 men and fear of the man with the bat). There are also a variety of shots that are great examples of this

struggle:

T h i s m i d s h o t o f t h e d r u m m e r s h o w s t h e s t r a i n o f h i m c l e a r l y a n d t h e f r a m i n g o f h i m i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e s h o t , i n - b e t w e e n t h e t h r e e m e n s h o w s h i s

l a c k o f a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f t h e i r a t t e m p t s t o d i s h e a r t e n h i m a n d s i g n i fi e s h i s i m p o r t a n c e

GENRE

T h i s c l o s e - u p s h o t s h o w s t h e b l o o d i n t h e d r u m m e r s h a n d s f r o m t h e c o n s t a n t p l a y i n g , a n d h i g h l i g h t s h i s

p a s s i o n o r h i g h l i g h t t o a c h i e v e s o m e t h i n g , t h a n k s t o t h e c o n t e x t u a l i n f o w e k n o w t h a t t h i s i s a f o r m o f n i r v a n a . T h i s e n h a n c e s t h e c h a r a c t e r s r e p u t a t i o n

w i t h t h e a u d i e n c e a s w e b e g i n t o e m p a t h i s e w i t h h i m

T h e fi n a l s h o t o f t h e v i d e o , o n c e t h e m u s i c s t o p s i s a l o w a n g l e m i d / c l o s e u p o f t h e d r u m m e r s h o w i n g h i s r e l i e f a s h e a c h i e v e s w h a t h e w a s l o o k i n g f o r . W e a s

a n a u d i e n c e a r e l e f t w i t h t h e e n i g m a r e v o l v i n g a r o u n d w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e d r u m m e r w a s h i t w i t h t h e

b a t o r w h e t h e r o r n o t h e s t o p p e d p l a y i n g b e f o r e .

…CONTINUED

SYMBOLISM

There is one instance in the video when we see a close up of a sign that says “Do not throw sharp objects into childrens playground” and I think that this is

representative of the change that the drummer is going through, almost as if he is moving on from a state of youth into a more mature one. This is made apparent

through the juxtaposition of the sharp object often associated with adults (Children often being asked to seek adult supervision when using scissors) and the

playground, a sanctuary for children. It is also quite shocking to see such a sign even exists, but is also an indicator of the tone of the video and genre.

INNOCENCE

There is a constant air of gender contrast throughout the video with males being shown as very masochistic and violent and the sole female being shown as a far more caring character. The image of the girl feeding the drummer milk has two

meanings the first is that she wants the drummer to continue and wants to make sure he is alright, but the fact that she chose milk over water indicates an

almost maternal instinct. We are far more favorable on her character due to this act over the men who are set out to harm the drummer.

GENDER