[Mousey]

Here's a music video Analysis i've done for college, namely Rise Against's Saviour; Any opinions/criticisms are much appreciated as this is our first piece of coursework and i want to get my tutor on my side




Kevin Kerslake
Kevin Kerslake is a director who handles primary Music Videos. He has worked with many bands within the rock and metal genres including Rise Against, Green Day, The Ramones and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. One of his most famous videos however must be ?Cherub Rock? by Smashing Pumpkins.

He has also done a few works outside of the rock/metal scene which include the video to Cypress Hills "Still Smokin" which is a sub-genre of Rap known as ?Stoner Rap? that typically has references to cannabis use in it?s lyrics.
One of his most recent videos that he directed is ?Savior? by Rise Against. This video was released on the 29th September 2009. This video is the most recent one the band has produced which accompanies the new album ? ?Appeal To Reason?.


Rise Against
Rise Against are a well known band within the Rock/Political Rock genres. Particularly their early work had a very anti-establishment/anarchy type feel to it, typically singing about defying people or systems and occasionally about large political issues such as gang violence which was noted in one of their songs "To Them These Streets Belong."
They were officially defined as a Political Rock/Punk band during their early works which included the albums "The Unraveling" and "Siren Song of The Counter Cult" but have been reclassified as Alternative Rock/Punk with their newest album "Appeal To Reason".

Most Rise Against videos are concept based, featuring not so much fantasy but more of a gritty grunge feel tone to the video. However a few of them are narrative/performance based and attempt to raise awareness for real word issues. A few noted ones have been Deforestation with their hit song "Ready to Fall" and Brutality against Iraqi P.O.W's in "Hero Of War".


Rise Against - Savior Analysis
(All times taken from official video on the Rise Against Youtube Channel)






At the beginning of the video we see the Lead Singer lighting a flair and moving it around in front of the camera before placing it on the floor, This combined with the lyrics and the softer tone of the music could suggest control before the song explodes into the first verse, (Start to 0:08 & 0:11 to 0:18).

In between these first 2 cuts (0:08 to 0:11) we see a shot of a person in a large polar bear suit riding a bus alone. Even though the lyrics sound more like they?re about a relationship they could suggest loneliness or perhaps a struggle;
?It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten,
What the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them?

With the current focus on climate change and global warming, the video gives different meaning to the lyrics. All of the people shown wearing animal suits in the video appear to be dressed as endangered or near-extinct species such as the polar bear (Which is being threatened by the ice melting at the poles) or the African elephant (Which is known to have fewer than 1200 left in the wild). And compared to Rise Against?s previous hit video ?Ready To Fall? which focused heavily on deforestation; The song title tied in very literally with the images shown in the video.

At 00:23 the lights come up on a dusty and somewhat isolated looking industrial estate and we begin the series of performance based shots which go alongside the narrative based shots. This shot lasts 5 seconds until 00:28 at which point we switch back to the bus and we are watching the ?Polar Bear? from over the shoulder looking out of the window into a pitch black night.

0:44 to 0:46 is an interesting change of tone from the start of the video, Instead of showing more clips which we could interpret as loneliness, The ?Animals? are shown in what appears to be a mosh pit (A gathering of people usually at the front of the stage, Typically involves flailing limbs and missing teeth afterwards) Charging around and barging each other in typical concert fashion. Then between 0:46 and 0:49 we see more cuts of the ?Animals? in the mosh pit in between cuts of the band performing.

During the verses, any cuts to the ?Animals? usually show them in situations such as looking through bins or huddled round fires in barrels. If I?m right about the focus on climate change, This could suggest that more and more animals are being forced out of their habits by climate change caused by humans and are resorting to living off waste in the cities, Similair to what the common fox has adapted to do in many cities.

Then as we switch back towards the choruses and the trademark solos Rise Against use multiple times in a lot of their songs we see the ?Animals? in the mosh pit again. This is probably a mechanism to link the chorus and the high-speed guitar riffs with the moods/emotions they?re supposed to evoke.

A scene which tied literally with the lyrics, Just after a break in the chorus at 1:32 where the song switches back to verses we see a ?Common Bear? jump onto the back of a ?Polar Bear? and drag it to the floor during the lyrics;
?The day pressed on like crushing weights, for no man does it ever wait?

Another one comes shortly afterwards at about 1:47 during one of the lines of the Chorus; ?And if this aint love, Then how do we get out??

This scene involves the ?Polar Bear? apparently being ganged up on by the other ?Animals? in the mosh pit, Which turns the tone from a group of people enjoying the same music to a violent brawl. Again this could link in with the Climate Change links in the video since the Polar Bear is probably the most at risk with Climate Change hitting the poles harder than almost anywhere else on the planet. These clips of the ?Polar Bear? being attacked in the mosh pit keep progressing between cuts of the band playing until about 1:57.

A significant part of the narrative is explained after roughly 2:47 in the video, Again we see the ?Polar Bear? Riding the bus having left the mosh pit, As the bus drives through the tunnel we see the ?Elephant? Limping down the tunnel, apparently badly hurt and the bus stops. These shots tie in with the lyrics which are repeated; ?I Don?t Hate You?
At which point we see flashbacks of the ?Elephant? shoving and punching the ?Polar Bear? in the mosh pit.

As the ?Elephant? Climbs aboard the bus and sits next to the ?Polar Bear? the lyrics from the chorus kick in again;
?I don?t hate you, I just want to save you, While there?s still something left to save? Which could again have tie-ins with the climate change tone and also making peace. (I don?t understand the message of a polar bear and an elephant making peace however.)

Towards the end of the song as it?s pulling to a close, The lyrics;
?I Don?t Hate You? are repeated continuously as we see more detailed clips of the ?Animals? we see during the verses, One of which is a ?Skunk? sat slouched on a bus stop bench, apparently unconscious, With a brown paper bag in one hand which signifies either Alcohol use or Alcoholism due to the resounding message of loneliness.

The lyric is repeated again as we see a ?Tiger? lying unconscious in the entrance of a building; It is unclear what the building is however so we can?t link it to anything particular.

Overall I?d say the video is half narrative, half performance. The narrative possibly being about climate change forcing animals to adapt a harsh and un-natural life style to survive whilst their natural habitats are destroyed by industry and global warming.

[BlueMak]

I need to get drunk to be able to help you. I hate studies. (I studied film and tv). Perhaps later tonight.
Now, I can't even make myself read an assignment.

[Mousey]

Soooo...... anybody?

[Cow_160483]

I read it i would say its not bad but am not very familiar with writing reports on videos so i could be wrong, but all in all its a good effort .