Audio Visual Analysis
In this photo, Old Spice is trying to sell the ad's viewers one thing: masculinity. With the slogan "Somewhere in there, there's a man in there.", it sells that by using their products, you become more manly.
II. Sound Tripping - "Samson" by Regina Spektor
During its release in 2002, the lyrics were deemed so beautiful by music production executives, they almost didn't believe Spektor penned them herself. The song tells the story of a woman in a relationship with a man who has cancer.
[Chorus]
You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth
I have to go, I have to go
Your hair was long when we first met
[Verse 1]
Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
He ate a slice of Wonder bread, and went right back to bed
And history books forgot about us and the Bible didn't mention us
And the Bible didn't mention us, not even once
[Chorus]
You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the stars came falling on our heads
But they're just old light, they're just old light
Your hair was long when we first met
[Verse 2]
Samson came to my bed
Told me that my hair was red
Told me I was beautiful, and came into my bed
Oh, I cut his hair myself one night
A pair of dull scissors in the yellow light
And he told me that I'd done alright
And kissed me 'til the morning light, the morning light
And he kissed me 'til the morning light
[Verse 3]
Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
He ate a slice of Wonder bread, and went right back to bed
Oh, we couldn't bring the columns down
Yeah, we couldn't destroy a single one
And history books forgot about us
And the Bible didn't mention us, not even once
[Outro]
You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first
III. Music Video - "Islands" by Reese Lasnangan
In a vlog on her YouTube channel, Lansangan actually explains the visuals present in the video, from this, we know that nearly every single frame of the music video is just chock-full of symbols and metaphors, here are a few of them:
- At the beginning of the music video she sits in the middle of an "island". The lights are bright white and everything seems plain and bland. This represents her feeling alone and desolate in the situation she's in.
- In the next shot we see a beaker with drops of blue pigment slowly falling down, representing the slow burn she experiences being in the relationship.
- The intense red and blue lights signify the "highs" of the relationship, it's best parts, evidence of this would also be the boy pouring water until the girl's beaker overflows, when someone is just so generous in giving their love.
- Later, the girl and the boy are shown in detached frames of the video, signifying them being separate.
- They both hold on to a piece of rope, the girl trying to untangle the knots in the rope, while the boy undoes her work with more knots.
- They hold two glass jars with fish in them, showing that no matter how close they try to get to each other, they were never meant to be in the same jar, together.
- The girl holds up a frosted pane of glass, symbolizing the haziness in the relationship, how everything is malabo as one might put it.
- The red cloth the girl is seen with represents the hurt, anger, and frustration thats comes with being in such a destructive and toxic relationship.
- At the very end of the video, the girl is now alone on her island, and it is flourishing. An abundance of flowers are present symbolizing her being able to grow without the boy in her life.
In conclusion, the video pairs with the music in being heavy-handed with metaphors and only after a deep analysis would you be able to understand exactly what the song (and video) is trying to say.
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