Monday, July 27, 2009

Disturbing Hidden Messages in Music Videos

The blog-a-day-challenge has already failed -- but hey, five days in a row was pretty good for my standards (plus Sunday is the lord's day, you can't expect me to work then).

With Michael Jackson's recent death, I felt like exploring some music videos. Once the hallmark of MTV and other music stations, now they mostly are seen on youtube and from the hours of 4-6 AM. I always found it an interesting medium, as an artist tries to create a story in such a short time period, and all the while has to be lamely mouthing their words to match the song.

Most music videos don't put a ton of effort into their plot either, which can sometimes pay hilarious dividends. Here are some videos that the artist probably thought was cute or cool, but become extremely creepy once you go beneath the surface.

Justin Timberlake - "What Goes Around Comes Around"

Synopsis: Justin Timberlake meets Scarlett Johansson at a party, they become lovers, Scarlett cheats on him with friend, they fight, and she dies in a car accident.

Hidden message: This one admittedly isn't as subtle, but still deserves recognition. Just follow the chain of events from the synopsis: meet, love, cheating, fight/break up, DEADLY CAR WRECK. Apparently cheating on Justin Timberlake is now an offense that warrants the death penalty. Because you know, what goes around comes around. That is some serious hardcore justice.

However I have to admit, the dialogue in this video is first rate. I love watching this video and laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Taylor Swift - "You Belong to Me"

Synopsis: Taylor Swift is the nerdy girl next door who spends her time studying and reading, while always harboring a big crush on the boy next door. Unfortunately the boy has a cheerleader girlfriend (also played by Taylor Swift) while nerdy girl is stuck playing clarinet in the band watching him play on the football team. On prom night he asks if she's going with a cute note from his window and she says she's studying, but then she shows up and they fall in love.

Hidden message: Drop those books, put down that clarinet, and take off those glasses -- you need to get a boy! What a disturbing message for Ms. Swift to send to the impressionable youth that listen to her music. Maybe her next video will focus on her getting plastic surgery so she can finally be hot enough for that male model she's been eyeing.

On a side note, don't you think that guy would have noticed that nerdy girl looked an awful lot like the cheerleader he was dating? I mean how stupid is he? They really should have just gotten an actress to play his girlfriend instead of skimping like that, as it added a whole new level of disturbing logic to the video. Is nerdy girl actually the same as cheerleader girl and she's been living a sordid double life? Is she an evil twin of nerdy girl? I WANT ANSWERS.


Okay, so there were only two that I could think of because I don't watch that many music videos. But they were a pretty good two!

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