Wow. Throughout the entirety of the “We Can’t Stop” music video I kept thinking to myself, what the heck? Who thinks of something like this? I believe Miley Cyrus created this music video with the intention of making a statement, mainly regarding herself. For many years, when the name “Miley Cyrus” was said, people used to immediately think of the lovable “Hannah Montana”.  I believe Miley wanted to change the image that popped into people’s minds when they heard her name. This music video definitely changed her image. As written in the Boston Sunday Globe, “…the most obvious extension of Cyrus’ new image embodies the ethos of YOLO (you only live once)”.

The video opens with Miley cutting off what looks like a probation ankle monitor, representing the fact that she is no longer a “good girl” and that she will no longer be restricted or tamed. She then proceeds to turn up the volume on a radio and pop in gold grills. This video is filled with a variety of wild and inappropriate things, however one commonality is that they are all rebellious and dangerous. Miley intends to show the world that that she is no longer a little girl, that she is no longer “Hannah Montana”. To quote the Boston Sunday Globe, “Because Cyrus was first known as Hannah Montana, the girl next door who parents hailed as a role model for their impressionable children, this brazen reinvention has been a shock…” The expectation of the audience is that they see this video and change the image they once had of Miley Cyrus.

After focusing on the visuals of the music video, I shut my eyes and listened to the lyrics, extracting some of the following: “it’s our party, we can do what we want to”, “we can kiss who we want, we can say what we want”, “this is our house, this is our rules”, “we can’t stop and we won’t stop”, “we run things, things don’t run we”, “dancing with Molly”, “remember only God can judge us, forget the haters”. I sense that Miley’s tone is defiant, carefree and energetic.

Many do not approve or accept Miley’s severe image change, however she is simply discovering herself. She is metamorphosing out of the Disney TV “Hannah Montana”. The Boston Sunday Globe writes, “You may not like who she has become, but she clearly does”. In addition, “Artistic liberation is also about the freedom to be who you are, whether that’s chaste or hyper-sexualized”.

(Ironically, as I was eating breakfast and looking through the Boston Sunday Globe, I came across the Sunday Art section and splattered across the front cover was a huge picture of Miley Cyrus. The accompanying article by James Reed was extremely pertinent to what I was writing.)

Open on Taylor Swift lying on the ground in a deserted waste land. Around her is toilet paper, a skateboard, a few tarps, and many other pieces of trash and debris. She does not appear to be the usual classy and put together Taylor Swift. She has short blond hair, heavy makeup and chic rocker clothing . She looks scared and confused.  The flashbacks start, she is with a tattooed, punk rock guy. He is dangerous, “his world moved too fast and burned too bright” but Swift is too captivated by him to care. By the time she falls for him he is already gone and the damage has been done.

                Taylor Swift’s fans range from small children to adults, but the average age group is in their preteens. In “I Knew You Were Trouble” Swift has a grunge look. Her hair is tousled and dyed red at the ends, her makeup is dark and dirty and her clothes have a rocker chic vibe. Preteen girls struggle with their identity. They change their appearances because they fear they will not be pretty or cool enough.  Swift usually appears to be beautiful and classy. In the beginning of the video she is wearing a lacey white tank top and a blue sweater, her makeup is natural and her hair is straight. Once she meets the boy she begins to change, she starts wearing dark rocker clothing like him.  Throughout the video she looks at herself in the mirror of a dingy bathroom. She does not like what she sees, she is unhappy with who she has become. Swift says, “I think that the worst part of it all wasn’t losing him, it was losing me.” She shows the audience that it is not worth it to change who you are to look pretty or cool to someone else.

                Just like any other Taylor Swift song, “I Knew You Were Trouble” teaches the audience a lesson about relationships. The music video outlines a dysfunctional couple. From the moment they met they started on a downward spiral. He was wild; in the video he drives with his feet, hops on railroad tracks and gets into fights. She knew that he was bad for her from the start but she did not care. She makes all the efforts but he does not notice. In the video he never tries to make things better. Swift loads the video with all the emotions you feel during a breakup. She feels lost, betrayed, and questions herself.

                In her acceptance speech at the VMAs she is confident and glamorous, she references the person who inspired the song and she shows her fans she has moved on.

Justin Timberlake's music video for Suit and Tie is extraordinary in the way that it's very different from most hit videos. First of all it is in black and white, something very uncommon in music videos. Also most of this five minute long video features Justin singing and dancing to a crowd in front of an orchestra, interspersed with clips that have some more pizazz to them, including old dancing in front of a lightshow. The beginning shows Justin living a very elite lifestyle, playing the piano, drinking with Jay-Z, getting a massage, playing chess, all things that the upper class prize. The end features Jay-Z, a rapper, and as such has images commonly found in rap music videos, half naked ladies dancing and doing some other things. 

Justin is trying to tell his listeners and fans something important. The fact that the video is in black and white was very deliberate. The location of the video, a theater, is also very deliberate; theaters were a very well-liked part of the past. Black and white videos and theaters are both used in this video to represent the past and Justin uses this to tell his old fans that he remembers the past. He knows that his old hits, including my love, rock your body and what goes around comes around, are still well appreciated songs and uses this to his advantage. He tells his fans that he knows these old songs were good and very popular and so he will continue to use some of that style in his newer works, such as Mirrors, Take Back the Night, and Get Your Groove On. However the last part of the video, which included Jay-Z and half naked ladies, is telling new fans that he is a pop singer that you can bump to. Some songs that have rappers featured sound forced, the rap part sounds as if it was added as an afterthought. However Justin adds Jay-Z into his song perfectly and as such he very effectively tries to attract new fans who are interested in rap and hip hop. The clips interspersed into the part of the video where Justin is performing to a crowd, represents the mix of these two musical styles. These clips show Justin and three other dancers dancing in an older style in front of modern day laser lights, a creative and eye catching way to show that the blend of old and new can result in something amazing. 

“And the winner for best video with a social message is… ‘Same Love’ by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert!” No surprise there. This video is beautiful. It was like a mini chick flick so naturally I loved it. It actually made me tear up a little. The director appeals to his audience’s emotions and I fell right into his trap. Throughout the video events such as the birth of a baby, the civil rights movement, high school parties and being misunderstood evoke emotions that appeal to a variety of viewers. Each of these moments throughout our lives make us feel something; whether it is pain, happiness, love etc. we feel it.

The speakers, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert tell a story. They tell the story of a boy who is born and is loved by his parents. This boy is raised in a religious household but soon discovers he is out of place. He is gay. He eventually finds love though his religious parents at first do not approve. The story is a journey of a boy becoming a man who must fight for his love. In my first listening, I found that the speakers’ intent was to convey that love is love. A mother’s love is the same as a gay man’s love for his partner. But after watching the video I interpret it differently. From the video I see that Macklemore is not only saying that love is love but he is also voicing problems in our society. After watching the video I also found that the audience is not only homosexuals but all people who are discriminated against. Just as women used black freedmen to gain their right to vote, Macklemore uses Martin Luther King Jr. and the African Americans fight for human rights to gain a bigger audience. By this I mean that Macklemores proves his argument by comparing human rights to a gays rights. He says, "[its] the same fight that led people to walk-outs and sit-ins. It's human rights for everybody,  there is no difference." His intent is to speak up about discrimination towards homosexuals. He also says “I might not be the same but that is not important. No freedom until we are equal, damn right I support it.” During the video, American flags are juxtaposed with the gay straight alliance flag. Macklemore is making a statement with this song. And his message is clear.

Honestly, I never thought this song would be played on the radio or become "mainstream". It is a very controversial song. I know several people who will change the station as soon as it comes on. My moms best friend is a prime example of this. She hates this song. She is someone that will listen closely to hear every word in a song. She is also a republican and goes to church regularly. Though she does not have a problem with homosexuals, she is not a fan of gay marriage. In this song, Macklemore not only fights for homosexual’s right but he also expresses his opinions on society’s role in homosexual’s lives. By doing this he basically trashes on Hip-Hop songs, Americas society, republicans and also religion. There are several lines in this song that are very true but it shocked me to find these words in a mainstream hip-hop song. Personally I love this song and its message. Though its controversial it’s the truth. I think it is honorable that Macklemore was willing to voice his opinions to those who are willing to listen.

In all my life I had never sat down and watched the VMA's mainly because I never knew when they were and it didn't interest me. I certainly didn't think that it was a source for communication until it was mentioned in class. To jog my memory, I checked out the nominated and winning videos online. I came across Macklemore and Ryan Lewis song, Same Love. Every time this song came on in the car I would turn the volume a little higher and really listen to the story that was being told.

We as a nation are still very divided on the topic of gay marriage and Macklemore knows this. What better way to communicate to the American people then through the radio. We are constantly listening to the Top 40 so there is a good chance that his song will be played. The video starts with the most innocent thing in the world, a newborn baby. Every person softens up a little when a  delicate baby is born. This is exactly what Macklemore wants. He needs to soften the American people's stubborn minds and a baby with no prior knowledge or judgments is the perfect way to do this.

As the video goes on we start to see through they eyes of a gay man and the struggles that he faces. Before this though, Macklemore slaps the American people in the face with the stereotypes we set on people as a young age. He sings, "

When I was in the 3rd grade
I thought that I was gay
Cause I could draw, my uncle was
And I kept my room straight
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She's like, "Ben, you've loved girls since before Pre-K!"
Tripping, yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she?
A bunch of stereotypes all in my head"
People instill this fear into a persons head that if their gay then you might as well not exist. Macklemore pushes this fear that people set into the light of reality. A poor child was crying because he thought he was gay since he could draw and was neat. He wants Americans to feel ashamed for this torture they are putting on a child.

Macklemore then continues his mission by putting us through the pain of watching a confused, miserable boy that is gay grow up in a world that is against who he is. He uses the technique of being able to relate to someone. When the boy goes to a school dance he feels awkward because all the boys are dancing with the girls because that is the "right" way. I feel like everyone can relate to being awkward at a school dance even if you aren't gay. It may be because you cant dance or are shy. This breaks down the barrier of a straight and gay person because in the end they are both people.

Macklemore's purpose is to stop dehumanizing those that are different because we are all born human and deserve to be treated as one. So when Same Love comes on I turn it up a little louder and remember the message that is being told.

While many of the winning videos at the VMA's dealt with messages about love, their videos had questionable accuracy at displaying this theme, and most artists had the same trouble with other themes in their videos. I tried listening to some with ought music, and the following collages of unrelated, seizure inducing videos(one actually had such a disclaimer) could not bring me to the point of their song, even if I had watched it several times over. This does not make for proper communication if your audience becomes confused by images of Zebras crossing through a hangar, even if you have reasonably worthwhile lyrics. One song I found, "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, conveyed their age old theme of love properly, with a new twist, and with deeper ties to equality and acceptance.

The speaker in this video of course is Macklemore who opens his video by juxtaposing a birth with 3 couples, one gay, one straight, one lesbian. They all had images of the spouses speaking with each other, and with them holding hands. This brings them all to the same level, and gives us the message of the song, which is also quite apparent in the title, that all love is the same love, and sexual orientation has nothing to do with it. Race either, but that is a sidenote, even if it is still an important one, on the contemporary issue of equal rights to the LGBT community. The occasion for his writing then was Referendum 74 which would allow gay marriage in Washington state. It did end up passing, so there may be something to be said about the effect of this video, and the power of communication it has. Voter must have been the audience for this video, or any person who has an opinion on this issue. whether his purpose for showing them was to swing votes in Ref 74's favor, or to convince bigots of their stupidity, i'm not sure, it really could go either way. Whatever the purpose, the video was structured quite simply, as a simple love story between two men, and how that relationship progresses over their lives. Macklemore makes no direct reference to who these people are, if they are based on real people at all, although it may be a tribute to his uncle who he mentions is gay twice. These two people serve the purpose of appealing to the human condition, as most people have or will experience such a relationship with another person in their lifetime, and it gets the watcher to see that a gay relationship and gay love is no different than a straight one. Macklemore goes on to sing about other pressing and related themes such as stereotypes, use of words with ought thought, and basic human rights, all of which he relates back to gay marriage. He throws in images of Martin Luther King Jr., and people of all orientations getting married as a bonus to give an overall tone of equality. With it's lyrics, and video that works on it's own, Macklemore and Ryan lewis conveyed their support of gay marriage and Ref 74 with effective communication, the effective of which can be seen(again, no way to tell if it really helped) in the now gay marriage legalized state of Washington.

           The music video for “Carry On” by Fun starts off sullen and morose.  Nate Ruess, the lead singer of Fun, is contemplating suicide because he is depressed over the current failures his band is facing. Ruess then remembers the previous success he and his band have had in the past and he decides to persevere through his depression and attempt to change his current path in life.  As Ruess and his band members emerge out of the darkened apartment into the bright city, they realize that life is full of opportunities.  “Carry On” sends a message to the young adult community that may be struggling with depression or to people who feel they are worthless. The video shows the emotionally damaged people that there is more to live for and there is a place in this world for everybody. Ruess and his band members address their listeners in a comforting tone and provide a burst of inspiration to the individuals who may be struggling in life.

            The chorus of “Carry On” is short but highly effective. In the brief chorus, Fun uses a simile to compare people to sinking stones. The simile is “When you’re lost and alone, or you’re sinking like a stone, Carry on, Carry on” (1:48). By using this simile, Fun provides a visual for their message that people need to move forward and leave behind their past. The simile helps Fun persuade their listeners because a real example, like a sinking stone, eases the understanding of the topic at hand and can provide a point of relation between the listener and the song’s purpose. If a person actually feels like a sinking stone, then he or she can find meaning in Fun’s message and truly believe in what Fun is saying.

The way Fun organized their music video allows emotionally damaged people to relate to Ruess in the beginning. As the video progresses, the people struggling in life are shown that there is opportunity to become successful by viewing the parallel situation that Ruess perseveres through. Fun’s purpose is supported by the organization of their music video.  The viewer can relate to Fun’s message easier if the situation he or she is facing is presented in the early part of the video because the viewer can understand the path that Ruess successfully pursued and potentially model their own based upon Ruess’s.

Unlike the conventional VMA music video, “Carry On” is not littered with advertisements. Fun puts out a genuine message to the public that attempts to inspire emotionally damaged individuals. Organization and literary tropes like similes are effective methods that Fun uses to their advantage to persuade the audience that there is hope and it just needs to be uncovered.

Works Cited

Fun. Carry On Rec. Jan. 2011. Jeff Bhasker, 2012. MP3

With an immediate biblical reference to the “Last Supper,” Vampire Weekend automatically seizes the attention of their teen indie rock fans. The 2013 VMA nominated music video for “Diane Young” has already succeeded in their obvious purpose. The audience is hooked by the first scene. The longer they can keep us watching their video, the more advertising the song gets.

Opening with a modern take on the “Last Supper” is automatically effective in their goal. In pop culture today, it is not common that VMA nominated bands are referencing Jesus in their new hit song. Vampire Weekend uses a relatable image that their audience can associate with. This image makes their song stand out among the rest, giving their audience reason to sit through the two minutes and forty four seconds of this music video.

The details of this piece work together to get the audience to form and develop ideas about the meaning of their song. We see twelve disciples sitting at a table. As we look closer at each one, we see a masked man, focused on his iPhone. Another body in a orange collared shirt is caressing his espresso machine. Others in the back are drinking, smoking, and engaging in brawls. We immediately link all of these things to the teens of today’s society. Vampire Weekend does not use a series of romantic montages to keep us intrigued. Instead, they use images and details that leave us working to figure out their meanings. We are not only watching the music video, but now we have become invested, and involved in discovering its meaning. If the particular specimen watching the video is particularly invested in the cause, like myself, they’ll even watch the video several times until they grasp the meaning. This is exactly what the band had intended.

In analyzing the visuals of these music videos it is easy to forget that the song itself is used to keep the audience engaged. The title of the song “Diane Young” conveys a message within itself. “Diane Young” is a play on words for “dying young.” Diane Young almost becomes a personification of death. If the thought of dying young doesn't change the way you live your life then it is expected that you are accepting of the reality of it. A reference to the much loved American family is made in a simile stating, “you got the luck of a Kennedy.” The Kennedys have a reputation for dying at a young age, like the teen subjects of this song. The lyrics are used to convey a popular message to the audience. Vampire Weekend argues exactly what teens want to hear; that they should live recklessly without worrying about consequences.

Vampire Weekend was overall effective in their goal. I know this because after watching and analyzing this video for hours, I went online, and downloaded the 2013 VMA nominated song, “Diane Young.”

  

         Like Oceane, I spent a good part of yesterday watching most of the nominated music videos. Many of the songs I had already heard and liked on the radio had awful videos. I never expected much of Bruno Mars' "Locked out of Heaven," and I counted 10 #Thickes in Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" before I got fed up and closed the video(Be glad you stopped it when you did Oceane, stuffed animals made an appearance). But the video for Rihanna and Mikky Ekko's "Stay" did not do the song justice! Irritated and saddened, I finally stumbled upon "Carry On" by fun.

                

                I had already watched videos by fun., and "Carry On" was already one of my favorite songs. Videos by fun. are unique in the aspect that the video takes time to establish the context of the song and actually tell you a story. The song doesn't start until about a minute into the video. Instead, it started with slow piano music that gave me the feeling of unbearable sadness and pain. The camera pans to Nate Ruess, the head singer, literally picking himself off the ground. The video then cuts to all the members sitting in a room, blankly staring at the ground. Eventually, with great effort, Nate and the others walk out of the building and start to go around New York City. The song starts, and Nate beings to sing. He sings of his failed relationship with his girlfriend, and how lost he felt. They got to a bar to grieve about life (we talked and talked about how our parents will die…).

                

               But he ends up having a great time, and leaves with a positive outlook on life(But I like to think, I can cheat it all…When I was left for dead, I was found..). The lone piano accompaniment is then joined by drums, and guitar, and the song changes from somber to energetic. He then decides to keep going, even if life is painful and hard(No one's ever gonna stop us now…We are shining stars…We are invincible). This is a excellent song because there is a point in everyone's life where they feel they can't move on. "Carry On" is a song that everyone can identify with, and should have won an award at the VMA's.

“We come into this world unknown, but know that we are not alone.  They try and knock us down, but change is coming; it’s our time now.” These are the words that Kelly Clarkson opens with in her VMA nominated video “People Like Us.” The video, which was nominated for “Best Video with a Social Message,” inspires everyone who feels like an outsider to embrace his or her uniqueness. At the beginning of the video a girl is seen as an outcast, being the only colorful person in a world of black and white. By the end of the video, however, she is joined by an army of people just like her in a world where everything is in color.

             Because the girl is the only one not in black and white at the beginning of the video, scientists are observing her. The girl is treated like some freak of nature. The girl is then shown trapped in a cell. Clarkson, who is a scientist, sneaks into the cell. She takes the girls hand and swipes it across her face. As the girls hand drags across Clarkson’s face, Clarkson’s face reveals color. Just like the girl she is colorful and different. Clarkson then grabs the girl’s hand and the two make their escape out of the black and white lab. The alarms in the building go off and the colorless scientists chase after Clarkson and the girl. Two colorless men finally catch up to Clarkson and the girl in a forest that is covered in colors. Several other colorful people emerge from the forest, showing their support for Clarkson and the girl.

            Clarkson is sending a powerful message in her video, telling people not to be afraid to break the “normal” role and to show the world who they really are. The little girl was brave enough to show her colors but she was considered a freak, being poked and prodded by scientists. Clarkson was hiding as a monotonous human just like everybody else in their society and was hesitant to be different by showing her colors. Clarkson finally reveals her colors and by the end of the video she and the girl were in a land where everything was vibrant. They were joined by other colorful people and the colorless scientists who were afraid to be different were the outcasts. 

I didn't watch the VMAs.  As a matter of fact, I hadn't seen any of the featured videos before this assignment. Why? Because I think that videos try too hard to make you think about a piece of music in one way.  I imagine that there are times where a video is a true representation of the artists intention in writing and performing the song, but more often a music video is an attempt to expand and deepen the demand for the song and artist as a "product".   What sells a product in a media-saturated market?  Controversy sells.  It sells more than talent, it sells more than social responsibility and it sells far more than research, focus groups and good marketing.  The problem with controversy is that it is a fickle mistress.  While hot button issues can be manipulated to provoke a response, an audience reaction to the provocation can never be fully predicted.  The response of the public to a pre-concocted controversy is completely beyond the control of a few human beings. What does this mean for the VMAs?  Artists try way too hard to be controversial and often completely miss the mark.

I chose to view the video for "Can't Hold Us" by Maclemore and Ryan Lewis for this assignment.  The song, when listened to casually, is a great hip-hop dance riff with abundant energy, beat changes, and a simply catchy tune.  The piece makes me want to dance, move around, and lifts my spirit.  I have listened to the song countless times on the radio and enjoy it.  The lyrics are fast and jumbled, so I never really bothered to try too hard to understand what the song meant and it never really mattered.   As a male teen, I am the target audience for this song.   The fact that I like it is testimony to the song's appeal to it's intended market.

Upon viewing the video, my impression of the song changed.  A collection of juxtaposing images including desert and arctic tundra scenes, dog sleds and camels, city and country, young and old, primal and modern, the video seems to be trying to convince me that the song has the power to transcend time, distance, age, and social experience to deliver a message.  This message is carried throughout the video in the form of a pseudo-American flag with zig-zagged stripes and the message "The Heist" in place of the stars.  This flag is carried throughout the video ostensibly across these extremes of time and space to land on the highest man-made point in America - the Space Needle in Seattle.  My guess is that the artist is trying to convey that he has the power to "rob" us of our sensibilities in the referenced "heist" and in doing so, bring himself to great heights.  The idea is controversial, no one likes to think that they are manipulated for the benefit of someone else.  The reality is that every attempt at advertisement is just that, a manipulation, robbing this artist of the very power he tries to yield.

In the end, it is just a song with a confusing video.  "Can't Hold Us" won it's category for Best Hip Hop video with this piece.  I don't think the video won because it was successful at creating the controversy it attempted.  I think it won because it is a good song.

The 2013 MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video went to “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton.  This is an upbeat and energetic video, which contains many different scenes that include wolves, camels, a ship, and an old man with long white dreadlocks.  As Macklemore raps in the video, he is always joined by an exuberant young audience.  The video is a wild sequence of events that demonstrates how free the artists are, and that nothing can stop them from being free.  This concept is intended for a young audience that is tired of listening to other people and want to let go.  In the video, the audience is dancing and having a good time, and the artists are doing crazy activities that intend to make you want to do the same and be free.   
The chorus in “Can’t Hold Us,” repeats the phrase, “this is the moment, tonight is the night, we’ll fight ‘til it’s over, so we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us,” which drives home the intent to be free.  This use of dialogue in repetition makes the audience start to believe that if they fight for freedom, then they can have it. 
In the beginning of the video, an old man gives Macklemore a flag similar to the flag of the United States.  But, the flag has the words The Heist (Macklemore’s album) instead of the stars, and wavy stripes instead of straight ones.  Also, the colors of the flag are darker and there are only two.  Anyway, the flag is present in almost every scene in the video and goes through quite a ride.  First, it is dug out of the snow, then thrown out of a plane, submerged in the ocean, fired off of a rocket, and finally goes skydiving with Macklemore.  The flag, a symbol of freedom, is there when all of the dare devil stunts are performed.  This symbolizes that doing all these stunts will make you free.  The final image of the video is the flag waving in the wind on top of the Space Needle in Seattle. 
Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” is a video for letting loose and doing whatever you want.  They do crazy stunts and repeat words to live free by. The strategies used in the video succeed in the intent.        

     Imagine Dragons' song "Radioactive" was nominated for Best rock video at the 2013 MTV video music awards. Imagine Dragons creates a video that displays the power a government has until one or a group of people rebel against the standards of society.

     The video portrays an arena where stuffed animals fight each other in a battle. The reigning champion has never lost and the champion easily beats the other animals who are then sent to an underground dungeon. After a woman introduces the next challenger as a pink teddy bear, the champion and the bear fight it out. To everyone's surprise, the pink teddy bear beats the champion and a new champion is crowned. After the leader of the arena is dethroned, the mysterious woman goes to the underground dungeon and frees the prisoners.

     This video portrays a common revolution that is instigated by the people who feel that their government has too much power. The people and challengers who are in the dungeon depict the failed attempts at overthrowing the government. The pink teddy bear's success in the arena marks the beginning of the revolution between the people and the government. The video ends with the stuffed animals swarming the ring leader.

     The lyrics for "Radioactive" also promote the issue of a government having too much authority over the people. After the teddy bear's victory, the lyric "Welcome to the new age, to the new age" is heard. The placement of the lyric in the video supports the theory of the people who want to be freed and move on to a "new age". Imagine Dragons sing "I raise my flags, don my clothes/It's a revolution, I suppose" to show that the people do not support the government. Their flag represents a flag of liberty and independence. Donning clothes is their preparation for the revolution that is to come.

     Like Oceane, I agree that the song relates to the story about David and Goliath. No one expected the new comer to beat out the reigning champion but the new comer won the battle. This shows that anyone has what it takes to overthrow what oppresses them.