Mind Was Slow- Media Review #2

I decided to do After by Moby. This music video was under character studies, which is one of my favorite things. I was drawn to this particular music video because I just love how the story of this girl was told through a series of themed shots. There was no continual flow but a lot of jumping back and forth using images and still lifes and metaphorical scenes to explain the character.

The story starts with setting up the place and characters. The first shot is an expositional shot telling us where this was taking place. Right away we know the characters are in a rich maybe royal home. It also sets up the color theme that plays throughout the story with the red flowers, then shows us two regal people preparing to dance together. It's not long after the main character is revealed running through the courtyard away from others, all of them in white. The words, "But my mind was slow" playing repeatedly throughout. I think that the lyrics while repetitive play to the story very well. Saying, " Oh when you had the time to give, Oh when I had a life to live" which I think refers to being a child and having your whole life ahead of you. The other lyrics say "Oh when you want, you want from me," meaning she had to fill a role and everyone around the character expects something she can't give, because her mind is still slow.

There's than a greatly contrasting shot of the girl in black in the rain surrounded by others in black. The colors white, red, and black seem to already be playing a big part in this music video. The blackness and dreariness contrasting the lighthearted running through a sunny courtyard tell me there was a tragedy. The girl is always seen in red after the funeral. To solidify the concept that there was a tragic death the girl see's a couple, a man and a women, with skull masks over their heads.

It's hard to catch but the following sequence of shots reveal that the skull headed people were the people preparing to dance before, as they are seen dancing in the darkness briefly.

The redness and flowers are shown throughout.

One of my favorite contrasts in this music video is the shots of the little red wooden rocking horse and then the shots of the huge black horse. Emphasizing the growth and lost childhood. Another shot that shows this is the girl lifting her leg to put her foot in a large high heel which is too big for her, showing how she is a girl that has to fill the shoes of an adult.

The whole story is kind of sad. The story of a girl who loses her esteemed parents and has to take over for them and the responsibilities they left. She does so unwillingly, there are shots of her looking in pain as someone pours her a cup of tea or a man shoving legal papers in her face while screaming. In the end she pricks her finger on a red rose and blue blood comes from her finger. At this point of the video the blue is shocking when we've been seeing nothing but red, black, and white. She can't run away from who she is and ends up taking her crown, her blue robe, and leaving the child she was behind.

It's difficult to describe every image that is shown because there are a lot of shots that flicker on and then off again so quickly you hardly have time to process what is is you saw. I had to watch it multiple times and pause it to get all the pieces together. Which I think is the feeling they want. This is a story of a girl who is forced out of her childhood after the death of her parents. All the responsibilities fall to her and it's not something any child wants. I like this character and I love her story, and the way it was told.