'Bethlehem' is a song by Declan Mckenna, a solo artist signed to Columbia records, the music video for this single was released in June 2016 and was directed by John Merizalde. His style is counted as alternative but also has singer-songwriter qualities evident in his music due to his approach to writing. The alternative or indie genre characteristics reinforce Declan Mckenn's style, the examples in this video are :
- Vintage grain effects
- Landscape shots
-Gritty, natural lighting
-Smoking characters
-Retro styling
- Film camera style composition
The lyrical content of the song is based around the idea of views being oudated and the selective ideology of religion. In terms of establishing the theme locations found in the video reinforce the theme of religion with many shots of a church, religious families and the cross symbol.
The lyrics continue to discuss the condeming of sins by those in power who commit simillar acts themselbes, the hypocrosy of those in power is visually emphasised in a series of shots. The visuals suggest a couple is belived to sin for having a physical relationship before marrige yet those who sin in other way (mostly drugs and alcohol) are not at all punished. Those who are devoted to their cause will do anything to guarentee their future even if this means pushing others down.
"You follow codes and break them
For love is only what does suit you most"
There are many shot-reverse-shot sequences of the young lovers in church taken from their perspective and eyeline match to reinforce their awareness of a lack of freedom in religion. The lyrics discuss love only existing to meet certain standards, the visuals illustrate this through a fast paced straight cut sequence of close-up and mid shots. This involves of one of the young lovers and one of the older committed memebers of the church who fight due to conflict over their contrasting morals and views of love.
"For love is only as you see it"
Overall, the lyrical content of the song is based upon people thinking they are above others based on their own beliefes and that religious groups are focused on defeating forms of love they do not experience.
"I've got a seat in heaven,
And though I am heaven sent,
I can do as I want"
In terms of music and visual connection the editing is driven by the beat of the song, this creates a sense of an ordered narrative which is well translated from song to screen. The guitar solo is amplified by the jump in editing pace transitioned after a longer shot to emphasise the mood of the narrative.
The shot sequence with many angles and shot sizes introduces a fast pace parallelled in the instrumental developments. The scene involves a fight between religious brothers and one of the protaganist, young lovers.
I find the video extrmley interesting and well balanced with lyric and music content leading the narrative, the connections are translated well visually with mise-en-scene, edits and shots. I found the first watch a little confusing as there was a lot going on with intercutting performance pieces but then found many effective elements on the many times I watched the video after.
The record company sells the artist through various performance scenes and his unique songwriting topics which address social issues not discussed by younger people in the media. The track attracts a young indie audience who share the same views as Declan and appreciate seeing a representation of themselves in the public eye.
The video highlights the concerns of society shared by Declan and his fan base thus selling him as a self aware, interesting alternative young person. This is how the 'star image' is portrayed to his audience also seen in his previous videos, an example being his music video for 'Paracetemol' which addresses gender and sexuality issues amongst young people. The motifs of young people facing issues which are of concern to them in the current social climate are found in all of Declan Mckenna's work, this is just one of the ways his star image is reinforced mirroring Dyer's stardom theory.
In terms of conventions of music videos this example adresses sexual liberation rather than explotation and objectification. Declan Mckenna's narrative for the song and music video is based upon the values of religion and their attitudes towards love, therefore McKenna tackles the physical side of the young couple's relationship by focusing on their love for each other rather than pleasure or 'voyerism'.
The video has a balance of performance and narrative to sell the song and the artist, the use of a strong narrative which intertwines well with lyrical content creates an allround effective music video set apart from most through unique aesthetic and narrative the unique selling point of Declan as an artist.
Overall, the video includes a hugely interesting aesthetic down to shot composition and the post production editing. The locations and narrative are completely fitting to the song elevating the piece as a whole. In terms of promoting the star's image and selling Declan McKenna's music the video is entirely successful, the director captured the essence of the single and the artist effectivley leaving fans with an interesting visual representation of the single and intreguing a wider audience also.
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