meta, or, why this video CREEPS. ME. OUT.

[sailorstkwrning]

The Like - He's Not A Boy from Downtown Music on Vimeo.

WARNING: THE COMMENTARY THAT FOLLOWS MAY BE TRIGGERY FOR ASSAULT.

Or: here is the doubtless unpopular fannish opinion that has been gnawing at my brainmeats for some time now. In this opinion, I will be discussing past things that have happened to me that may be triggery for assault for others.



Here are some possibly disorganized thoughts to do with The Like's aesthetic and also this video.

1. The beehives and the clothes are meant to evoke '60s glamour, which they do, and that's cool! I like '60s glamour. Visually, they're an echo of the Ronettes, who, Wikipedia tells me, were rock n' roll's "original bad girls." This is interesting because to my modern eyes, '60s glamour looks demure and ladylike. Sweet. Charming. Sexy, but reserved. But to their contemporaries, they were, like, idk, the Pussycat Dolls, maybe. Because they had TIGHT SKIRTS and BIG HAIR, oh gracious!

2. The thing with the Ronettes is that the spectre of Phil Spector hangs over them (and most especially Ronnie Spector) like a maleficent cloud. And that curly-haired dude at the beginning? Totally trips my Phil Spector wire.

3. And then there's the actual dark interior, with various girls being backed into walls by dancing boys, which is where I felt the first creeping tendrils of panic. Because I've been there. I've been backed into a wall -- actually a locker -- by a huge crowd of boys and while they never touched me, they just stood there and stared and laughed while I frantically tried to figure out an escape strategy. (What I came up with: whapping the little one nearest me on the head with my trapper keeper and running for it. I didn't have to do it, in the end, the lunch bell rang and saved me, but I remember the fear and gathering myself to strike.) (They had gathered so that one of their own might (teasingly) ask me out -- essentially pinning me down by their presence -- so he could, as it turned out, toy with my affections. I wanted nothing to do with him before that, and even less so afterwards.)

4. And the girls (except, maybe, for Z) spend the video looking jumpy, twitchy, scared. Annie in particular seems to be spending the whole thing on a knife's edge. That may be (is probably) me LOL PROJECTING, but . . . it did nothing to ease my growing alarm.

5. Against this palette, the lyrics of the song are much grimmer, less a wry advice and more . . . resigned to being trapped.

6. So, in conclusion: It's all fun and games until someone turns into Phil Spector. Obviously I don't know what Subtle Themes, if any, they wanted to go for when they made this video, or even how much of the presentation was their idea. And I don't make it into a metaphor for their real lives. I just find it unutterably creepy and awful and disturbing, which makes me sad because I really want(ed) to love this song. Most of the time I still do, as long as I can push the visuals out of my mind.

Comments

[almostblue.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on this. I think it may have been on purpose--there's a certain sense of self-awareness about this video that I can't quite put my finger on--but there is definitely an uncomfortable vibe that lends a grimmer, darker feel to the original. Well said, because I've been thinking the same thing for a while.

[sailorstkwrning.livejournal.com]

something about the way Z looks at the camera suggests they're doing it on purpose, which, I can't decide if that's creepIER, or kind of interesting, that they're forcibly de-romanticizing their quasi-romantic image. I am, in any case, deeply curious as to what is going on in their heads.

And also very glad that I a) made sense and b) am not the only one creeped out.

[egelantier.livejournal.com]

i can't even decipher the lyrics so i can't say how much they enhance the feel, but yeah, i'm pretty sure that the creepy vibe is there, i just don't know how intentional it is. for me it was this moment when something is thrown on scene and tennessee just flinches from it, i think. danger danger.

[sailorstkwrning.livejournal.com]

the lyrics are:

He's not a boy that you can change
Nor should you want to
He's not a boy that you contain
Don't let it taunt you
Don't even try to run away
He wouldn't stop you
He's not a boy that you can change
I know you want to

You can wait all night
You can wait all day
But he's not a boy that you can change

We were up all night
Talking trash and wasting time
When he says you're beautiful
It's not a lie
But in the morning you might find
That he might have changed his mind
He got lonely for a love
For just one night

He's not a boy that you can change
Nor should you want to
He's not a boy that you contain
Don't let it taunt you
Don't even try to run away
He wouldn't stop you
He's not a boy that you can change
I know you want to

You can wait all night
You can wait all day
But he's not a boy that you can change

Even when he lies
He means every word he says
His delusions find their way
Inside your head
And he knows that beauty lies
But he likes it by his side
Just to take you for a ride
'Till the mystery dies

You may say
Why don't you realise
I could give you everything
But you see
He can't be contained
or satisfied by all
you could bring

He's not a boy that you can change
Nor should you want to
He's not a boy that you contain
Don't let it taunt you
Don't even try to run away
He wouldn't stop you
He's not a boy that you can change
I know you want to

You can wait all night
You can wait all day
But he's not a boy that you can change
He's not a boy that you could save
He's not a boy that you can change