"The first half of Spike Jonze's video for Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" is simple enough: a gang of teenagers biking around the suburbs, goofing off, shooting BB guns, roughhousing, enjoying each other's company. As with Where the Wild Things Are, Jonze is great at capturing the motion of being young. But what seems like a sweet and nostalgic ride around the cul de sac gets darker as the video progresses: The kids are shooting BB guns at heavily armed soldiers and cops, Homeland Security–looking types who are making their presence felt in the burbs (and who are also played by Arcade Fire's own Win Butler and Régine Chassagne). If at first the law seems part of the scenery, halfway through they get more active making sketchy, scary nighttime stops and throwing the teens up against hurricane fences to search them. The kid with the girlfriend gets arrested, and after that experience, a severe haircut, and a bad house party, he ends up beating his other friend senseless inside a fast-food restaurant. The suburbs, they've got a dark side."
(http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/spize_jonze_directs_the_aracad.html)
The suburbs are not as innocent as they seem. More goes on in the suburbs than what people think. The aren't alwyas how people percieve them to be. I feel the writers inteded you to see how the the suburbs can differ from the image people have of them. Also that the have another side that people dont't always see.
ReplyDelete"But what seems like a sweet and nostalgic ride around the cul de sac gets darker as the video progresses: The kids are shooting BB guns at heavily armed soldiers and cops, Homeland Security–looking types who are making their presence felt in the burbs."
ReplyDelete1)The seemingly delightful ride through the neighborhood transforms into a serious situation with authority: Kids rebel against oppressive authority figures such as police and soldiers whose presence is not necessary in such a calm and innocent community.
2)The kids' joyride throughout the suburbs in the beginning of the video begins to turn violent as oppressive members of the government begin to arrive: Cops, soldiers, and Homeland-security staff are fired upon by the kids with BB guns, and they respond to this rebellion with brute force, making their presence known throughout the previously calm neighborhood.
3)The music video begins with fun-loving kids having a nostalgic joyride through their neighborhood, however this innocent activity turns violent as soon as authority figures arrive: Armed cops and soldiers are shot at by the kids with BB guns, and their fun is instantly brought to a halt by oppression and unecessary violence that authorities impose upon them, instantly establishing their dominance in a suburb which does not require their assistance.
The writer attempts to describe the way that average people of America are suppressed by power-hungry authority figures. Simple fun cannot be had by children without some sort of government authority oppressing them with the aid of unecessary weapons. "The Suburbs" music video demonstrates an exaggerated instance in which the police, national guard, etc. disrupts a fun-loving, carefree neighborhood with guns and violence.
"But what seems like a sweet and nostalgic ride around the cul de sac gets darker as the video progresses: The kids are shooting BB guns at heavily armed soldiers and cops, Homeland Security–looking types who are making their presence felt in the burbs."
ReplyDelete1. The journey through the perfect and awesome suburbs turns dreary as the video goes on. The children begin to commit acts of juvenile deliquents and Homeland-security makes an appearance.
2. As the video moves forward, the innocent suburbs go from being the place to be to somewhere you do not want to find yourself. The children are acting as criminals and Homeland-security is invading the space.
3. The harmless joyride through the suburbs turns dangerous and sinister when the kids start to perform criminal acts and Homeland-security gets involved.
I discovered that the writer is trying to get past the stereo type that the surburbs are perfect and innocent and go beneath the surface to discover that the surburbs do have flaws and blemishes. Suburban areas are thought to be flawless, but they too have problems like everywhere else whether it be the inner city or a rural area.
The lyrics we can pick is “Sometime I can’t believe it, I am movin’ past the feeling; Sometimes I can’t believe it, I’m movin’ past the feeling again” This part lyrics was repeated three times in the whole song context. The style the author used is conflict. We can analyze the lyrics above as “Although I can’t believe it is true, I am moving the past feeling is also a fact.” The author showed his helpless and conflict feeling in the whole story. According to the video, there are some teenagers ride bikes on the suburb in a Sunni day, but when they grow up, the scene become to the night and some dark things happened. Therefore, I think perhaps the author want to express a changed and unstable life, which nobody can predict in the video.
ReplyDelete"But what seems like a sweet and nostalgic ride around the cul de sac gets darker as the video progresses: The kids are shooting BB guns at heavily armed soldiers and cops, Homeland Security–looking types who are making their presence felt in the burbs."
ReplyDelete1."But what appears like a wistful trip around the court gets gloomier as the video advances: The youngsters are firing BB guns at seriously equipped army men and Police Officers, Homeland Security–like folk who are making their existence felt in the city."
2. "What seems like a fun ride around the neighborhood gets blacker as the video progresses: The children are shelling BB rounds at greatly prepared armed forces and Law Enforcement Officials, Homeland Security–looking characters who are making their manifestation felt in the suburbs."
3. "What started as a nice outing around the district quickly becomes vaguer as the video progresses: The youths are bombarding the completely supplied fighters and police department officers with BB pellets, Homeland Security–looking people who are making their being there felt in the metropolis."
The writer is trying to show that the suburbs are not perfect. The fact that the military came into a small town shows that no place is perfect and problems can pop up anywhere. The kids were just having fun and getting away with some bad things like shooting people with BB guns. The writer brings in the government to show suburbs are just like every other neighborhood and not higher than others like some might think.
"But what seems like a sweet and nostalgic ride around the cul de sac gets darker as the video progresses: The kids are shooting BB guns at heavily armed soldiers and cops, Homeland Security–looking types who are making their presence felt in the burbs."
ReplyDelete1.At first the sweet bikeride through the neighborhood takes a turn towards evil: the gang finds top military officials and local law enfocement and shoot their fake guns at them, making their presence felt.
2.In the beginning the gang takes a lesuirely ride in their city but they soon turn bad: the teenagers load and shoot their BB guns aimed at military men and members of government agencies just so they know they are on the gangs turf.
3.A simple bike ride around the cul de sac eventually gets wild as the video goes on: the kids track down military members and local law enforcement agencies in their city, firing plastic bullets at them trying to make their presence felt.
I think the writer is trying to intend that teenagers now a days keep getting worse. These teenagers started off taking quiet bike rides, but then they started getting evil and even shooting at different law enforcement agencies. These kids started off as what seems to be nice children but as the video continued, we soon found out this was not the case.
“If at first the law seems part of the scenery, halfway through they get more active making sketchy, scary nighttime stops and throwing the teens up against hurricane fences to search them. The kid with the girlfriend gets arrested, and after that experience, a severe haircut, and a bad house party, he ends up beating his other friend senseless inside a fast-food restaurant. The suburbs, they've got a dark side”
ReplyDelete1) If in the beginning the authority appears to be a part of the background, halfway through they become more active, making suspicious and frightening night time stops and throwing the adolescents against a storm barrier to search them. The kid in the relationship is arrested and after that event, a harsh haircut and falling out at a house party, he ends up pummeling one of his other friends senseless in a fast food restaurant. Suburban areas have their dark side as well.
2) If it is believed that initially the authority appears to exist superficially, halfway into the video they become more operational, making suspicious and frightening stops in the night and throwing the adolescents against a storm barrier in order to search them. The teen in the relationship is detained and after that event, getting a harsh haircut and a falling out at a house party, he proceeds to pummel one of his other friends senseless. It seems that suburbs have their own dark side.
3) If it is believed that initially the authority exists only superficially, partway into the video, they take a more operational stance, making suspicious and frightening stops in the night and tossing the adolescents against a storm barrier in order to search them. The teen in the relationship is detained. Afterwards he appears with a harsh haircut and goes through a falling out at a house party after which he proceeds to thrash one of his friends within a fast-food establishment. It appears that the even the suburbs have a dark side.
The video goes through a transition from carefree idyllic youth to something violent and dark with the presence of soldiers openly wielding automatic weapons. Their presence seems to suggest an overreaching issue affecting the town and the group of teens is swept up in it. It appears that the messages is that even paradise have its dark side.
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ReplyDeleteBut what seems like a sweet and nostalgic ride around the cul de sac gets darker as the video progresses: The kids are shooting BB guns at heavily armed soldiers and cops, Homeland Security–looking types who are making their presence felt in the burbs.
ReplyDeleteThis beautiful scene that kids riding bike around the suburban does not last long. They begin to attack army men and police by BB guns when they get tired of the present daily life and want to feel being existing in the suburbs.
The thing that hides behind these sweet scenes is that these kids turn bad with the development of the story; they start to shoot BB guns at police and soldiers because they want to feel their existences in the suburban.
These joyful kids start to commit some crimes soon after they grow up: The somehow become eager to feel their existence among the suburbs and start to shoot at government officers and troops.
By the contrast to these teenagers’ childhood, nowadays they have been trying to find the sense of being in the suburbs, where everything is supposed to be peaceful and joyful; however, what they have done turn evil and eventually change themselves and might at last destroy their life.