Firstly in this video we see a close up of Rihanna standing in front of flames while singing the words “watch me burn”. This could be to show her being vulnerable which is a common stereotype of females however it’s actually quite biased and unfair. We are not sure as to what it means at this point as it is too early to tell but some may say that she is frustrated or angry and the flames are there to express her feelings. However the most important thing to notice in this video is that the two singers “Eminem” and “Rihanna” are singing about a couple; each of the singers have their own setting for their parts in the song until they finally come together at the end of the song but we also are mainly watching the hideous suffering of the female in the couple’s relationship. In the next frame, the couple lay in bed half dressed and asleep to maybe indicate that they have just had sex but more importantly, the setting looks very dull and dingy which is symbolic of the state of the relationship.
After a quick shot back to Rihanna’s face we then see the female character sitting down in a dark room with a flame in her hand. It could be argued that what she is holding is a representation of how she is feeling inside; as if she is burning and searing with anger. The same thing then happens again; a quick glance back at Rihanna as she sings and then back to our female subject however slightly close to her. Another feature is that at this stage of the song, the tempo and feel is very soft and slow, therefore the rate of cuts is slow and this mirrors how the female character feels, very sad, emotional but not running around in fury. Additionally, the fact that Rihanna’s hair is red is vital to the meaning of the song. Red is hot. It's a strong colour that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare. This could therefore mean that our female character is in a relationship which is passionate yet with that passion, has a lot of violence and heat.
The violence is a very clear and obvious theme in the video as at 0:34 we see the female character (Meghan Fox) get out of bed angrily and pushing the man by her side away from her to show that she is most defiantly angry at this man. We are not sure why yet but at 0:40 the violence increases and what’s interesting is that we see the female hitting the man which is going against stereotypes such as men being violent and women being weak. The female is very much in control. However the stereotypes come back into play when the male finally takes over, showing his masculinity (also shown by his muscle). At 0:49 we get the idea that the male character is very much dominant and over powering as he does not allow Meghan to leave which is clearly stated in both the lyrics and their acting. All of these little scenes are trying to convey to the audience that they’re relationship is in tatters, the female is very much being suffocated by the over powering man and she physically can’t stop it.
However when Rihanna’s chorus kicks back in, we see the couple passionately kissing against the wall which the man had just punched. This could be to show that even though they fight like they do, they do still love each other. This is also enforced by Rihanna’s facial expressions; they half look as if she is in pain, but at the same time look as if she is enjoying the pain, and slightly sexual.
A very typical scenario in this type of song is seeing a man in a pub on his own with a bottle of beer looking sorry for himself and this video has a perfect example at 1:41. It could mean that when men are having a hard time, they result to alcohol although not all men do that so it’s differing between different types of men and we get the impression that this man probably drinks quite a lot and has had a rough time. In contrast to this we see Meghan Fox crying in the corridor of her own home to express her anger and distraught feelings. Typically men are associated with being angry and when they do get angry they really do show it, especially men like the one in this video; this is perfectly displayed at 2:06 as we see him shout to himself with his hand in face as if he is in incredible pain but it clearly something he is feeling inside, obviously to do with his relationship.
The male gives Meghan a teddy bear and a flower. In some aspects it’s sort of humorous, has he given her these things to try n make things better as a joke? Or on the other hand are these sentimental and something that mean a great deal to Meghan and therefore make her look much more feminine. Another thing that men are associated with is the idea that they are very protective over their women; something that the director feels needs to be shown very clearly when we see Meghan talking to another man in a bar and our main male character attacks him with a bottle in fury. At 2:52 there is a great deal of symbolism. We have the male holding a piece of broken mirror which he caused himself and in its reflection is him with Meghan behind him which is something very common in horror films but in this case, he wants to see what’s behind him, he wants to see that she is still there.
I believe that even the characters themselves have been very carefully chosen. Meghan Fox is a very attractive lady with a good body and the director may have felt that most girls would aspire to look like her and from seeing her previous work; she is actually a very likeable character so seeing her looking so distraught is actually quite traumatic for some people. However it is saying that women should look like that; no excess weight, perfect physique and highly attractive. The male played by Dominic Monaghan is classified as a very macho man due to his build and personality and previous works. The director way be trying to sum up a large range of the male population with this one man which is a very bold statement but in saying that, I am sure that a lot of boys and young men would like to grow into something like Dominic.
We then see a series of scenes in which the true male anger comes out; he tears the house apart and strikes Meghan Fox which is something quite sever in today’s society so maybe the audience will judge him for doing that, but they most defiantly get the impression that he is not in a fit mental state and he takes his anger out with violence. While all this is going on, their emotions and feeling are mirrored in the setting of the singers who have now merged and it set to look like they are standing outside of the burning house that the couple are staying in; the flames are blazing and their movements are quite fast and uncomfortable. Then something vital happens. We go back to the scene at the start where Meghan is holding the flame. Except now we see her close her hands to put the flame out which signifies that she has had enough and isn’t going to take this anymore; she is going to fight back (the rise of feminism). To end the song we see a series of shots where lots of things are on fire. Dominic is on fire which could either be to show that he is so angry he is now alight, or that now Meghan has finally stood up for herself he is burning away. Meghan is also engulfed by flames at one stage while she is cuddled up on her bad looking sad which could show that all the burning up that was going on inside is now coming out as she releases it from herself. Just before the end we see the singers turn to face the burning house which is showing that audience the destruction that this relationship has caused. However, to finally end, we see Meghan waking up in the same bed we saw her in at the start, so maybe all of what we saw was a dream, or a hope? But we know that their relationship status was very much real.
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