The Unpopular Opinion: Earth Song v2.0 Me & You

[rosiedoes]

So, the new Fall Out Boy video has premiered, and it would seem that virtually everyone loves it.

I don't. And here's why:

1. It's cliched.

The video opens with an elderly lady, presumably a village elder, telling people that this situation can't go on, and announcing that she will tell us a story of two kids (spell it out for us, why don't you?). What ensues is a sweet little story of two young people who are, as your grandma would say, 'courting' - complete with a gift of heart-shaped stone he finds while doing hard labour at what appears to a quarry. (Stop me if you think you've heard this one before...)

2. It's contrived.

The little love story that plays out has been included to crowbar some sense into making a political statement into a song about a struggling relationship and sex. WHY, I've got to ask, didn't they make this separate from the album and write a song which fitted the issue they're addressing? They could easily have afforded to make this a charity single - an unaffiliated release like The Masses Against The Classes - why force an issue so important to them, and to so many Ugandans, into a song that does not do it justice?

3. It doesn't feel genuine.

The kids they have recruited to play the lovers are not brilliant actors (which I cannot blame them for at all) and the scenes themselves feel far too much like we are watching people acting. It doesn't feel for a minute like we are watching a story unfold. The symbolism is clumsy and all a little bit too Hallmark. A little bit too forced.

The guerilla camp scene was like it had been ripped out of Apocalypse Now, or something.

(Is the kid wearing a hat a Patrick reference?)

4. It's patronising.

Patronising both to the Ugandans, in that I feel the whole thing should have been narrated by an upper class British woman who lived there as part of British rule and was telling a dinner party full of people about the Oh my gosh, terrible things that happened, but really, you know, they're just like us. Hm-hm. I know, hard to imagine, isn't it?.

And patronising to the Westerners in that it seems to be spoon feeding us this notion that the Ugandans are people with rights and feelings and that we should SRSLYOMG be able to relate to them. Of course they have rights and feelings! They're human beings! What idiots are we being taken for?

5. EARTH SONG OMG.

The whole thing ends with the band being mobbed by hundreds of Ugandan children which instantly reminded me of Earth Song at the Brit Awards and was just... I cringed. I actually cringed.



In my opinion they would have been better off going without a plot and just showing the horrendous conditions and stories of the people they really met. Making it genuine and representational instead of contrived and a clear attempt to make the western world think, "OMG - THEY'RE JUST LIKE US, REALLY!", which is kind of crass. Of course they're like us, they're human beings. But I want to see an honest representation of what they are going through - a display of how we can help and why they need the help - rather than a cinematised fable.

I don't blame the boys in the band for this - I'm really pleased and really proud of them for what they are trying to achieve. I just find this video failed at that. I find it embarrassing and I kind of expect it to be panned in the press.



And if you're interested, this is how to make a political statement in a music video.

Onward to the impending flame-war, then...

Comments

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Prayer of the Refugee made me cry my eyes out, dude. It made me feel so, so guilty. I only buy reputable, Fair Trade products after seeing it - where possible.

This video, though, means nothing to me. It really doesn't. Except for being proud of my boys for trying at all.

[sweetharet.livejournal.com]

I have to disagree with you on this one. I respect your points, there's some truth there I think, for sure. Is it cliched and a bit contrived? Yes.
I felt like it was genuine, though, and I think the reason they went for more of a cinematic rather than documentary style feel was because they wanted people in other parts of the world to relate. Should it be necessary to reinfore the idea that people in Africa are human beings just like us? Absolutely not. But unfortunately, at least here in America, some people tend to lump the world into "them" or "us".
I think anything that inspires compassion is worthy of being applauded, and I'm proud of the guys for this as I'm sure you are too. With all the crap on TV these days, at least the guys tried to do something that mattered.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

I'd love to know if the ♥ shape actually means a single thing to Ugandans.

[azrielen.livejournal.com]

I feel very much the same.

One one hand, I think it's good that ANYONE attempts to make a statement.

However, I just don't think Me And You was a good choice of song for this video. The song is a bit happy-go-lucky for me, and maybe the video is meant to be hopeful, but. I dunno. I just doesn't really fit.

This video makes me feel kind of uneasy. Like something just not working right in it, and maybe it is that sense of contrived-ness.

I like the video. I like the statement that it's making. It just comes off as a bit amateurish, perhaps. Maybe more solid direction could have helped? It'll be interesting to see how more people outside the main fandom react to it.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Well, exactly - I adore them for saying what they're saying, I just don't think it was best articulated like this. Especially after their, "Liek um totally..." speeches at the charity show thing.

It kind of makes them look a bit ignorant, really. Like they're playing at the Caring For The World Thing™ and don't really mean it.

I think the problem was that they had You & Me pinned for the single and then wanted to do this video but were forced to work with what they had. I really wish they'd made a separate one - how could a record company justifiably turn a request to do that down?

[ashe-frost.livejournal.com]

I'm not offended by it or anything, but it was weird and I didn't watch it all the way through.

And I was annoyed by the hat because it made me think about Pete and Ashlee, because she wears a hat like that virtually all the time. And I didn't want to hink about Pete and Ashlee, I wanted to give a fuck about what was going on.. But I didn't.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Which is probably the worst thing about it - it doesn't capture people.

Go and watch the Rise Against video in the second link. That one will.

[crash-it-yo.livejournal.com]

i laughed because alot of the stuff you found wrong with the video is stuff that can be used to describe pete. he's every cliche, but he does it best.

:D

yeah, when i was watching it there was part of me that liked it and part that hated it. it was visually very beautiful, but a story that could have been really moving wasn't really, well, all it could be. and the kids thing wasn't that cool either.

even so, i liked it cause they tried.

damn, it really pisses me off that fall out boy changed thier entire aesthetic. what is with that?

[kookykay.livejournal.com]

The thing that I particularly disliked was how Hallmark/Lifetime the whole music video felt like, too happy for the scenario it was in to be believable.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Yeah. They Americanised young Ugandan kids.

Do they even have the ♥ symbolism in Africa?

[redheaded-itch.livejournal.com]

I've got to agree with a lot of your points. I'm fairly indifferent toward the video (and the whole situation to an extent, but that's another story), because once you've seen the documentaries and films on Sierra Leone and Rwanda (Une Dimanche A Kigali, anyone?), the rest is fairly routine.

Your point #2: Yes, yes, YES. I couldn't wrap my head around why they would make the video to that particular song. I know bands need to set singles a certain time ahead, but geez. If you wanted to make the video, write a new song for it.

That said, it was a good effort. I guess they figured that since much of their audience is so young, the situation would be better presented this way. Maybe? Who knows.

And also a big "Woo!" for Rise Against. Amazing band, amazing video, and they're one of the few good bands in the world that bother touring Canada east of Montreal.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Did you see Rise Against on the most recent tour?! My friend's band was supporting them.

[megyal]

Since I spent the entire time watching boy-kissing videos and this Washington video that made me laugh, I only got wind of the video when my f-list was bubbling over it.

I watched it and I really admire the effort that they're trying to put behind the message, but I'm not too particular about the video. I mean. I don't hate it, really, but it didn't make me cry, I don't know what they were going for. I kept wondering, why this song?

I dunno. I guess if they were using this song for this issue, I would have wanted a more subtle approach?

In my opinion they would have been better off going without a plot and just showing the horrendous conditions and stories of the people they really met.

Yeah, I agree. It would have juxtaposed wonderfully with the song. Or with another song...that they wrote for it.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly.

I know their intentions were the best, but it was just... I don't feel like it came out the way it was supposed to.

I know they could have done better.

[harpsb.livejournal.com]

I agree with you.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

:)

[mutinousp.livejournal.com]

I love how it took x amount of paragraphs to explain how shit the video is! I agree with you on every point, it's a like Disney film it's so cliche.

Kudos for them to trying, to be brutally honest, I wouldn't have bothered. This is going to trivialise the situation, people will become used to seeing it, on MTV, and just think that there is a way out of the situation as long as there is love.

I could vent for ages, but yeah. You Are Not Alone (lol at my own pun, which was completely unintentional).

I hope you don't mind that I vented a bit on your journal and I apologise for being a bit blunt. But I really agree lol.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Nah, as long as you're not flaming me for thinking it, I don't mind. XD

[nametags.livejournal.com]

Although I respect your opinion, I severely disagree with you. The song is happy, but honestly would you want to be trying to make a video like this around people who live in that sort of life with a depressing song? So what if they don't understand English, music is universal. It had to be cliche, because honestly? The world is a cliche. It's how we relate to the world.

The reason why this song and this video work and ARE genuine, is because Pete didn't force himself into writing a song about the situation. He used a universal truth about relationships, and they fit it into the Ugandan life. And yes, the kids aren't the best actors. They weren't born and raised in LA forced by momagers and dadagers to be the best little star they could possibly be.

And if it's patronizing to anybody, it is to us Westerners who are unfortunatly too quick to lump the world in "us" and "them". They had to show "yo, they're people too, who have relationships and work hard for their money and education...but they have things happen to them that don't happen to us."

And if the kids enjoying the music and jumping around the band made you cringe...

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

It wasn't the kids jumping around that made me cringe, it was the fact that it reminded me of Earth Song at the Brit Awards. It felt like a Jesus Moment.

And I totally disagree with everything you said, so I guess we're basically even. :P

Just some random

[girlatarockshow.livejournal.com]

...I totally agree with you, and I've been getting so much crap about how I'm a total bitch/moron/idiot/racist because I can't agree with the video

I'm almost certain so many people are just going crazy over it because it's a FOB video, not because of any other reason. For example, if Hinder did the same video, they'd be saying what you're saying. I love FOB, they're my favourite band, but this video pretty much sucks.

Re: Just some random

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Amazing, isn't it, how you can be called a racist for saying the video doesn't do the Ugandan people justice.

*facepalms*

People are stupid and you're not alone in thinking this - honestly. Some of the most respected names in this fandom agree with you.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

That video made me cry. Honestly. It has genuinely changed my outlook and my spending habits.

To change them completely is going to be a long transition, as I learn more about what I'm buying, but the fact is: Rise Against have impacted my life with a music video.

I know that's what Fall Out Boy were trying to do, and that really means a lot in their defense. But they just didn't achieve what they set out to do, for me.