Arcade Fire - The Suburbs analysis

After I created my idea for pitch, I realised that Arcade Fire have created a video for their song The Suburbs, with very similar themes in mind. This was directed by acclaimed music video director Spike Jonze, and is part of a yet-to-be-released short film for the album “Scenes From The Suburbs.” The director was already made a name for himself, most prominently in the '90s through feature films such as Being John Malkovich, as well as music video's for bands such as the Beastie Boys, Björk and Weezer. He is particularly noticeable as his style as the auteur can be very comical and off-the-wall, particularly in his films. He also seems to use tributes of his inspiration in his work directly, such as the use of Happy Days and classic cop drama's in Weezer's Buddy Holly and Beastie Boy's Sabotage respectively. This video seems to be no exception, as a tribute to youth and the American suburbs, much like my own pitch.

The video starts with two medium long shots of a teenager trying to climb down a bank. He is wearing an apron, which could represent the dead-end and simple jobs teenagers of his age tend to be employed in, particularly in countries such as America and Canada, where Spike Jonze and Arcade Fire are from respectively. At this time diegetic bird sounds and footsteps can be heard, as the song still hasn’t yet started. This is followed by the same person in a long shot, showing his suburban setting, with the increasing sound of police sirens and helicopters. This single shot is abnormally long, at least 15 seconds, almost connoting on the person in shot, reflecting on his life in the suburbs. The diegetic sounds seem to lull, just as the shot changes and the song kicks in. This is a long tracking shot of a group of teenagers on bikes, slowly pedalling, which mirrors the overall pace of the track. A medium shot of on of the teenagers tracks alongside him as he looks back. He is wearing a beanie hat, iconic of rebellious teenage fashion, and what looks like a BB gun over his shoulder, which is also iconic of teenage rebellion. This returns to another long shot of the teenagers, with him turning around to catch up with them, suggesting he could be the leader of the gang. Next comes a medium long shot of 3 of the teenagers, tracking them from behind as they continue. Continuing this are a variety of shots of the teenagers on bikes as the vocals kick in “In the suburbs I learned to drive.” Here it is noticeable that the shot is a medium close up of the bikes wheels, connoting their tern of “learning to drive.” The following shots represent their friendship and youthfulness, particularly shots which first track alongside on of the teenagers, until they jump off the bike and let it ride away. Here the camera stops with the teenager, keeping them in shot to show his celebration, whilst panning to follow the bike. The next shot is an extreme long shot, of the teenagers looking through a wire fence at a what looks like something used for the military, as a helicopter flies overhead. This could represent the border between the youthful play of the teenagers, and the dangerous adult life of the army, which they may admire, through them carrying BB guns, which is shown in following shots, as they shoot pellets at a telephone wire. Here there is a medium shot, showing some of the teenagers shooting, whilst a boy sits with what is presumed to be his girlfriend under his arm. Next is a close up of the two, showing their intimacy. The teenagers start aiming a man in the distance, shown through a long, over the shoulder shot. When they hit him, his response is shown from the same point, but without the teenagers’ shoulders, as if the camera is a member of the gang that has dared to stay behind to peek daringly over banister. This theme is continued through the next shot, a medium tracking shot of the group running away, where the camera becomes shaky, as if it is running along with them. The next few shots are of the teenagers playing with guns and play-fighting, or the couple gazing into each others eyes for example, which is juxtaposed against the army men in balaclavas patrolling the streets, suggesting that they are not only confined behind the fence, but are occupying the whole suburbs. The juxtaposition could be explaining that teenagers do exactly what the soldiers do as a game, and as a form of release, whereas the soldiers are much more sinister. Following this is more of the teenagers on bikes, as they pass two police officers, played by the two lead singers of Arcade Fire. This is all that is seen of the band throughout the narrative driven video. Clips of the teens on bikes continue until it turns to night, where they ride past a street filled with army trucks and civilians surrendering to soldiers. A medium close of up one teen shows he is looking at what is happening, before a long shot of soldiers dragging a person away. The group carry on through the Suburbs, looking at a house being targeted by the soldiers, again using the same medium tracking shot to show the reaction of individual teens. The camera cuts away from them, to inside the house, with a medium shot of one of the bike riding teenagers, now holding a baby, looking through the curtains at the soldiers. There is a then a point of view shot, half obscured by the curtain. The next shots show the various teenagers are also in the same room, looking panicked about the events outside. One shot lingers as a medium close up of the boyfriend, holding his crying girlfriend, looking distant, as if remembering. Another point of view shot in used, of a bright light directly at the screen. Then a medium close up of the same teenager being blinded with a torch by a soldier. This seems to serve as a flashback to what happened outside, which caused them to find shelter inside. There now is a close up of one of the teenagers pressed against the fence, as the previous one is turned around to the same position. They seem to nod to each other, before being taken away. The next shot seems to be set in a different time, with one of the teenagers in the apron shown in the first shot. He leaves what seems to be the establishment he owns to see his bike damaged to he cannot ride it, established in an over the shoulder shot. Again another change in time, as the boyfriend is shown running (notably not riding his bike) in a close up shot, down a street, while the lyrics say “move your feet off the hot pavement,” which fits what he is doing. Next is the teenager last seen in the apron, in another close up, in what seems to be a party. The camera shakes, as if being bumped by partygoers, adding the voyeuristic style of the camera as part of the action. He stops and seems to see something which makes him stop. Here there is a medium close up of a teen talking to a girl, who looks back towards the camera, as if giving the previous teen a warning glance before leaving, connoting he was the one who damaged his bike for an unknown reason. Next three of the teenagers are seen in a side tracking, long shot, running, seemingly in panic, across grass. There is a following long shot which follows the teens towards the restaurant which one of the teens work at. There is a medium shot of the teens running up to the glass, banging on it, to get the attention of those inside. Here is an over the shoulder shot to show the teenager who works there sweeping. A medium close up back at one of the teenagers displays her panic at what she sees, before cutting back to the previous shot where the teenager is attacked by the person at the party, insinuating what the warning look he gave meant. A reverse shot back at the teenagers shouting at the attacker through the window. Soon later, when the teens run for the door, the camera shows an unsteady follow shot, connoting again that the camera is part of the action, and the panic of the viewer, as well as the teenagers. This is interspersed by blurry point of view shots off the attacker punching just below he camera repeatedly, and point of view shots of the attacker. There are close up shots of one of the teenagers screaming, whilst the lyrics say “We’re still screaming.” before she runs to get the attention of the soldiers. There is a medium shot of the victim fighting back at the attacker, and a high tilt shot of him looking at the attacker. This is mirrored by a low tilt shot of the attacker breaking furniture and shouting toward the camera, almost as a point of view shot, before the attacker breaks down. The video ends with a medium shot of the victim lying down, and a close up of his face, looking relieved, as the song comes to an end. When it does, the shot cuts to a weather shot of blue sky, with police sirens in the background, ending the video in a similar fashion to how it started.

The video is rather odd, in that there seems to be many storylines occurring in a short amount of time. This may be to give the viewer a chance to interpret the video as they wish, to take their own meaning. It could also be because the short film it is part of is called “Scenes From The Suburbs,” and these are small sections of various “scenes.” All in all, I see this as a very powerful video, which takes the theme of youth in a very interesting way, vastly different to my pitch.