Music Video Analysis

Pearl Jam - Jeremy

“Pearl Jam - Jeremy” is one of the most iconic from the band, and undoubtedly the most moving. The song is a ballad of a teenager who killed himself in front of his second-period English class. This song is Eddie Vedder’s way of trying to save others in the same situation as Jeremy once was. The first part of the video has flashing text to give information as to where and when the incident took place. It also shows some news reports and articles from newspapers about it. The words “an affluent suburb” are repeated during this opening sequence, telling us that Jeremy may have been an outcast in such a materialistic area. Next there is a reference to the bible where the quote “the serpent was subtil” flashes on the screen. There is an image of the child actor playing Jeremy holding his arms out to a suit and dress, mimicking the lyrics “daddy didn’t give attention/to the fact that mommy didn’t care”, as if he is calling out to then for help but are unaware of the situation. To further illustrate this, it also shows Jeremy jumping on a table to try and get the attention of his parents that are arguing and sitting across from one another, completely oblivious to Jeremy’s need for it. A majority of the video takes place with Jeremy sitting inside a dark classroom with other students to enhance the gloominess and bleak image. The song talks about how Jeremy used to do drawings, which anyone could have looked at to notice he was indeed need of help, but most just deemed him as “harmless” and “bored” and did drawings to relieve that. The prime point in the song, however, are the chorus lyrics “Jeremy spoke in class today”, this is Vedder’s way of saying that Jeremy finally got his point across when he died, and people were finally aware of what he had been going through. This is sung with an image of Jeremy sitting on a chair in front of a raging fire with a faint grin. Nearing the end, it shows Jeremy screaming and shouting in the woods, completely isolated from everybody else. The final part shows Jeremy walking into class, then cutting to an image of his frozen classmates in shock and covered in blood, before going back to having the flashing, repeated text.

Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall

“Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall” is one arguably one of the most notorious music videos ever. It shows an unjust school system which relies purely on the end result and does not care for individuality, hence the title “Another Brick in the Wall”. This idea of wanting students to be the same is shown in a variety of ways throughout the video. The first image is of a boy watching a train go past with children’s hands reaching out as if they are prisoners. The lack of students’ individuality is further shown here where the children in the train are wearing masks, each being very similar. It then shows the same boy walking through a tunnel before switching to the school staff having tea as the bell rings. They then walk to class, with the headmaster leading the way. The boy, now being shown as a student at the same school, appears to be writing poetry, which the headmaster reads in front of the entire class before slamming the notepad down and shouting “absolute rubbish”. The scene then changes to the headmaster at home eating dinner with his wife, though all he can think about is punishing children by hitting them with a whip, clearly infatuated with the idea as we see his being corrupt having an impact on the students for the worse. “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” then begins as the children are walking up a few steps and along the thin hall, perfectly in time with the beat and with each other as we hear “We don’t need no education.” This phrase highlights the act of rebellion within society towards education, making a purposeful and ironic error by including a double negative. As the children walk down the hall, we briefly lose sight of them as we travel along a brick wall, and out the children emerge on sliding desks, all wearing the same mask that was worn in the beginning of the video. It then shows the headmaster standing in the middle of the room, with the children walking in two straight lines on either side of him, still wearing the masks and walking in sync with the beat and one another. The headmaster then shouts “Wrong! Do it again!” The children retaliate by repeating the phrase “We don’t need no education”, elucidating the children’s feelings towards the school system. The children are then walking in a straight line, still in time with one another and wearing the masks and falling straight into a grinder with no hesitation, the video then shows meat coming out from the grinder. The final scene shows the children taking off their masks in sync before screaming and knocking everything in the school down and burning it, as some carry the headmaster towards the flames. They mainly use hammers to knock down the brick walls, showing they have finally achieved recognition and individuality.