The Killers //Mr. Brightside

Music Promo Analysis

What Genre is the Music and how is this reflected in the video?

• The music promo video of The Killers ‘Mr. Brightside' is one which seemed like its had a lot of time, effort and detail invested into it. The genre of the band is alternative rock, its reflected through their 'out of the box' idea of the music video being set in a completely different timeline & includes the actual band playing which is generic on all band music videos.

How do the images relate to the lyrics?

• Lyrically, 'Mr. Brightside' depicts the jealousy & paranoia of a man who suspects his significant other is cheating on him. The lyrics reflect the images as the video is set in a brothel where technically the women are cheating with other men who are their customers.

How do the images relate to the music?

• The images reflect the music’s light-hearted, upbeat rhythm only in the middle of the music video whereas in the beginning the rhythm contrasted with the actions of the people in the music video as they sit down almost motionless. This emphasises the title of the song 'Mr. Brightside' who is incurably optimistic of any given situation which contrasts to the setting of the brothel as its often a low-standard place amongst soiled people.

How is the artist presented to ‘sell’ them?

• The majority of the camera shots that focus on the band are close ups and medium close ups of the lead singer. This is most likely due to the popularity of the lead singer and the 'face' he creates for the band and a key narrative to the story.

Any Voyeurism? References to ‘looking’?

• The majority of the music video reveals loads of voyeuristic imagery towards women; being set in a brothel it reveals to the audience that women are there to seduce men & purely to satisfy their needs, the video promotes women to be objectified sexually & see no other purpose.

• This is supported when the women are dancing and exploiting their key sexual features. The main girl appears to be displayed as a prostitute and being controlled by the other man.

• There are shots of the girl lifting up her skirt for the men's viewing, showing the voyeuristic side of men as they observe women as an object of pleasure.

Intertextual references? • Perhaps the video could reference the generic Disney films with the use of protagonists & a significant other. It can also be

seen through their flashy costumes & 'under the moonlight' setting at the balcony which gives a sense of romance.

• The storyline of the music video is very similar to the film 'Moulin Rouge', in terms of the storyline consisting of a love-triangle. Its also similar to Moulin Rouge in the mise-en-scene and costume.

• There are also references to Snow White- with the red apple symbolising poison and the biblical story of Adam and Eve with the apple causing the destruction as a result of temptation. In the 'Mr. Brightside' video, the older man chucks the apple towards the women, making her sleep with other men as a result of the apple's symbolism.

• There is a use of filter to give a vintage feel to the video with their costumes to match to give a pre-industrial look. There is a relationship between the music and the visuals with lots of shots of the band playing in time with the music. There is also a narrative of the love-triangle to go with the performance shots of the band. This is a very common feature of indie and rock music videos in particular and Goodwin identifies this as a common feature.