Paramore are an American alternative/rock band who of which are signed to ‘Fuelled By Ramen’. They conform to the use to the use of drums and guitars throughout their music and demonstrate their creative and eccentric mentality in comparison to predictable and typical R&B/Pop videos.
This music video was released on November 23rd and is primarily narrative based and the concept behind the video is that you cannot escape the past by living in a fantasy world; instead you must face the past, bury it and move on. The girl in this video tries to enter a world she has mentally created through her reading of books in order to run away from the trials and tribulations of reality. CGI effects were used to create the castle, change of colour in the sky and falling petals which give the entire set a magical ambience.
Intersexuality has been implemented in that ideas from Little Red Riding Hood and Alice in wonderland become apparent as the environment around the girl is significantly larger than herself as well as the fictional character, The Red Queen. The little girl is represented as a figure of innocence with the butterfly wings on her back and white dress this conveys a sense of purity and youth.
There is a direct link between the visual and the lyrics, in that the track says ‘’she lives in a fairy tale somewhere too far for us to find….of a world that she’s left behind’’, which relates to the scene of the video with the girl running into a magical world with typical fairy tale characters, here a tracking shot is used. Also sung, are the lyrics, "well go get your shovel And we'll dig a deep hole", whilst this is said the character of screen is digging a grave in the ground.
A mid-shot of Hayley ( the lead singer) sitting on the swings narrating the song and illustrating her mood through her body language. A point of view shot is employed when the little girl is running towards the bushes, the audience feel as though they are the character themselves and feel as though they are involved in the story, not knowing what to expect. Moreover, there is also a link between the music and the visuals as sharp cuts in the video are made to compliment the fast-paced beat of the track.
The colours used throughout the video are yellows, oranges and reds which are bright, joyful colours however, the use of these colours set against shadows of the forest craft a mysterious, eerie atmosphere, ultimately, mirroring the little girls’ state of confusion. A minor aspect of stereotypical gender representation is the male figure digging the hole, which is quite a masculine job. Although this video could be aimed at older people facing issues in their life, younger audiences can engage with it too due to the use of relatable characters recognised from childhood stories. Within in this video there are no prominent female or male characters which, in effect eliminates the male/female gaze and ultimately viewer’s attention is directed towards the narrative and message conveyed by the artist thus placing greater focus upon the song’s lyrics
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