Blink 182, over the past 20 years, has become one of the
most successful punk-rock bands in history. The punk-rock era is fueled by
rebellion and anarchy and blink 182 has come to completely embody these
characteristics throughout their journey in the music industry. These
characteristics are vividly displayed in their music video for “Feeling This”.
Blink gives a typical story of rebellion through the setting of a prison and
young rebellious teens.
Rebellion
is made clear through the use of multiple binaries throughout the video.
“Feeling This” leads directly into the message of not conforming as the men are
getting their heads shaved and are then found marching through what appears as
a prison setting. This prison setting is quickly contrasted with the beautiful
sunny outdoors of Blink 182 playing outdoors. With this given binary of the
light and dark, the teens in the video can be seen striving to leave the
prison-like school, for the light of the outdoors. With the thought of the
punk-rock era, the outdoors and light symbolize freedom, and the jail
represents the rules of society and social norms. The teens break through these
conformities during the scene of the boy and girl talking at the glass window.
This starts the rebellion as they want to be together and “get it on” but they
can’t, so they break the rules and do the next best thing, “phone sex”. The
binary of uniforms and no clothing is presented later on in the video, which
further reinforces their strive towards freedom (no clothes). On another focus,
apart from the storyline in the video, the band is also enclosed in a fence. In
the beginning of the video, the viewer is unable to see whether or not the band
is completely enclosed; however, the viewer is enlightened near the end, as the
fence is only three sided. Through the simple use of camera angles, the idea of
the band also achieving freedom from the cage is instilled.
Through
multiple binaries, which explicitly contrast each other, it is easy to follow
the message of rebelling towards freedom in the video “Feeling This”. One
interesting thought to go along with the video is, why are there pigs in the
background of the band? Another noteworthy item: why is the band playing in an
encaged fence? Why aren’t they in the school too? Do they feel bound by the
rules of society also? Could this video just be a simple shot at the education
system rather than society as a whole? Though this was sort of formal, let us
know your thoughts! At least this was a popular video unlike the ones Brendan chooses
in class. Tehe…Jk
If you want to check out another analysis of the video check
out “Jack Goodman’s Media Project”.
I agree that the school has a prison-like setting. I also think that maybe it is a private school which is why all of them have to wear uniforms and the appearance has to be somewhat of the same. I think the video is implying that no matter how much you force someone to be a certain way they will rebel and do what is right for them. It's clear that the students just wanted to have fun and were tired of all the structure. The pigs in the background was a good observation you made. Perhaps it was a "when pigs fly" correlation with the people escaping the school and running free.
ReplyDeleteThe outside versus inside is a good example of restriction versus freedom, the outside/light correlates to freedom. I believe that is why the band is playing outside; they aren't conforming to the rules and everyone around them appears to be free, which results in happiness. Almost everything the teens do is contrary to what they are being told, such as the wording on the glass that tells the boy and girl to specifically not touch the glass, yet that is the first thing they do. I found it interesting that the teens are voicing that they want freedom yet the adult or controllers are bound up in a cell.
ReplyDeleteAt first i was a little confused how the video was going to play itself out. After thirty seconds of watching the video, I also could tell that there was a light/dark binary. Your reference to that contrast meaning freedom makes a lot of sense. I was so hung up on the giant blow up pigs in the back ground. I wonder what they could possibly have to do with a message that Blink wanted to convey. I thought this video describes society's thoughts about every teenager as well. Society thinks that just because you are a teenager you are likely to rebel.
ReplyDeletewhat was interesting was that the boy and girl kept having "sex" with the glass between them through out the video even though everyone else was free. Also I think that blink appeared to be encaged because it represents that society still has regulations that even rebellious people are forced to follow. I also think that that is why there are only three walls instead of being completely closed in because they have less regulation compared to the kids that are in school/ "jail".
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emily on this. It was also strange to me how they continued to do their thing behind the window even though everyone appeared to be free. Were they just so into it that they didn't notice? In addition, I also found it interesting how they locked up the authority figures in the jail cell. It's basically like the kids gave them a taste of what their restrictions felt like. But I am still curious of the setting. Are they in school? A detention center? They seem so young to be in a prison.
ReplyDeleteI think that this video is actually shallow and does not have any deep meaning concerning school systems but plays in to the rebellious teen audience. I think this video also makes a unmistakable correlation between a school and a prison. When the band is in the cage out side the school i also agree that this a sign of rebellion. This is indicated by not only the band being out side the school/prison. This is indicted by the band sporting their tattoos and wearing cut off sleeves. On the contrary every one else in the video is in uniforms and clean cut. Jen B your assessment of this pigs is the best explanation i have seen thus far.
ReplyDeletei agree with paul on how there really is not any other explanation other than that of teen rebellion. The kids look as if they are in a private school since they all have to have their hair a certain length and in matching uniforms. This music video fits perfect with the band because they are all about rebelling from the normal and that is exactly what these kids do. i also, agree with Kelsey when the couple is having like window sex and everyone else is free and the boys and girls are not separated anymore, why do they keep doing that when they could actually touch each other like everyone else is.
ReplyDeleteThere were two things that I stood out from this video: the first one being the obvious correlation between the jail scene compared to what teens view as school and the jail officers playing the role of teachers and other administrators. The other not so obvious detail I picked up on was the idea of the cage once they were outside. Yes, they were out of the confines of the jail but they were still caged, but did they wish to be? In fact, other teens were seen climbing to get inside of the cage. As for the pigs, my guess is a reference to the "pigs" of society which again could be reference to the government or other authoritative figures which goes along with the idea of rebellion that blink is known for.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your binaries of light/dark and indoor/outdoor representing freedom. I believe that blink is in a cage outdoors to show that even though they are not as imprisoned as those inside, they still face a form of confinement. Whether this be the norms they face in society (since the guys in blink are not your typical "golden boys") or just simply the constant pressure of the education system itself, they are still encaged. To comment on the pigs, I would have to agree that they could stand for the saying "when pigs fly" because social norms/normalities are always going to exist in our society, so therefore this pressure of fitting in and a feeling of confinement will always exist to some point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paul. I really don't see any deeper connection to the school system. The video does have some interesting points that do really remind me of some schools with the uniform and all. But making the teachers out into prison guards is not very realistic. This video definitely plays on teens dislike of order and uniformity. For the most part this seems what this video is showing; the breaking away from the accepted and doing something that is non uniform. Kids do it all the time on some level and this was shown by the stereotypical hair cut that teens hate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Paul and Clayton. Having gone to private school my entire life I can say that the theme of this video is very true. Kids were forced to wear uniforms, keep their hair reasonable, and obey certain other rules; all of which can be seen in this video. I can also say that there is a sense of "jail authority" in private schools. That is, you do what they say and don't ask questions. But, I really do think this video has nothing to do with the school system but a generation of kids. Kids these days seem to be put under a lot of pressure to act and look a certain way. With all of this pressure, kids often rebel against authority in hopes of breaking free. Also, I have no idea why there were bears in the video.
ReplyDeleteI agree with paul. I feel like the video mainly is about teen rebellion.Its mostly about teens feeling restricted and trying to go against authority. The uniforms represent conformity so hence the teens getting out of the uniforms represents self-expression and rebellion.The main argument against having uniforms in schools is that it takes away from individuality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paul as well about the teen rebellion as well.
ReplyDeleteThe title "Are you feeling this" could be explaining the majority of why these teens are acting as such. It is basically them asking does anyone like conformity and the obvious answer is no and this is represented by their self-expression through physical means. For example, trying to make out through the glass or the different hair colors or even rebelling throwing paper balls at the teacher.
As a few have stated the uniforms could represent breaking free from the conformity that they are forced into.
I think the director tries to show how private schools take issues such as dress code, hair styles, and the way you should act too serious. Kids should be kids and experience things for themselves and then have them choose which path they want to go down. You only live once, so you should be able to do whatever makes you happy....even if you are trying to make out with someone through glass lol
ReplyDeleteI think this music video is talking about obey and rebel. At first, all kids have to wear the same clothes and have similar hair styles in the prison school. Their face is sad and They do not want to live like this anymore. So they are trying to find a way out of this life pattern, to against the life. That is way two teenagers have window sex and all students throw paper ball to teacher in the classroom. They also work together to fight against the guard in the prison. All these behavior indicates the rebellion period of teenager and the passion for freedom.
ReplyDeleteThe video represents a group of rebellion teenagers who are not willing to be limited by rules or standards. They wear school uniforms and then take off it; they throw papers to disobey the instructor;and two of them have sex even though they are separated by glass. All of these details indicates that they are not birds in the cage, and they need freedom to show their personality.
ReplyDeleteI really like Jen's reference to "when pigs fly". I was a little confused about why the pigs were in this music video also. I think her reference to this old saying holds true because private school kids are not usually the ones who rebel.
ReplyDeleteOne this I find intriguing in this video is the fact that even though all the students in this establishment have broken free from their confines, the band still decides to play in a confined space. To me, it seems that is contradictory to the message of the teenage rebellion.
ReplyDeleteThis video is great in that it shows a struggle that often goes untold. It is often that Youth ambitions are very much different than that of adults, and rebellion is a natural tendency that kids have against their parents and elders. It shows the conflict that each generation that grows up is influence greatly by those that came before, and that so much of the youth is looking to break free with a new slate.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to me on how at the beginning of the video the two teens who were having sex through the glass were being forced to into their places by the guards. This shows that society wants teens to interact and be social, but expects or does not want them to get intimate. The guards never try to stop them. This shows that society give teens the opportunity and knows that sexual intimacy is occurring between teens, but tries or pretends that it is not happening, hence the glass, which symbolizes the way society views teen interaction. by Michael Gans
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