Foo Fighters "The Pretender" Textual Analysis

Camerawork


This particular music video has a very dynamic but abrupt camera. This easily adds an incredible pace to the video and by having the camera move to the beat of the track; it creates a rebellious tone within the video through the fury of the pacing. The unusual abruptness also adds to this rebellious tone. This anti-authoritarian styling is most likely an attempt to attract that subculture to the band like Dick Hebdige theorises.


There are also lots of close ups of the band, although the close ups mainly focus upon lead singer, Dave Grohl. This is typical of music videos as it promotes the 'star image' that Richard Dyer so fervently believes in. However, the close-ness of the close ups makes the shouting singing seem more stand-offish and this is exacerbated by the mise-en-scene and the tracking long shots.

Editing
This music video also makes use of the 'fast cut montage' which renders "many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple [viewings]" (Pete Fraser, Teaching Music Video (BFI, 2004)). The fast cutting is perfect for the tempo of the song and quickens the pace of the video dramatically. Very few of the shots last longer than three seconds, with most being shorter than one second and this is what gives the video its sense of speed.

The cuts are also edited to the beat, and this, along with the speed of the video, amplifies the anti-authoritarian and rebellious tone of the video.
Mise-en-scene

The Mise-en-scene in this video is incredibly interesting. The entire video takes place within an abandoned aeroplane hangar with a large black line separating the band from the rest of the hangar and a large red wall behind them. The line and the hangar provide a sense of isolation which is exacerbated when the mass of riot officers appear at the line. This creates a confrontational feel to the video and the riot officers in particular suggest the rebellious feelings against the government.

The red wall has connotations of danger and also acts like a matador's cape in the bull ring for the riot officers. By having it explode and flood the hangar with red water it symbolises the fight against the government whilst also providing a thrilling and memorable climax to the video which would most certainly ensure multiple viewings.