Weekly Blog Post 5

Peace and beauty seldom occur on Earth anymore and the moments in which they do should be cherished. "What I've Done" by Linkin Park accentuates their music video by appealing to the feelings that have developed with increasing misuse of the Earth, it's resources and creatures. The music video elegantly juxtaposes opposite images such as dictators with pacifists, to evoke the sentiment of the audience. Surreptitiously, opposing images wear on the audience and their "better" judgment to force them to feel that they themselves have caused such horrible things to be present in the world when they could do something to prevent them. Whether past or present, events still manage to touch every person anywhere on the planet through explicit media content to the experiences of family and friends. Sometimes an individual has to be reminded of such horrible and beautiful phenomena that take place and the video reminds the audience the caprice of the human race.

The organization of the video highlights the use of logos to better appeal to the emotion of the audience and the stance of the band on the matter. The video opens with creatures of nature contrasted with the image of the band and all the unnecessary machinery in the middle of a barren desert, severely contrasting the natural features with the conspicuous amps, helicopters and instruments of the band. The song begins with the bang of a bomb from the era when the experimentation of such dangerous weapons was the paradigm, therefore setting the tone for the rest of the video. Wherever there is creation, destruction closely follows and vice versa; unfortunately all destruction and woe shown is caused by people. Images of the band performing the song breaks the segments of opposing clips, giving the video some order and humanizing the members of the band by showing their emotion while playing and in some instances, mimicking the movement of the image before such as the slow motion segment of an atomic bomb bending the surrounding trees. Comparing the band and its music to the destructive forces of man, makes a statement that shows that the people that make up Linkin Park are no different from everyman in that they can take blame for any of the events shown as readily as the next person. The very fact that Linkin Park dares to recognize the destructive forces within themselves, reveals the ethos in the video, putting the audience more at ease since a celebrity band would be willing to put their reputation on the line to say we are human and are capable of great destruction but also great creation.

Weekly Blog Post 4

What I've Done - Linkin Park

What I've Done

Linkin Park MySpace Music Videos
The music video "What I've Done" by Linkin Park juxtaposes conflicting images of nature and controversies throughout history, exemplifying two opposing sides of humanity. In a time where the world seems to begin the chaos the Mayans predicted in the year 2012 and the green fad in America grows in response to the increase in carbon emissions and pollution around Earth, a commentary on the impact by the human race seems appropriate in order to continually open the eyes of people around the world in an attempt to evade destruction of the only planet on which the human race may depend. Throughout the video images of opposite situations, such as the cycle of destruction versus birth of a living creature, juxtapose in an attempt to show the average American the impact that the human race has had upon the Earth, good and bad. Typically the context of a commentary on the impact of humans on Earth has a melancholic theme and it is assumed that every person that has ever walked the Earth has caused it more harm than they have good. The video breaks the ordinary context of human impact by showing not only the good, but the bad so the audience may be able to answer the question themselves possibly even move them toward beneficial habits; Earth, creature, or human. "What I've done/I'll face myself/To cross out what I've become/Erase myself/ To let go of what I've done," addresses only a singular person further challenging the audience to figure where they stand in political situations without bias. The "I" asks what each individual what they plan on doing with the information they receive from the video, whether it be nothing or changing eating habits.

The stage upon which the band stands is situated in a remote desert with absolutely nothing around them implying a certain nakedness of the band, inviting the audience to evaluate the lyrics and images by themselves. This leaves the audience more vulnerable especially with the juxtaposition of intense images. For example, the image of a fat man eating large quantities of food for the sake of competition and a woman measuring her waist out of vanity next to an image of an poverty stricken, emaciated man intensifies the message of the song for the audience. Americans tend to live in ignorant bliss but this video breaks the expected barriers with the raw images of “racy” themes, naked exposure of the band, and the feeling of solitude for the person watching. The humanitarian context of the video does not guide the audience to a specific conclusion, but gives them the tools needed to change their habits "to let go of what [they]'ve done."

Weekly Blog Post 3

The links to the class list have been completed and they work!