By the fact that I'm sitting here entranced by the horrors of MTV, you can guess with great ease that I am bored. So bored, in fact, I didn't realize I was riveted by their subpar music selection, in the 10 minutes a day they aren't showing reality shows that feature people trying to be the biggest skanks possible, for quite a while. While I was doing this shameful activity, a band came on with a video I took note of for some reason. I won't name the band, simply because I don't want to give them props or get google hits due to them. We'll just call them the boy band of 'rock' (which should tell you who I mean right away) or however Mr. Chino Marino so accurately stated it.

At any rate, I noticed this video for a few reasons, not merely because it was so dull I couldn't look away. If I recall their first (or close to first) video correctly, and I'm confident that I mostly do, it's the exact same video, only the girl in this new one gets pushed down a little more.

The basic "story" seems to be this; "unattractive", unpopular girl gets picked on (by peers and teachers alike), pushed down, tries to cope via her art and by attempting to kill herself by slitting her wrists (about 40 times, if the horizontal scars on her wrist are any guide...so her heart obviously isn't REALLY into it).

My only guess with this video is we are supposed to feel some sympathy towards this poor, misunderstood girl.

Now, while her attire may not be exactly my personal taste, it's not something I'd condemn one for. So other than that, she seems to have little failings visually. And we all know anyone who was pretty in high school (which is the setting of the story..or college, perhaps, but I don't think that is the case) was automatically popular, no matter how dumb/bitchy/stuck-up they were. In fact, the dumber/bitchier/more stuck-up, the more popular. So right off the bat it's going downhill because, frankly, it's pretty unrealistic from the get-go.

If you're going to try to make this video, for whatever reason, at least make me FEEL it. I'm not feeling the pain of the attractive girl. If you want me to do so, make her hideously disfigured with a giant hump, or something. And also suck at her craft. Don't give her silky raven black hair and flawless skin with tons of art talent. Because that's what I PINE for, not what I shun.

The majority of the video is spent both curious as to why we should believe she's a believable character and, obviously, with mute on. Towards the end, I saw the overused scene of an angry person taking out some anger in their art. It's a way to deal with problems and also churn out amazing pieces, seems to be the general belief. And I guess that works in some cases, but in this specific scene she's slinging her paintbrush at the easel like a baseball bat and stabbing at it as if she were wielding a knife. You know, those easels aren't exactly the most stable thing in the world. Sure, they stand up with little to no help, but when you start slapping them around as she is doing, the tend to topple. One wrong 45 degree prod and down it goes. And as well all know from famous artists, good abstract art is done on GIANT pieces of canvas that lay on the ground, and you dip your feet in paint, the step on glass and proceed to walk on the canvas. THEN you flail at it violently with the brush..but the brush DOESN'T touch, after all..only the paint which is slung from it does. While you're angry, obviously.

If I'm missing a deeper meaning to all this, do let me know. I'm very often doing that. But also know that I'll know you're lying.

(update: I was put in my place about my thoughts on this subject. Bravo to you Josie. I guess I wasn't missing a hidden meaning, but rather something more important.)

devolve | evolve