Music Video Research: Rise Against

Rise Against - Hero Of War

Genre: Punk Rock / Acoustic
Director: Meriert Avis
Year: 2009

'Hero Of War' is a song by the Chicago punk rock band, Rise Against, from their 2008 album 'Appeal To Reason'. The video was directed by Meriert Avis, who has directed a number of music videos for major artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and U2, and examines the brutally personal effects on a young American solider going to war.

The relationship between the lyrical content of the song and the visual content of the video is quite strong. As a typical conventional theme or value of punk rock is that of politics, particularly concerning war, this video could be seen as a fairly conventional theme for this genre. Additionally, the band members beside the vocalist only make brief, individual appearances in the entire video. This could be viewed as conventional, in that it is typical of the punk rock genre to want to draw more focus to the song itself, and the lyrical content and message behind it, as opposed to the image of the band themselves.

The whole point of the song and the video is to make a statement following the story of one soldier as he is sent into battle. While the title of the song gives the impression that this is a glorification of soldiers and their services, the actual lyrical content of the song explores a little deeper, brazenly referring instead to the mental and emotional effects the war has on soldiers, with the intention to "lift the stigma that surrounds everything from the skyrocketing suicide rate of troops, torture, internal sexual abuse, an under-funded VA, and the growing number of military personnel fighting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as they return home", as quoted in their video description from the band's blog.

NARRATIVE:

The majority of the video is narrative based, following the solider, and depicting graphic images of violence and war. The band particularly wanted to avoid glossing over the violence, instead aiming to portray a graphic and accurate depiction of scene that actually happen on a day to day basis in times of war, as they felt people have a right to know the actualities of the occurrences. The order of the narrative takes on a postmodernistic, disjointed structure, fluctuating from depictions of war - either in action, or it's effects, to following the soldiers journey. This means that the audience is aware that they will not be likely to receive traditional closure, in the form of a happy ending for example.

We are first introduced to the lead character of the soldier creeping through an abandoned warehouse, gun raised - the narrative launches straight into the brutality of the message the band is trying to convey, in fitting with the generic convention of political expression. The video then cuts to a night vision shot of a young man, evidently in distress. This idea is further emphasised by the use of night vision, as draws attention to the face and the expression, blacking out the background, thus creating a tense feeling in the audience, as they are not fully aware of the context of the shot giving that they cannot see anything but the face. Additionally, the lighting is particularly unflattering, highlighting the man's haggard and disheveled appearance. As the video progresses, we see similar night visions shots, evidently depicting the man growing increasingly distressed as time goes by.

We then see a close up, over the shoulder shot of the same man sitting with a female, which appears to be some kind of flashback. His expression here is much different, happily gazing at the girl, with a broad smile. The juxtaposition of these two shots has great effect on the audience, as they begin to wonder what has changed since then, and grow interested in his compelling story. Throughout the video, we see a number of flashbacks of the couple in what seems to be a happier time, including multiple shots of a battered picture of the two on what looks like their wedding day. The repetition of this type of shot throughout the video accentuates the dramatic divide between his state of mind then, and what his emotional state has become now, after participating in the war, highlighting the ideas of hopelessness and misery that is unfortunately a reality for many soldiers.

The narrative explores his journey up to that point, showing him pledging his allegiance, shaving his head and even engaged in torture methods. We are also shown shots of the man at what appears to be a family party, evidently after he has served in the army for some time, as connoted by the uniform he wears. These shots of his return to normality conflict dramatically with the flashback shots of him and his wife, and the audience can clearly see an effect on his mental state, as emphasised by the unsteady zoom on his face, to reveal his vacant and apathetic expression. This is symbolic of the post traumatic stress disorder many soldiers suffer from after returning home to war - an tentative issue which is often skirted over in society, that the band wanted to clearly convey.

We see a number of shots of children throughout the video, perhaps to make a statement about the affect of war and violence on the younger generation. We see a young child, crying, with bandages wrapped around their face, highlighting the impact violence has on the innocent in places of poverty. There is also a shot of a number of children playing with weapons and machine guns, jumping around a massive bonfire. This could perhaps be symbolic of the corruption of the innocent, in that these children are growing up treating guns as toys, and the disheartening reality that these young children are unlikely to have known anything other than violence throughout their lives.

There is also an element of performance to the video, revolving around the lead singer sat on a plastic chair in an abandoned children's playground, playing guitar. The significance of this location promotes the idea of innocence and youth, contrasting highly with the graphic depictions of war scenes and fighting. The abandonment of the location is highlighted, possibly in reflection of the idea of the corruption of innocence and the tainting of youth - perhaps hinting that they would rather play with guns that in a child's playground. The isolation of the location is emphasised through the use of framing - multiple long shots of the singer are used, sitting off centre in the lower right hand section of the frame, therefore highlighting the cavernous space and seclusion that surrounds him.

At the beginning of the video, the swings behind him are stationary, however as the video progresses, one by one they begin to move in different directions. By the end of the video, they are all swaying together in the same direction. I believe that this could again be symbolic of the idea of a gradual corruption, perhaps serving as a political statement about the American forces themselves in terms of forcing people into a particular mindset or mentality.

The video ends with a shot of the man walking topless through the streets back home - as conveyed through the modernistic setting with cars, electrical posts etc. His face and neck are painted entirely white, possibly indicating surrender, as is often associated with the idea of war.

MISE-EN-SCENE:

The mise-en-scene is a key factor in conveying the message that the band want to put out with this song, about the harsh brutality of war. To achieve this, an overall sense of realism is desirable in order to emphasise the effect that this is based around a number of real life situations and actually happens around the world.

The idea of realism is a crucial part of this video, as it is supposed to be representative of the truth behind real life situations that are often ignored in the modern media. Many props relating to the army are used in order to make it seem as real as possible, including uniforms, helmets and weaponry.

The idea of American pride and fighting for your country is explored throughout the video, with the bearing of the American flag being prudent throughout, illustrative of the lyrics towards the end of the chorus: "I'll carry this flag / To the grave if I must / It's a flag that I love / And a flag that I trust". The flag is often displayed focally in the frame, from the the large patches on the arms of the soldiers uniform, to hanging from the walls in the interior locations. Towards the middle of the song, we see a low angle shot of a soldier loading his gun with his face painted with the American flag. The use of camera angles here accentuates a feeling of power and perhaps dominance and assumed authority that comes hand in hand with fighting for your county. Alternatively, the flag is used to represent the idea of distress and anguish - in the night shot scenes of the solider, the American flag can be seen hanging upside down on the wall in the background. This is a military recognised signal for distress - the law states: "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life", which is highly expressive of the idea and message that the band wish to convey through this video.

There is also an emphasis on poverty, symbolic of the effect war has on the innocent civilians of the countries in which it takes place. These civilians are shown dressed in basic, simple and inexpensive clothing to effectively communicate this idea.

LIGHTING:

For the most part, the lighting in the video is kept relatively low key, in order to promote the feeling of realism the band hope to convey with this video. This means that there is often a reliance on natural lighting to create the desired effect in the shot - for example, towards the beginning of the video, the natural sunlight is used in the warehouse to silhouette the soldiers and create a more striking and powerful impression. The use of the night shot brightly lighting the face contrasts with the majority of the footage through the rest of the video, as it is one of the few times where you can see the solders whole face clearly, and it creates a highly unflattering and unkempt impression.

Additionally, lighting can be used to reflect the emotional state of the solider - at the end of the video, we see him sat on the chair directly after getting his hair shaved off, as it still covers his shoulders. His face is lit from the side, causing half of it to be fully visible in the light, whilst the other half is cast into darkness and shadow. This is perhaps representative of the soldiers emotional state at this time, as the content and happy man he once was begins to transform into the war-hardened veteran, his mental state permanently changed by the traumatic climate of the war zone.

CAMERA:

Again, the idea of realism is enforced through the use of the camera. Many of the narrative scenes are often filmed with a handheld camera, using the shakiness and instability to accentuate the idea of authenticity and verisimilitude that the band wish to portray.

The use of camera angles is also crucial in the portrayal of the soldiers themselves. Often, unconventional angles are used, in order to cut sections of the soldier out of the frame. They are rarely centrally positioned, and are usually to one side of the frame, using the empty space to emphasise their isolation both physically and mentally, as well as possibly to connote their treatment - perhaps suggesting that they are considered to be just another number, and undermining the importance of the individual.

Angles are also used to portray a sense of power, which is the overall underlying theme of war in itself. Low angles are often used on the soldiers to highlight their dominant authoritative stance, indicating a sense of supremacy. The civilians are often viewed through a high angle shot, perhaps reflecting their lesser power, and their subservience and inability to cease the destruction going on around them.

EDITING:

For the majority of the video, the editing is fairly slow paced, in parallel to the pace of the track. Towards the end of the song, where the speed and depth of the track increases, as does the speed of the editing, creating a montage of images from scenes depicting the war, to flashback scenes of the solider at a happier time in his life. These work together in quick succession to heighten the feeling of desperation and anguish that these soldiers suffer, further enforcing the realism behind the idea, and serving to emphasise the bands message to the audience.