The music video starts off with a blank white screen and then fades into a low angle shot of a light - almost as if it becomes a P.O.V shot. Various shots are then introduced to establish the hospital setting to the viewer. The hospital setting is significance as themes of new life and innocence are highlighted, which run parallel to the lyrics of the song. Mise en scene is important here as props such as latex gloves and hospital beds are used, instantly showing the viewer that this is a hospital environment. The colours are also quite neutral, but the lighting is bright - possibly linking to the song and foreshadowing hope. Many close ups are used within this first scene as well, the audience can see hands grasping one another, a newborn baby’s face and a mother’s smile. This sets the tone of the video as quite a positive one to begin with. Interestingly, the start of the video shows a ‘traditional’ man and woman relationship giving birth, indicating that this could change by the end of the video.
After this scene, an establishing shot of the woods is used to introduce a new setting. The viewer can see young boys riding their bikes and generally exploring the woods. It is interesting that the director has used all one gender within this scene as the song is about a man exploring his sexuality. The song mentions the word ‘stereotypically’ which matches what is shown in the video as it cuts to stereotypical activities for each gender - running a lemonade stand for girls, whilst boys are playing baseball and rugby. The scene with the little boy playing rugby with his father then cuts to an older teenage boy playing rugby with his dad - perhaps indicating that his relationship with his father has not changed.
A religious cross is then shown, which symbolic of the Christian or Catholic faith. The director has inserted what appears to be quite old clips of young girls and boys coming out of Church. This is highlighting the traditional ‘man and woman’ relationship, but shows how times have changed. The song also questions faith a little bit as it mentions ‘we paraphrase a book written thirty five hundred years ago’. The young teenager also looks quite uncomfortable sitting in Church as the song depicts that being gay and religious is hard.
A series of shots are played to highlight how the teenage boy is confused frustrated with himself. The lighting on his face whilst he is sitting in his room is interesting. Half of his face is shadowed, whilst the other half is exposed to some sort of light, depicting that he is unsure of himself. The frustration he is feeling stimulates an argument with his mother as over the shoulder shots are used to portray him shouting at her.
The next important scene is at the party. The footage is in slow motion as you can see the boy with his friends having a good time, it is almost as if he momentarily escaped his problems. However, this quickly changes as the room is filled with heterosexual couples dancing with one another, leaving the teenage boy standing by himself. His facial expression quickly changed from non-stop smiling to looking glum as he walks out of the party.
Flashbacks of when the teenager was a young boy are constantly shown as a picture of him and his dad playing rugby is yet again shown. This could be depicting how they still maintain a strong relationship as the teenage boy has grown into a man. In the future, the character is in a relationship with another man. However, this relationship with his father breaks down as he introduces his partner to his father. The father leaves the table as he looks at his son and his wife with disappointment.
The video then cuts to an insight of the man and his partner living life together, highlighting that his father's disapproval has not affected the relationship. However, it still appears that the couple receive ongoing abuse - even from absolute strangers in the street. The couple eventually get married, but it is interesting to see that the mother gives her son away, not the father. This highlights how the father-son relationship is completely broken as the audience does not even see him at the wedding. When the two are finally married, the footage is slowed right down, almost to show the audience that this doesn’t seem real for the couple and that they have had to come a long way and jump over many hurdles. Again, the father-son relationship is later directed as the son dances with his mother instead of his father.
The video then cuts between flashbacks of the man at the party and present day to highlight how he has finally found himself within his sexuality and how life got better for him. The footage within the video then loops to the bright light and the scene at the hospital at the start of the video. It appears fuzzy and blurred, but the audience can make out that the main character is in hospital, but has aged as a white moustache is visible. Yet again, neutral colours are shown, making the hospital setting clear. The footage constantly cuts between the man and his partner, showing how their relationship has lasted and how they have proved many people wrong. The video ends with a close up of the couple holding each other’s hands with their wedding rings clearly visible. The golden colour stands out against the background, making the rings the centre of attention within the shot. A last flashback is shown of the man as a baby with his mother holding his hand. I think this is a really significant shot to end with as it really does portray that love is love, whether it be between family, friends, a man and a man, a woman and a woman or a man and a woman.
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