Music Video Analysis Flobots - Handlebars

`Handlebars is a rap song with a twist. It depicts two childhood friends riding bikes and having a competitive friendship. But as the video goes on you begin to realise that there is a much more serious story to be told. Flobots chose rap music to convey an important message to their target audience of young people; mainly males, aged thirteen to twenty five as this age group would be drawn to this type of music. This is because rap music portrays everything that is important to them at that age: women (being objectified), cars and money however this song is ironic because it is written and sung in rap form but features opposite ideas. The music begins with a guitar playing a simple arpeggio scale. The music makes the audience feel relaxed and happy. However, as the song goes on you hear the music change. More instruments are added giving more tension. In the middle of the song the music reaches a crescendo with loud drums and electric guitars. It makes the audience feel nervous. The music turns very violent with the drums crashing. However, the song ends on the same simple arpeggio guitar scale creating a feeling of shock. The tempo is always the same and the editing is always in time with the music. The visuals are in cartoon form, they look like they have been drawn in pencil. In my opinion they contradict the lyrics and theme of war and dictatorship. There are no references to the actual band members therefore there is no iconography. The theme of war is reinforced when everything is synchronised with the music, for example the main characters footsteps, a skipping rope and the wings of a bird. These ties in with Andrew Goodwins theory about how the visuals and lyrics amplify each other. Also, the main character we follow wears basic, every-day clothes. This evokes that he is a normal civilian.

The main characters are men. There is no dominant female in the video. However the only woman to be shown is portrayed as an object. She wears tight clothing. This reinforces Goodwins theory that the female performer is frequently objectified for display purposes. The mise-en-scene is important throughout the video. At the beginning the clothes that the main characters are wearing are very plain and simple. One character keeps these clothes throughout. As the video progresses the character that goes toward the glamorous lifestyle starts to wear business suits. He is then pictured with a microphone, high on a podium, in front of national flags. This represents that he is a leader perhaps a president. This makes the audience feel like the song is in authority and they should take notice of what they are saying.

This character is always standing up high. This shows that he is powerful and in control however the other character who chose the peaceful lifestyle is always pictures walking in the streets. This gives the audience a feeling that he has been neglected and forgotten- it represents the poorer people in life. Several times in the video, the dove as a symbol is destroyed. Once an actual dove is killed by an Eagle (the bird of prey), as another Eagle (the fighter jet) flies overhead. The second time a wall with a dove painted on it, located next to a billboard displaying the corporate symbol, is destroyed by a wrecking ball.

The setting for the normal character is along streets with graffiti, representing a `rough part of town. However for the powerful character it changes from a happy country meadow to a big city with towering buildings.

There are many close ups of the characters, although most of the shots are long shots or medium shots. Andrew Goodwins theory states that close-ups of the artists give them the representation and publicity they require. However, because the camera follows the characters by tracking, the scenes always cut in time with the music. Toward the end of the video the scenes cut a lot faster giving the audience a sense of tension and nervousness. It also portrays the characters anger. Another reference made within the video is to Che Guevara, an iconic revolutionist. This can be seen when the oppressed friend is rallying a crowd, an image of Guevara's face appears on the yellow t-shirt on an overweight man.

The audience would watch this video for surveillance because it does show what goes on in the world. This originates from the Uses and Gratifications theory first theorised by Blumler and Katz in 1940. The audience would also personally identify with one of the characters in the video, either wanting a simple life or wanting too much. The audience of mainly males between the ages of thirteen and twenty five would be able to discuss the video with each other and maintain their personal relationship.