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Taylee McEntyre

Flores

ENG 1201.509

6 July 2020

A Song That Brings Feelings of Both Joy and Regret

"Live your life with arms wide open" are lyrics to the joyous song "Unwritten' that are

used to describe how fun life can exist. The first music video is Bedingfield interacting with

different people that get on an elevator and shows how the lyrics can contribute to what those

individuals are going through. She used dancing, singing, and even light to create a light, airy

feeling to what she is trying to convey in the message, which is living life to the fullest. Whereas

the second video takes a different approach, Bedingfield is seen in a book trying to climb a

bookcase to get to the top. The pages of the books seem to be torn, and she keeps falling, which

results in her struggling to get to the top. Towards the end of the video it shows the pages of

Natasha's book falling into someone else’s book.

What started just as a birthday present for Bedingfield's youngest brother on his 14th

birthday became a worldwide hit. Bedingfield wrote the song because she wanted to advise her

brother of things she wished she had known when she was younger. She wanted to show her

brother that it's okay to make mistakes and not live up to others' expectations because it is all

about happiness and joy. After the song released for her brother's birthday, it started being used

in weddings, graduations, and even movies. When the song began to become more popular,

Bedingfield realized that the song is universal and can express different feelings for anyone

regardless of age, gender, or stage of life. Both music videos incorporate the feelings of joy and
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when a person starts to live for themselves and not others while also mentioning how our lives

impact others.

Further, making two videos to the same song initially did not seem necessary when

navigating through the variety of remixes. However, while watching the two videos repeatedly, I

discovered that it isn't the actual song that contributes to the different themes of the music video.

It's the visual aspects and how Bedingfield portrays life while having the music accentuate the

actions. Although both videos have the same song, the visuals/acting throughout the video show

that the videos are equal with the same lyrics but different because they allow the audience to

expand by acting out the words in various scenes and gives hope to those that may be going

through their most difficult times in life or best times.

The first music video starts with Bedingfield walking into an elevator while singing the

beginning lyrics, " I am unwritten, can't read my mind." While going down on the elevator, a

man walks onto the elevator, and you can tell there is an attraction between the two, but neither

of them talk to each other. Once the man gets off the elevator, there is an awareness that she

should take chances in life and be happy while Bedingfield starts to sing, "feel the rain on your

skin, no one else can feel it for you." She dances around in the sun and the rain, showing how

free it can be to experience life for your own. As she runs the field, she seems carefree while

singing " live your life with arms wide open," meaning to take in what the world has to offer and

take chances without worrying about the mistake to come.

After, the video shows a little girl and her dad getting off the elevator to what seems like

a pool party. The kids dancing and singing reveals the carefree feelings that come with being a

child. Bedingfield dances around and sings with a choir then gets back onto the elevator with a

couple that is kissing. Once she sees the couple kissing, the same guy from the beginning gets on
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the elevator, and there is tension between the two, but nothing happens until she gets off the

elevator, and the guy runs after her.

This video appeals to both pathos and ethos, confirming the relationship between both

emotions and credibility. The joy throughout the video from dancing and being carefree proves

the logic behind living life for yourself. Then the other people that are in the elevator show how

great it can be to switch your mindset the being happy. Using experiences that people have had

and or are going to have appeal to those in the audience. The video appeals to those that may

have a hard time living for themselves. These videos show that courage and taking steps towards

what you want in life can result in freedom and can give hope to those that either need an extra

push through their most difficult time or extra encouragement for their best time.

The second video that was posted on the same day and had the same song conveys a

modified message. Natasha starts singing while on the cover of a book while singing, "I am

unwritten can't read my mind; I'm undefined," Which shows that she is her own story. This

shows the audience how empowering it can be to live every day to the fullest. The book starts to

climb up a tattered bookcase while beginning to tear out pages from the books. While the album

is climbing, that can resemble how difficult life can be and change your story. While climbing

the bookcase, the book stops to rest and has a bonfire, and it uses its pages to start a fire. This

initiates the thoughts of freedom and how we can let go of things that have hurt us in our lives,

which in the long run, helps us move on.

The book then begins to climb even higher up the bookcase, and when it gets to the top,

the book falls while its pages soar down the side. While I thought that the book would fall on the

ground, the pages from the paper spread out and land it someone else's hands. When the page

lands in the other girl's book, she smiles as she reads it and closes her book. This symbolizes
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how our stories, no matter how difficult it is, can influence other's stories and spread freedom for

others. This video appeals to pathos by how Natasha uses books to enhance the feelings of our

books. The pages in the stories tell a little bit about our lives and who we are, and even when it is

difficult, we can still climb to the top and be happy. This video is excellent for someone that may

be going through difficult times in life and need hope to get through. Both videos give the motive

to seek freedom and comfort through our most difficult situations by expressing it in two

different ways.
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Works Cited

Bedingfield, Natasha. “Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by

YouTube, 25 Oct. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFFBSSntZgs&feature=youtu.be.

“Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (US Version) (Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Natasha

Bedingfield, 25 Oct. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=b7k0a5hYnSI&feature=youtu.be.

Villarreal, Yvonne. “How Natasha Bedingfield Updated Her Hit Anthem ‘Unwritten’ for MTV’s

Revival of ‘The Hills’” Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2019,

www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-unwritten-the-hills-natasha-bedingfield-

20190624-story.html.