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Sarah Coffey

Professor Lisa Tyler

ENG.1201.506

21 February 2021

Mad World Analysis

“Mad World” by 80’s British new wave band Tears for Fears was a surprise success upon

its release as a single in 1982. With strange lyrics accompanied by that new wave sound, the

compilation gives the song a bit of a chaotic feel. This works very well with the music video

itself, which gives the viewer a claustrophobic sense of being trapped somewhere they do not

belong. The original music video appeals to an audience that is familiar with the feeling of

seeing through the masks that everyone must wear but being forced to go along with them

anyway. The remake of “Mad World” by Gary Jules is a much slower, ballad version of the

original. The song was featured in the film Donnie Darko and has since developed a cult

following along with the film. This cover has a much more subtle feel to the music video, with

Jules acting more as an observer of chaos than an unwilling participator in said chaos. This

music video appeals more to those who can see the madness in the world without being subjected

to it themselves. While the original version of “Mad World” by Tears for Fears gives a feeling of

being trapped in a world in which one doesn’t belong with its visuals, the cover by Jules gives

the viewer the feeling that they are simply a passive observer to the madness in the world. Jules

caters to an audience that has seen the madness of the world, while Tears for Fears speaks to

those who have experienced it.

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In the Tears for Fears video, lead singer Curt Smith is sometimes sitting, sometimes

standing at a window. At times with his hands pressed against the glass, he is looking out at an

overcast landscape. Other times he is seated by the window at a table, but he is always alone and

always in the room. All the while, there are people outside. This visual setting gives the viewer

the impression that Smith is trapped inside, which could be interpreted as him being trapped

inside himself. He sees others, but his experience is separate from them. He knows something

they do not seem to realize, as the character outside his window is seen dancing wildly while

Smith is having an existential crisis.

Jules’ version of the song is much milder in tone, though many viewers will find the

sound alone to be far creepier than the original. The bulk of the video consists of an arial view of

school children making various shapes on the pavement below. Periodically, the camera will pan

up and the viewer sees Jules leaning against the barrier at the top of the building, watching the

children below. The audience is not watching Jules for most of the video. Instead, the viewer is

looking at the same scenario he is looking at from the same vantage point. Jules is not the

character that is to be empathized with, but rather the person that is showing the viewer the

empathetic subject. Even the school children themselves are not the literal subjects, but the

activity in which they are involved portrays the subject (the world) to the viewer. This puts the

audience in the place of an observer, not of Jules but with him.

The lyrics of both versions have almost no variation from one another. The world is

described as being a place that is pointless and mad. The people that are in it go about their lives,

repeating the same process everyday even though there is no purpose in the things that they do.

The lyrics claim that people are “bright and early for their daily races” but that they are “going

nowhere, going nowhere” (Tears for Fears). This lyric is accompanied in Jule’s version by the
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children on the pavement below forming the shape of a man. They move in rhythm with the

song, making the shape appear to run. All the while, Jules and the viewer are observing from

afar, watching the futility of the figure’s movements, as it gets no where at all. In the Tears for

Fears version, Smith is seated at the table beside the window. He is staring blankly outside,

holding his arms tightly around him as if to comfort himself. He himself is experiencing the

empty, futile feeling of his and others day to day experiences and, through this use of pathos,

causes the viewer to empathize with his situation. While the lyrics are the same in both instances,

the emphasis the viewer receives from the visuals accompanying the song is subtly different in

each.

Another contrasting example of the visuals is the way that each version portrays the lyrics

“children waiting for the day they feel good, happy birthday, happy birthday” (Tears for Fears).

In the Tears for Fears music video, these lyrics give us one of the few breaks from seeing Smith

inside the room. It shows a little girl in a blue dress, staring vacantly at a small burning candle. It

abruptly cuts to a very colorful and rowdy birthday party, filled with people acting obnoxiously

festive. The contrast between those two images is startling to the viewer and drives home the

point of the imbalance that exists between those like Smith and the little girl as opposed to

everyone else. In Jules’ version, the camera is casually panning around the park, on its way to

give the viewer a shot of Jules. When the camera finally arrives to its destination, Jules is

casually leaning against the edge of the building. His hands are lightly folded together, and he is

gazing below him without much expression. This is a very passive stance to take on this section

of lyrics, especially in comparison to the original version, which made much more of an impact

with its visuals. It is almost as if Jules’ is hardly at all concerned with the chaos that is in the

world around him.

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When it comes to the rhetorical appeals that are at work in these videos, the most obvious

of the three is pathos. The whole purpose of the song itself is to be relatable to those who are

emotionally disturbed by the state of the world. Through discomforting music and claustrophobic

scenes, the Tears for Fears version causes a panicked and trapped feeling in the viewer. These

feelings are aided by visuals such as the lonely child and Smith pressing himself against the glass

as if trying to escape. Like most other aspects of Jules’ version, the pathos is used in a calmer

way. The minimalism of the piano, the dullness of the atmosphere, and the eeriness of the

children dressed mostly in black are used to give the viewer a sad, unsettled feeling. Ethos is

more difficult to pinpoint in both videos. I would argue that the Tears for Fears version does not

use much ethos at all, except perhaps Smith’s presumed experience in feeling out of place in the

world. For Jules’ version, there is a more subtle abstract appeal to ethos. The vantage point from

which Jules’ is viewing the children could be looked at as portraying him in a position of

authority. He is above the subject; therefore, he has the authority to speak on it. Like ethos, logos

is a little tricky to find in these videos. It would seem to be difficult to find the appeals to logic in

a song about how illogical the world is. But in the words “When people run in circles it’s a very,

very mad world” (Tears for Fears) is an appeal to logic. Is it not mad to run in circles? Is not that

enough proof? One could use the same reasoning on the lyrics mentioned previously, speaking of

waking up bright and early for no reason. These statements appeal to logic because the viewer

recognizes them to be true, and the implications the song gives them make sense. The lyrics are

what lend logos to each of the music videos.

In conclusion, “Mad World” was written for people that feel they do not belong in the

world or understand it. The Tears for Fears version uses pathos, ethos, and logos to reach their

audience. Smith’s original audience was young and British. It has since changed to those who are
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nostalgic for 80’s era music, young or old. Jules’ version relies on pathos, a little ethos, and

logos to reach its audience. Jules’ audience is younger and probably considers themselves to be a

little out of the mainstream music scene. Both versions’ audiences are different, and the story

that they are being told is different as well. Tears for Fears offers their nostalgia-driven audience

the chance to be understood, to obtain a sense of mutual empathy about the trap that is the human

experience. Gary Jules’ takes his audience on a journey, giving them a bird’s eye view of the

chaos in the world. Both videos are successful at accomplishing what they set out to do, and both

make excellent cases for their own perspective.

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Works Cited

Jules, Gary. “Mad World - Gary Jules.” YouTube, uploaded by orijimi, 9 Jan. 2006,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4. Accessed 21 February 2021.

TearsForFearsVEVO. “Tears For Fears - Mad World (Official Music Video).” YouTube,

uploaded by Tears For Fears, 9 Aug. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg.

Accessed 21 February 2021.