May 1

Sierra May

English 1201

Prof. Hunter

14 February 2021

Analysis of Wake Me Up

“All this time I was finding myself, and I didn’t know I was lost.” These few words help

sum up Aviciis's overall meaning of the song "Wake Me Up." With this version, the song tells

listeners how everyone will find where they belong and who they are in time. In July of 2013,

Avicii published his video a few months before Aloe Blacc did, and though still especially

important, the meaning is not the same. The original songwriter, Blacc, released his video in

October of 2013, telling the true story of many immigrant families struggling to reunite.

The first music video version of the song, released by Avicii, told the story of two girls

who are outsiders in their small town and how they find their people. The older girl begins to

find others who have a similar symbol as her and a younger girl, known as the Avicii symbol.

When she finds these new people, she realizes it is where she and the girl, believed to be her

sister, belong. Contrasting with this video, Aloe Blacc uses the song as part of a movement. He

tells the story of an immigrant family struggling to reunite after being separated at the border.

When together again, the video resolves with a protest against ICE police. Throughout the video,

viewers get the understanding that despite hardships people will push for what is right. The song

“Wake Me Up,” sung by Avicii and Aloe Blacc, provides an important message to keep pushing

for what one may want despite how others see you. In Blacc’s later version, he incorporates a

relevant issue to spread awareness, while Avicii provides the simpler message of finding oneself.
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With the change of scenery and characters, the videos both use a comparable way of

conveying their message to show the progression of identity in the two girls. In the debut video

published by Avicii, the beginning takes place in a small and less modernized town, contrasting

with where they later find they belong. The two do not understand why they are judged as the

little girl asks, “why don’t they like us.” As the video pursues, the older girl finds herself in a city

with people that are like her, and the two soon leave from where they were not accepted. This

series of events shows that as they began to explore out of their comfort zone, it was easier to

find themselves, rather than being stuck where they could not. Importantly viewers find

themselves in relatable situations today, and looking back at this video's message, it helps to

push others to do the same. Similarly, Aloe Blacc uses these techniques to show a more rooted

concept for those who watch it.

Like Avicii, Blacc’s video uses character development and changing scenery to show the

family's perseverance to get over the border. As the family eventually reunites years later, the

little girl uses her voice to speak out against what happened with her family and what is currently

going on with many others. The lyrics, “They tell me I'm too young to understand. They say I'm

caught up in a dream. Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes,” helps show that

despite the issues they face, hope still prevails. This correlates with the video's message as the

family continuously tries to meet again after being removed from each other. Additionally, these

lines could also help show those unaware of situations like these occurring what is going on and

inspire them to find ways to help. The character progression shown is the day the little girl

wanted to create change and see her father after many years. As determined as they were, the girl

used her voice to push for change with the protests. Together, the development of setting and

characters helps convey these important ideas to different audiences.

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Although the two videos use similar ways to convey their message, they are not exactly

towards the same audience. The videos contrast here as Blacc uses his video to spread a message

and inform, while Avicii uses his to inspire personal growth and individuality. As a result, Blacc

targets people who are unaware of families being separated and fighting for the chance to be

reunited. He also gears it to those of privilege to show them what they can be doing to make a

change for these families. We know this as he advocates for something important for diverse

cultures, and he implies more needs to be done. He uses the protest as an example, and following

it is a series of facts and real stories of the actor's experiences with this issue. Compared to Blacc,

Avicii does not specifically gear this video, as the message can apply to anyone. While it is not

aimed at specific groups, it is more targeted to those who feel as if they are not where they

should be or even those who strive to find the thrill in life. This is implied as the video shows the

girls are unlike the others in their town and not liked. Despite this, they push through to find

some people that do accept them. To get the messages through to viewers, the artists use

rhetorical appeals.

Rhetorical appeals are used well in both the videos by Avicii and Blacc. Avicii uses

pathos to reach viewers as he makes the video relatable. He also shows that artists like him are

desirable for finding themselves. For example, when the girl in the video finds her people, they

go to his concert where it is visible she and others are having the time of their lives. There is a

clear contrast of how happy she was from being in the town to when she was in the city. The

video also showed that the outside characters in the small town all seem to be the same, as they

wear bland-colored clothing and are emotionless. The emotionless characters and lame scenery

could also imply the video is geared towards a younger audience as they are trying to find who

they are. Also showing that life is not always like the town the girls lived in, depressing and
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judgmental. While Avicii only uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos, Blacc incorporates more than

one appeal to get the idea of his content through to viewers.

In order to reach those watching, Blacc uses both pathos and logos as the purpose of his

video is to tell a story and inform. He begins the video by stating the song title, his name, and

“Inspired by 11 million True Stories.” Beginning with this fact shows he has already informed

those watching, the video comes with a purpose. As it proceeds, he tells a story with sad

moments that may not be familiar to some viewers. The family gets torn apart when the daughter

is a baby, and the mother tries multiple times to get back over to the father. It focuses on the

daughter's journey as, in the end, she becomes an advocate for others like her. After the

flashback of the girl's life, the video goes to the present day of the protest. There she sees the

same man who took her away from her family in the beginning. Blacc reaches the audience by

telling this empowering story in order to show its purpose. With the use of logos, the video

appeals to viewers using true stories and factual evidence of what is going on at the border.The

final moments state, “Most of the actors in this video have lived this story,” and the video

continues to show the main characters and the real challenges they faced. Especially when he

joins the protest, Blacc makes sure that those watching know what is going on and uses his

authority as an artist to stand up against immigrant families separated.

Overall, these videos both hold such important messages despite their differences and

storylines. The lyrics, “All this time I was finding myself, and I didn’t know I was lost,” really

show through the videos as the two girls find where they belong, and the girl separated from her

family found her voice to speak up about the issues she faced. The two hold special power to

those who watch them, showing they will find who they are and where they belong, along with

those of privilege seeing what it can be like for families ripped apart. With the usage of rhetorical
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appeals, the artists achieve this in creating a hit song for everyone. “Wake Me Up,” sung

originally by Aloe Blacc, and Avicii shows those watching to push for what they want,

disregarding how others will see them. In Blacc's version, he integrates a relevant problem to

achieve awareness, while Avicii shows viewers what it is like to find where they are happy.

Works Cited

“Wake Me Up (Official Video).” Performance by Avicii, Youtube, 29 July 2013,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrbM1l_BoI. Accessed 10 Feb 2021.

“Wake Me Up (Official).” Performance by Aloe Black, Youtube, 22 Oct. 2013,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_o6axAseak. Accessed 10 Feb 2021.