Lauren Kinzeler

Professor Flores

English 1201

13 February 2022

Analyzing Two Music Videos Paper

“Africa” by Weezer is a remake of “Africa” by Toto which is a song that ignites a lot of

emotion. Toto made the original song very well and Weezer remade it to bring it back and draw

more attention to them and the classic song. There is lots of information in each video and

background knowledge that will lead you to one consensus: Toto's song was the original and

has a purpose behind it and the music video has a purpose. Weezer's song is a remake of

Toto's song and it doesn't have any purpose behind it other than spreading what Toto originally

wanted to share.

The first music video is “Africa” by Toto. In this music video, there is a man and a woman.

They are both in a library and the woman seems to be the librarian. Then it appears that natives

from Africa come into the video. When the man picks up a book called "Africa", a native throws

a spear at him and the book. A pile of books falls on the floor and some get set on fire. You get

different emotions from watching this video. The claim is when someone takes a deep look into

Africa they see all the things that are happening ( the fire represents wildfires, and the spears

represent people and animals being killed. I do think that there is a specific audience for this

video, people that like this song or genre of music or people that are around 50 years old give or

take. This is because the song came out about 40 years ago.

The second music video is “Africa” by Weezer. This video shows the band playing in a room

with a blue background. There is nothing super special or symbolic in this video they are just

dancing and performing their song. It is hard to see a claim in this video, Weezer did a simple

video because they did a cover of Toto's song and probably didn't want to overstep on their
video. There is a specific audience for this video, people who like the original song Africa and

anyone that is into American Rock.

There are lots of reasons in the music videos that prove that Weezer's song is just a remake

to try and re-spread Totos' original message. One reason is that a fan was a big part of

Weezer's remake. A young fan had heard Toto's version and thought Weezer should cover the

song so he requested the cover. In Toto's version, the video brings lots of emotion. One of the

lyrics says: “It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men

or more could ever do. I bless the rains down in Africa. Gonna take some time to do the things

we never had. The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless, longing for some solitary

company I know that I must do what's right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the

Serengeti I seek to cure what's deep inside Frightened of this thing that I've become”(AzLyrics).

The use of Totos characters, props, background and the use of the fire does a lot for the video

in the way of emotions. From this evidence, the video uses Pathos more than any other

rhetorical appeal. In Weezer's version, it is more of a remake rather than a normal video. It's

hard to have any emotion from this video. This video uses Ethos because it goes off of Toto's

version and the music video proves that. Both of the music videos give off a little bit of a

different vibe though. Weezer's version has a little more rock and a firmer tone, whereas Toto's

version gives off a more lighthearted vibe.

There are lots of similarities and differences between these two videos and songs. Africa

by Weezer has a rock tone. The music video doesn't have a lot going on in it. There's just the

band, a colorful background, some dancing, and the song being performed. Africa by Toto has a

lot going on in it. There is the lead singer, a librarian, two different settings, lots of props used,

and more. They also use fire and spears. There are also lots of similarities between the two

videos. Both videos include their lead singers in the music video. Both songs have the same

lyrics and kind of the same tone.

 In conclusion, both of these videos have similarities and differences that bring them together

and set me apart. This supports the thesis because of its evidence and explanation on why

Weezer's video is a remake of Totos video.

 Works Cited

“Toto - Africa (Official HD Video) - Youtube.” YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=FTQbiNvZqaY.

Weezer - Africa (Starring Weird Al Yankovic) - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=mk5Dwg5zm2U.

Toto - Africa Lyrics | Azlyrics.com. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/toto/africa.html.