Karsen Quillen

ENG.1201.511

Professor Leonard

February 12, 2022

Unwritten By Natasha Bedingfield

“Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten,” these are lyrics from the

song Unwritten by Nathasha Begingfield. This quote is saying that your life is whatever you

make it, you can wake up each day and make it more exciting than the last. Your life is a story

and you are the author. The official version of the music video shows the main character,

Natasha Bedingfield, stuck in a book and trying to overcome despite the challenges she faces.

The second video, the US version, shows Natasha Bedingfield running into numerous people and

she learns everyone has their own challenges that they face. The two music videos for Unwritten

by Natasha Bedingfield both focused on the stories and challenges that everyone faces in their

lives. Both versions were meant to send the message that we all have a story and things aren't

always easy, but we have to keep trying in order to get to better times.

The first video, the official version, does a great job showing how difficult it can be to try

to overcome your challenges. In the video, Natasha Bedingfield is trapped on the cover of a book

(Example). As the song continues, you see the book attempting to escape a bookstore while

being stepped on and put down by other books (Explanation). This connects to real life because

people have become very judgemental and are constantly putting others down without knowing

their stories (Significance). The book/Natsha Bedingfield continue on to travel through rain and

snow to eventually find a woman in the end (Example/Explanation). The video is directed to

anyone who may be struggling with an internal battle. It sends the message that you might face
some rough patches, but you have to persevere through those to get to brighter days and maybe

help someone who is facing similar challenges (Significance).

The second video, the US version, shows all the different people and how they are facing

challenges that people may not realize. (Assertion) The video shows Natasha Bedingfield as the

main character and she is helping many different people. In the beginning you see Natasha

comforting a crying girl in the elevator and then she sees a man who she is obviously attracted to

walks in. At the end of the video you see the crying girl kissing and smiling with a man. You

also see Natasha with a man and his little girl just before they get out of the elevator and dance in

the rain. This part was shown as the lyrics “release your inhibitions, feel the rain on your skin”

(Example). These lyrics do a great job of showing how important it is to not let other people's

thoughts affect you and to do what makes you happy (Explanation/Significance). It also shows

Natahsa standing in the elevator with a cleaning man who is going through a bag of stolen

money and jewelry (Example). He looks at her and then drops it on the floor, showing he is

making the change to become a better person (Explanation/SIgnificance). The last scene of the

video shows the man from the beginning and Natasha in the elevator together again, he follows

her out and they both look very happy. The message of the video is that you should try new

things/try things that scare you and not worry about the outcomes. They want you to realize that

you will face challenges and meet people who are also facing challenges and you should be nice

and try to help them out (Significance).

Both of these videos use pathos to get their point across. They show families and

important relationships to get you to feel what they really want you to feel. The two videos have

different messages but use similar appeals to make their point. They both want to address anyone

who is facing challenges in their lives. They don’t make it specific on the age, gender,
socioeconomic status, or race. Although the majority of the people in the videos are adults, they

can still appeal to teens. They show both males and females, adults and children. They show a

man from a lower class (cleaning man with stolen jewelry) and a man who could be from the

middle or upper class (father with his daughter). The first video shows less of the audience

target. They really only target anyone who is facing challenges.

Overall, the two videos target people who are facing challenges and might be struggling

on what to do. The first video, the official version, focuses more on the challenges you have to

overcome in life. The second video, the US version, focuses on the challenges others face that

we may not be aware of. They did a great job of showing that we all have stories and things

aren’t always easy, but we have to overcome them to get to better times in life.
 Work Cited

NBedingfieldVEVO. “Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Official Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 25

Oct. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFFBSSntZgs.

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

YouTube, 25 Oct. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7k0a5hYnSI.