Alexandra Slattery

English 1201

February 18, 2022 1

“Zombies” By the Cranberries and Bad Wolves

“Another head hangs lowly, child is slowly taken and the violence cause such silence.
Who are we mistaken?” These are the opening lyrics to the song “Zombie '' written the lead
singer of the Cranberries in September 1994. The song is a great represetnaion of the struggles
that Ireland was having during this time period. The song "Zombies”, originally sung by the
Cranberries is a very meaningful song with a great music video to follow it up. After the lead
singer of the Cranberries unfortunately passed, the Bad Wolves put a very nice twist on both the
song and the music video as a tribute to the lost musician.
The Troubles was a very devastating time for many Irish and British citizens. The
Troubles lasted from 1968 to 1998 and were a great time of terror. The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) was on a mission to remove all British forces from Northern Ireland and would stop at
nothing to reunite the country. The IRA was very brutal and used extreme methods of destruction
such as bombs, tanks, and drones. The lead singer of the band, Dolores O’Riordan, was Irish and
took great pride in her country. However, she felt ashamed during this time because of what
awful things the IRA was doing. She wrote the song after the death of the two young boys,
Johnathan Ball (three) and Tim Parry (twelve). The boys were killed while walking down the
street in northwest England. O’Riordan took their deaths to heart and decided to write a song to
honor them, and also raise awareness to the devastation being caused.
The original music video created by the Cranberries depicts war and sorrow. The main
claim of the video is that children are suffering from all of the damage caused by the IRA.
During the video, a “golden woman” is shown taking care of the children that are later seen
fighting in the streets. Guards are also shown walking the streets with guns and wearing miltary
uniforms. The overall mood of the video is sad and uses fear to show just how terrible the world
was for these people.
In the music video created by the Bad Wolves, there are similar themes but different
perspectives. The second video still uses the “golden woman” but this time there are no children.
Many scenes show the woman in pain and suffering while hopelessly grabbing at the mirror. This
symbolizes the pain that everyone is feeling, not just the children. It also demonstrates the
struggles that many parents have, but cannot show their children. The Bad Wolves created this
music video to commemorate the loss of Dolores O’Rioridan, but also wanted to continue to
spread her message.The mood of the video was very sad and depressing.
Both videos use the Pathos appeal to engage the audience. The first video uses children
that are in pain and scenes of people suffering. The second video is mostly in black and white
which gives a very dispirting feel to the video. The Pathos appeal is used to expand the target
audience and raise awareness for the issues at hand. Both the Cranberries and Bad Wolves
wanted to truly show the hardships that the British and Northern Irish families were facing
during these devastating times.
Alexandra Slattery

English 1201

February 10, 2022

2
Although both videos have a lot of similarities, one major difference is the target
audience. The first video is more for the people that were actively struggling during this time.
This would include the British, Irish and even neighboring countries. This affected children,
adults and the elderly every single day. The religon and social class of these individuals did not
matter, all that mattered was showing that they were not alone. The second video was more of a
remembrance video and was made for fans of Dolores, people who were affected by the IRA,
and anyone who liked the band. The audience was extended to people all over the world no
matter where they lived, what they believed or what race they were.
All in all, the two videos are both amazing in their own ways. The first video gives a very
great depiction of what was happening during the time period, while the second video also gives
a good representation of the time, but also of Dolores. They both use a Pathos appeal to grab the
audience's attention and create an emotional reaction to get the point across. The videos both
have a large range of target audiences, however the original video is a little more specific
towards who it is for. In conclusion, the two music videos have a uniqueness about both of them
that makes the videos a pleasure to watch.
Alexandra Slattery

English 1201

February 10, 2022

3
Works Cited

“The Cranberries - Zombie (Official Music Video).” YouTube, uploaded by

TheCranberriesTV, 16 June 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts. Accessed February

10, 2022.

“Bad Wolves - Zombie (Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Better Noise Music, 22

Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaS93WMRQQ. Accessed February 10, 2022.