Introduction
The second video I am analysing is “Take On Me” by A-ha.
The song was released as a single from their album “Hunting High and Low” in September 1985. Their record label at the time was “Warner Bros”, one of the Big Four. The song was produced by Alan Tarney who had previously worked with people like Cliff Richard and Barbara Dickson. The video was directed by Steve Barron a director/producer who has also worked with Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toto and Madonna.
The video for the song was considered very ground breaking as it was one of the first, and probably the most famous, to use rotoscoping animation, making it instantly recognisable and winning it more awards than Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.
Mise en Scene and Language -
The video starts by showing a series of black and white drawings, these are revealed to be part of a comic which because it's the first thing shown the illusion and the fantasy is at the forefront of the audiences mind. This immediately places us from the point of view of the female protagonist. The drawings themselves show masculine imagery of a motorbike race. The protagonist male (the singer) is seen in direct competition with another man who he then beats and a shot is shown of the other man holding a wrench looking furious but this shot disappears so quickly it's almost subliminal foreshadowing of what will happen later in the video.
The fact that the singer is shown as the hero is important as this is his role throughout the entire video. He is portrayed as the attractive courageous man that all women would want. As he's the singer this view would stay with the band long after the video's release, further promoting them.
The page swipes over and the shot transitions to the girl reading the comic in a busy cafe. She is eating on her own and at the time a woman being on her own was not seen as a sigh of independence but loneliness, this is shown as the danger the woman needs saving from. She is dressed fashionably for the time and is pretty, giving her the damsel in distress trope.
Now the danger has been established it's time for the hero to come and get her right? Apparently as the comic begins to move as the girl looks on with confusion. There are close ups of the man's eyes and hers to show their immediate connection despite the fact they haven't spoken yet. His hand reaches out to her and she hesitates but then takes it, showing she already trusts him. He takes her away from the cafe and pulls her into the comic.
Inside the comic she’s animation too showing they are now together and happy, he has saved her. Other members of the band are shown to add a performance aspect to the video and the man begins singing the words. There’s a pane of glass which changes them back to real life people. This may just be the makers of the video showing off because the animation in the video was revolutionary for the time. It could also be showing there is still a degree of separation between them as they stand either side of the glass. Maybe showing that yes, they are happy here, but they would be happier in her world as he has enemies. The fact that the animation is black and white is a assign that in this world love is simple, black and white.
The band continue to perform, switching between reality and fantasy like the man and the woman. The video switches back to the real world to show what’s happening in the girl’s absence. When the world finds out that the girl has disappeared without paying she gets angry and throws the comic in the bin. The outside world is dangerous and has begun to leak into the couples fantasy as when this happens the music picks up to a tension creating pace and the man’s enemy from the beginning of the video shows up holding the wrench. He is coloured darker than the other character to show he’s the evil one.
The couple are chased by this man and his accomplice until they are cornered. The man opens a hole in the wall for the woman to got through but stays behind himself, he sacrifices himself for her, classic hero. The girl reappears next to the bin with the café staring at her abrupt arrival, she grabs the comic and flees. She arrives at her home which looks feminine but the walls are white and bare to show she’d previously be missing something in her life. She opens the comic to see what happens to the man. To her it appears he died, she looks out the window and cries in a classic damsel in distress pose.
The boy suddenly begins to reappear in the woman’s house, slamming to break free of the comic book by slamming against the walls. The woman watches in distress but does nothing to help as she is the damsel and the damsel mustn’t help, the hero must help himself. He breaks out and they are reunited.
The last shot is an a-ha magazine cover mixed with the couple living happily ever after. The band promoting themselves.
Audience and representation –
The video shows the stereotypical male and female gender roles. With the man portrayed as the hero and the woman shown as the damsel in distress who needs rescuing from loneliness. Considering this is an old video it was to be expected as this video was made to appeal to the mainstream audience so the director would stick to the views that the mass’s held instead of trying to break boundaries when it came to social issues.
The story of the video is written to appeal to young women of the time. By giving them a hero and heartthrob figure they increase their selling potential to this audience.
Sound –
Lyrics:
We're talking away,
I don't know what I’m to say.
Song is about a man trying to win the heart of a girl who's reluctant to fall in love. They get along well but there's always underlying tension.
I'll say it anyway.
Today's another day to find you shying away.
I'll be coming for your love, OK?
The girl is shying away from him because she doesn’t want to fall for him. He says "I'll be coming for your love ok?" to check how she feels about him loving her.
Take on me, take me on.
I'll be gone in a day or two.
This is the man telling the woman to give in and let them be in love as they don't have as much time as she would like to think.
So needless to say I'm odds and ends.
But that's me stumbling away.
Slowly learning that life is OK.
The man goes through his day to day life despite being heartbroken. At first he was reluctant to but has since learnt that love is not a bad thing.
Say after me “It's no better to be safe than sorry”.
He tries to send this message to the girl saying she can shield herself from being hurt all she likes but at the end of day regret will cost her just as much pain.
Take on me, take me on.
I'll be gone in a day or two.
Oh the things that you say.
Is it life or just a play my worries away.
You're all the things I've got to remember.
You're shying away.
This is them falling even deeper in love with each other so that neither of them can get out now whatever they do. He says "I'll be coming for you anyway" instead of before when he asked her permission, now they are equal as they're just as in love.
Take on me, take me on.
I'll be gone in a day or two.
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