Music Video analysis - MGMT 'Kids'

The opening image features an intense clash of neon green against an orange background of flames; it is accompanied by a dramatic and almost tragic score of violins. This is then overlapped with what appears to be extracts from a police or emergency related radio system. The entire composition of the shot depicts an overwhelming impact on the audience almost immediately. The connotations of fire in this circumstance, may represent danger, the domination of the flames in the shot suggest possible helplessness. The flames practically engulf the screen. 

Along with the sound of violins the fire may also imply the idea of destructiveness; the sound of emergency station in the foreground reinforces the idea of something negative happening. Overall the shot effectively attempts to conjure a strong emotional response. The shot combines things that we associate with danger or death and juxtaposes it with the band’s name, in green neon lights. This could have been done to create a possible contrast between life and death; the green representing fertility and nature whilst the red flames represent hazard and devastation

 The shot is then followed by a quote by famous German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche (which has possibly been quoted by Mark Twain). It states “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster…and if you gaze for long into an abyss the abyss gazes also into you”. The quotes interpretation has been mostly accepted as this; if you fight with or destroy evil be careful that in the process you are not labelled evil yourself, in the sense that if you fight fire with fire, then you are no better than the ‘monster’ you are facing. The second section of the quote is more complex. If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back. An abyss is a huge, seemingly bottomless. If you look into the depths, and wonder what is there, eventually, you could become so entrapped with this gaze or stare that you see nothing but the abyss. You could ultimately be "consumed" by this emptiness.  This quote along with the image of fire foreshadows the theme of the video.

When the previous track finishes the screen fades to black. It is followed abruptly with the sound of children counting down from 5. The numbers shown in the foreground of the shot resemble that which would be found in a children’s television show, this placed on top of images of children in the background creates a strong contrast from the previous images the audience have just seen. To place seemingly innocent imagery against such a powerful one, raises the question of how the two will link together. 

The next shot is a close up of a toddler in a large crib. The outside of the crib is completely dark with the exception of what appear to be claws reaching for the child. This reinforces the quote from previous shots, and merges the two opposite images of childhood innocence and the evil of a monster. The noticeably large crib resembles the bars of a prison cell, suggesting not only that the child is trapped but that he is immune to the outside world, he is protected from the dangers around him. This could imply that childhood is itself oblivious to the evil. 

In the proceeding shot we see a low angle and possibly a point of view shot of the ‘monster’ characters.  The concept of evil has been embodied into the typical image of what society deems hideous or terrifying. The low angle shot reinforces an order of stature or power, the child made helpless by the towering entities that stand above him. The imagery on screen may be reminiscent of what most children fear growing up, the notion of ‘monsters’ that come out to get us at night. 

In the next sequence, we see a complete juxtaposition of atmosphere. The child being cradled by his mother creates a sense of security. The matron figure is what children are accustomed to growing up; they are seen as the protector which is why the child remains in a calm state when around her. The child is also in the comfort of his own home, an environment he feels comfortable in. 

When the mother takes the child into the streets, the monsters we saw in previous shots return in the form of ‘civilians’. In this sequence the mother seems completely immune or oblivious to the sight of the ‘monsters’ which raises the implication that it is only the child that can see the evil. There are different interpretations we can take from this, one being that the child is afraid of the public in general, strangers he’s not familiar with yet. There are more complex ideas that this video could suggest, it could be a representation of how the innocence of childhood is taken away when fully grown. These ‘monsters’ could represent the corruption in society and how when you reach adulthood you become tainted yourself.

 When the child escapes into a wooded area, the video takes the audience out of the narrative and features the band performing, this is often used in music videos, as a self-promotion technique. The band is wearing unusual and futuristic clothing, this contrasts heavily with the primal forest/jungle setting in the background. The eccentric nature of their clothing creates a distinctive image that is branded into the audiences mind. 

The child is returned to his mother, by a police officer. The fact that an authority figure is also portrayed as a monster, this suggests that there are impurities even in the most highly regarded hum beings. The role of a police officer is to keep the community safe; this subverts that idea and breaks through titles and vocations. It exposes a hidden nature that only the innocent child can see. 

When in the car, the child the car seat eerily resembles this idea of a prison cell, there are bars on either side of the child suggesting once again that he is trapped. The clothing of the child also features bars, this compliments the bars of the car seat and suggests a frequent theme of the child being imprisoned.

The video then pursues a completely different direction when the child watches TV in the backseat of the car. Surreal imagery is shown to him through the medium of television. The first shot in this next sequence is of a man with the head of a wolf, he dances in front of an explosion of lucid colours. This distortion of reality could be the only thing that has been projected to the child, essentially blurring his perception of what is real or not; if so, this theory is supported by the use of monsters constantly surrounding the child.