Textual analysis 2 - SUM41 'Fat lip'

Written by: Deryck Whibley/ Steve Jocz

Director: Marc Klasfeld

Genre: pop punk/ rap-core/ skate punk
Structure: Abstract / performance

The video is has a mainly abstract narrative with lots of abstract shots with possible hidden meanings behind them relating to the song. The video is mainly conventional of the genres but also has some unconventional features.

The opening shot for the video is the band singing an acappella version of the first verse of their future single, “What We’re All About” to two confused looking shop assistants. The shop assistants are wearing shirts and trousers which are stereotypical workers clothes. They don’t look like they are enjoying listening to the band sing their song and actually look like they want to leave. They smile at the end of the song before it cuts to the beginning of the song and the shot of the group.

When the song actually starts, there is a wide shot of a group of punks looking intimidating which shows how society views the sub-culture. However one of them is sat in a shopping trolley showing that they really just want to enjoy themselves and they’re not intimidating at all. The male in the next shot has a hat that says ‘ruthless production.’ This could show how he wants to be viewed by society and that actually, they don’t want to be accepted. This is backed up by the lyric, “I don’t wanna waste my time, become another casualty of society” The girl with the tongue piercing shows that the audience are alternative teens who most likely have piercings themselves. The person dressed as a robot on a skateboard also represents the audience as part of the genre is skate punk so it shows that the audience will be interested in skating and it is what they will want to see. The young boy in the video could be representing how the band have been like this since they were young and the older man could show that it’s a lifelong thing and not just a phase. The old man is arguing with the police officers, which shows that he doesn’t care about other people’s views and beliefs. The man is wearing Dr. Martens boots which have been a big part in many of the alternative sub-cultures since the late 70’s and still are today. Another one of the punks has an American flag patch on his jacket arm stitched on upside-down which is a political statement saying that he disagrees with the country’s policies and overall system.

The lyric “don’t tell us to behave. I’m sick of always hearing act your age” shows the immaturity of the band which is often shown in pop punk bands and also that they don’t listen to

When the band is shown playing, for the most part they are moving freely and individually which is conventional for pop punk videos but for a short period of time they are moving in unison to the music which is also conventional however not for skate punk or rap-core which is why it isn’t used in a lot of videos because it shows conformity which is something the song is quite clearly against. This could be why they have chosen to do it – in an ironic manner and not for long. Another conformist feature of the video is the boy skateboarding. He is wearing a helmet, knee and elbow pads which although for the video will have had to have been worn for health and safety purposes but it doesn’t give a sense of verisimilitude as they wouldn’t have worn them if they were skating any other time.

The boy dancing in front of the crowd was doing a two-step which has become a very popular dance move in mosh pits which is associated with rock music including pop punk and skate punk.

The video is set outside of a liquor store which shows that the band likes to drink which is conventional of pop punk videos however most just have party scenes instead. This is more subtle but also leaves more to the imagination as for what they drink as most pop punk videos have beer in stereotypical American red plastic party cups; this video has a full liquor shop.

A lot of the people in the crowd are dressed like geeks this could be because they are classed as social outcasts because of their personalities and choices which is how the band feels.

One thing that stands out to me in the video is at 0:51 there is a girls stood at the front of the crowd standing still not joining in with the other people dancing. This could just be a mistake or it could be representing how society thinks people should behave instead of jumping about and generally causing a disturbance.

The couple on the Vespa seem out of place in the video as their style is thought of for mainly ‘mods’ and indies but they have hybrid styles so they look like a mash up of indie and punks so in this punk video they fit in. This being said, they show diversity which isn’t conventional for any music video especially not punk.