Music video analysis - Karisha

How You Remind Me is a music video directed by the Brothers Strause. Although the genre of music is not Hip-Hop, it uses the same conventions as a typical hip-hop music video.



As soon as the video starts, we can already begin to connect the visuals to the audio. We see Kroeger on the floor in a cold, dark room and we can already begin to suggest the genre of music and theme of the song before it starts playing. We hear a guitar playing and we expect there to be a band with a stereotypical look.

It follows many generic conventions: for example, there are many close up shots taken of the band playing their instruments and especially of Chad Kroeger. The camera pans across the members of the band to show their importance to the viewers. They are also placed on a stage for emphasis and to show their importance. This is called iconography.

It also has perpetuated themes of voyeurism where a woman is shown repeatedly throughout the video. She touches herself seductively to draw in male viewers and also to tell the narrative. She is represented as an object of desire. A common convention is to intercut the shots of the woman with the band’s performance shots. Particular close ups on the woman’s eyes or red lips may connote she is devious or dangerous.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. We know this as when the woman appears, the shots are edited and the colour changes to golden, yellow colours, which suggests he’s happy and warm. When she disappears, the shots become dull and grey, which suggests he’s cold, sad and alone. This implies he has strong feelings for her and is haunted by the memories they shared together. The director has used this editing technique to portray themes of temptation and him being able to resist her. We can link this to the story of Adam & Eve and their pursuit in resisting the ‘forbidden fruit’.

There are shots where he is singing in the rain. This method is called pathetic fallacy as the weather reflects the mood and theme of the song. The viewer will know how he is supposed to be feeling.

At the end, she comes to the venue where he is playing and he pushes her away. She is represented as the weaker sex. He disappears and she is left alone, just like Kroeger was at the start of the video.