LO1: Task 1: Kasabian - Empire

Screen Shots from Empire

This video was shot on location outside Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It was directed by the established British filmmaker W.I.Z. with casting by Sorin Tarau.

Purpose
The purpose of this music video is to promote Kasabian's single "Empire" in order to sell records. 

Form
The form of this video is a promotional music video.

Content

The video begins with the image of a woman in 19^th century dress picking up a dandelion head. The video continues with the image of a general saluting and passing a letter to a messenger boy. This is followed by an establishing shot of a boy delivering a letter to the band, of which are situated on the front lines of the battlefield. An unseen assailant shoots the boy from behind him, and a white frothy liquid pours from his pierced back satchel. This substance, possibly milk or beer, could connote purity, youth and life as it leaves him. The song begins as his lifeless body falls into the arms of Tom Meighan, Kasabian’s lead vocalist.

The scene frequently cuts to an old general sitting in a prestigious camp. The distinctly different scenes, one from the side of the soldiers on the battlefield and the other of the general in the camp displays the stark contrast between rank and status, despite both being members of the same fighting side.

Cannons fire as the chorus begins and some of the soldiers ride on horses. Fire litters the battlefield and some soldiers fall to the ground, their faces hidden. These faceless soldiers could represent the fallen who were unidentified. The band begins to walk through the smoke weaponless. The scene cuts to a hand with a holster and Tom falling to the ground. This foreshadows the end of the video. Tom removes his jacket and the general peers through a telescope to view the unexpected on-coming troupe. After a close up on Serge’s face, the scene cuts to an image of his bloodied arm laid on the grass with the bow still in his hand. This, again, foreshadows the end of the video. An image of the drummer boy is followed by an image of his drum bouncing into a muddy bog. The pattern of foreshadowing is becoming more frequent, showing that the end is drawing near.

The scene then changes to that of a woman wearing 19^th century clothing, picking up a dandelion head and blowing to seeds. The band are hit by a wall of smoke and gunfire, which kills them. The woman smiles as a flashback of the messenger boy appears beside her face, Serge’s guitar falling to the ground, the drum in the bog and Serge’s bloodied hand. These shots show that the band has been killed. The only survivor is Tom, who is only made visible when the smoke clears. He faces a line of soldiers, guns raised. He begins to sing the chorus of the song. This scene represents resilience and vigilance; despite the fact his comrades are dead, Tom still feels passion to fight for his cause. The soldiers lower their guns and a general passes a letter to a messenger boy, salutes and smacks the boy’s bum. It is unclear whether this is another boy or the boy who was killed. This gesture could represent the general’s power and intimidation over the lesser ranks or possibly just to hurry the boy along. The Captain takes his pistol out of its holster, just as we saw earlier, and the scene cuts to a close up, where he aims at Tom. An image of the murdered messenger boy appears and he salutes. This connotes that it was the general who killed him. Tom looks straight down the camera, as if into the Captain’s pistol and salutes. Tom’s body falls face-first onto the ground after the Captain’s shot and the soldiers retreat back to the camp.

Meaning

The actions carried out by the band in the narrative of this music video connote pacifism, as they refuse to fight and instead return to their own army camp. However, as an audience member I also get a strong impression of ‘standing up for what you believe in’, because the band are willing to die for their cause. The narrative of the music video is coherent with the strong messages sent out by the anti war song “Empire”. I personally really enjoy this music video because of its epic action scenes, historical references and powerful message.

Genre
The genre of this video is probably historical drama.

Audience
The audience of this video are fans of Kasabian and fans of similar bands.