Music Video Analysis | The 1975 - Robbers

The music video for Robbers by The 1975 is a heavily narrative based piece of visual media with a somewhat Joker x Harley Quinn style story. The whole music video sees frontman Matthew Healy and his beau rob a shop at gunpoint to fund their drug and alcohol addiction. So, straight away we can see that this is a style that the audience of this genre find appealing. The use of one of the members of the band staring in the music video is good for the record label to be able to push the brand of the band. There is also an element of intertextuality within this being that Matthew Healy has starred in some of the bands other music videos, for example, Somebody Else. The video follows a non-linear editing style. It utilises cuts to show different times and events from the story being told. Due to this style of editing, it foreshadows certain events. For example, about half-way through the video we see a bloodied hand scrape off of a wooden door, leaving a bloody hand print. We later realise that this is because Matthew Healy's character was shot when robbing the shop. The video is given a letter box in order to give it a more cinematic feel given that it is purely narrative based almost as though it is a short film. However, there is an element of performance in the video where Matthew Healy's character is singing the song to the female character. The style of this video is somewhat similar to a Thriller film. This could suggest that the audience for Thriller Films and Indie Rock bands are the same. That they both enjoy the themes that are shown. Like this video, the heist that goes wrong, and the tragic love story about a girl who's obsessed with her professional killer boyfriend.

There is no reference to the notion of looking in this music video. The whole video is shot in a way that we are not suggested to be watching the events occur through the eyes of another character or audience member. However, we could be lead to believe that we are meant to be seeing the female character through the eyes of the male character. This could also be related to Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory.

There is a clear relationship between the music and visuals. For example, the cuts are made in time with music. As the texture of the music begins to increase for the first time, the female character is shown to be taking a line of cocaine. Cocaine being a common drug that amps you up, it is almost as though we are meant to feel as though we are the female character witnessing the music build up as though we had just taken the drug. This also shows that the producer may have been relying on that effect being common knowledge within the audience of that genre. As the vocalist performs a sustained note, the female character's hand slides across the table. This doesn't really carry any connotations however it is rather visually gratifying.

There is also a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. "You look so cool" is shown on a napkin given to the Matthew Healy's character by the female character. The first time we see this napkin, at the beginning of the video, we don't see what is written on it. That lyric also is not spoken. It is not until later in the song when we hear that lyric where we finally see that it is written on the napkin. "She had a face straight outta a magazine",

here the female characters face is shown. It is as though the producer really wanted to highlight the beauty of this character and her importance to the story by coupling that lyric with an accompanying visual of the character. Again this can relate back to Mulvey's Male Gaze. "Her balaclava is starting to chafe", she is later shown to be wearing a bandana/balaclava. "But if just take off you mask", the female character's face is never covered during the video. It seems as though the producer is really wanting to highlight the beauty of this character compared to Matthew Healy's character who is more so shown to be the villain of the story.

There is a clear contrast created between these two characters. This is further suggested by the use of costume. For example, in a two shot of the two characters sitting on a wall outside of the shop they are about to rob, they are both shown to be wearing the bandanas. Bandanas carry the connotations of danger/evilness in regards to bandits and highway men. However, only Healy's character is wearing is covering his face, the female character isn't. This again could be the producer trying to highlight the female characters beauty and somewhat innocence within the situation. The colours of the bandanas can also be relevant as they both have colours that carry the same connotations of danger/evil. Healy's character having a black bandana and the female character having a red bandana. Red, however, is more so associated with danger than black, so perhaps the female character is the real villain of the story. Perhaps Healy's character is only stealing money in order to please the female character, almost as though her beauty has poisoned him. This could be why the producer is wanting to highlight that beauty throughout the whole video. Linking this back to the two shot could explain why only Healy's character has his face covered, the producer may have wanted the focus to be on her rather than Healy. Almost to the extent that we forget the fact that they are breaking the law. This could mean that we are being put into the shoes of Healy's character how he has become so distracted by her beauty that he is willing to do anything to please her but not realising the wickedness of his actions.