Textual Analysis 1Hozier- Take Me To Church

We are introduced to this music video with a moving image of fire. Immediately, we think this video is going to involve some sort of negativity due to the connotations of fire. The fire is only small to begin with however we see by the end of the music video the fire is a large blaze and the negativity has strengthened in the narrative. Almost suddenly we are able to identify the narrative as the two men together look like a couple therefore it is obvious the video s based on sexuality.

The Parental Advisory label (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label is placed on audio recordings in recognition of excessive profanities or inappropriate references, with the intention of alerting parents of potentially unsuitable material for younger children.

The line ‘“we were born sick” you heard them say it” is against this shot of the man burying the chest. We do not know whats inside but I presume it is the memories of the couple because they have to hide their private life away from people, they do not support the gay relationship which also links to the lyrics we were born sick because sick is an exaggeration of the word disgusting which some faiths find gay relationships wrong and forbidden.

The close up shot of the man burying the chest establishes the fact that he is so close to dirt which could represent the view of people who are homophobic because they believe gay people are dirty.

The use of handheld camera is effective within the film of the man locking up the chest as It shows his panic and the fact he needs to hide it before people see.

The birds are flying away from somewhere which may symbolise the fact that the men want to be able to be together and be free since birds are a symbol of freedom. However, this shot may also symbolise the fact that they need to run away from others since people don’t accept their gay relationship and they cannot truly be free with this negative stereotype they are given by people who are homophobic.

This scene shows the couple looking really happy and in love while sharing a hug. A close up shot is used to emphasise how close the couple are when they are alone. However, it is evident that they feel trapped and cannot be free as who they want to be when in public due to the close up shot filmed behind bars almost as though they are in prison and are in the wrong. The lyrics alongside this image are “the only heaven ill be sent to, is when I'm alone with you” which suggests that they only want to be together and that is when they're truly happy.

The next shot shows an over the shoulder shot of a man watching the couple, in relation to cinematography and rule of thirds; the man takes up half the screen and looks very large in comparison to the two men who look very small in the shot. This could be a suggestion as to how society can belittle people for their sexual preferences however this shot makes them look vulnerable and makes the man look antagonistic. A medium close up is used right before a close up of the same man wearing a hooded jacket just staring on. He is looking at the men purely because they are together which makes us empathise with the men as they walk with their heads down (in shame) and

A close up shot of the couple kissing now dominates the screen in relation to rule of thirds which shows the love they both share for each other and how happy they are as partners when they're alone. Through the cinematography and editing, we are able to suggest that the men just want too be happy which coincides with the lyrics “the only heaven ill be sent to, is when I’m alone with you” as they can only be themselves when they are together.

Mise en scene reinforces the harsh reality of people who are homophobic as this establishing shot of a group of men are seen searching for the couple. The men are wearing hooded clothing, scarves covering the majority of their face and gloves covering their hands however the mise en scene also shows us it Is not filmed in the winter period so these men mean harm with their actions and need to cover up evidence by wearing this specific clothing. We also recognise that these men are the antagonists in the narrative as there are only two gay men but 3 times as many men in this establishing shot so there is an army against the 2 men.

• We see the man running to meet his partner as the camera carries on cutting to the gang in a hurry as well which suggests the narrative has now become a battle and the situation is more intense towards the middle of the song as the editing becomes faster paced.

• Handheld camera is used due to the fact that one of the gay men is gathering his things from his house in a hurry which implies to the viewer that the couple had planned to run away from all of this and he is gathering their things. In regards to editing, the camera cuts between the panic of the man collecting his things and the gang approaching closer to the camera than when we first saw them which creates the feeling that they’re on his back and we begin to empathise as though these men are the antagonists.

The gang go to the couple’s house where an older man stands watching them approach his door. We suspect this is one of the gay men’s father as the gang then launch a bottle set alight towards the window and one of the gang members punches the older man, knocking him to the floor. This would portray the idea that if you support gay relationships you will be punished as well because it is a ‘sin’ in this video which relates to the lyrics “I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife” because they have sinned by being themselves.

Even though the narrative is that the gay couple are the ones in the wrong and the ones who are ‘sick’ we begin to really hate the antagonists as a close up shot shows one of the men being dragged towards a large fire with a knife (relevance to the lyrics “sharpen your knife”) besides his neck as he screams for his life. The camera then cuts to a shot of a video camera with depth of field focusing only on the camera as someone is videoing this torture. The last scenes we see are of an extreme close up of the chest being thrown into the fire as the man begins to cry and his partner finally finds him only to see him being beaten on the ground, kicked by the group of men.