Today, we’re lucky enough to live in a culture that allows anyone to be a performer. Through social media we have the opportunity to showcase our talents or build a complementary internet persona who can be the opposite of how we act in real life.
With sites like Twitter, YouTube, Vine, etc., the world is more connected than ever, allowing us to meet people with different backgrounds, cultures, and social norms. But could this connectivity and need to perform be bad for us?
In “I Believe,” their newest video, Emanuel and the Fear showcase this connectivity in its bittersweet truth.
Emanuel and the Fear Video Tackles Cameras and Connections
The video opens with a montage of different people performing tasks such as snorkeling, gaming, and giving birth but they are all surrounded by cameras and iPhone paparazzi.
The first impression is that Emanuel and the Fear and their video are commenting on society’s need to document everything and put on a performance. But as the lyrics start and the line “I believe in everyone I meet / And everyone who shows me / Something that I could never be” comes in, the meaning of the video became completely different to me.
The use of cameras and paparazzi diminishes through the video until only one man is still documenting people, be they Trump supporters driving around town, a couple of webcam performers, or protesters.
The overall message seems to walk along the line of whether or not this connectivity through media is genuine. Most of the connections made throughout the video seems genuine and positive, but we have to wonder if the camera documenting their actions is a variable in their behavior.
Emanuel and the Fear seems to have a positive view of society and supports this connectivity. Subjects in the video are overwhelming happy and the lyrics support the band’s belief that meeting new people, even through a lens, helps one grow as a person.
