Watch Muse’s latest single, Uprising, which its music video was official released on the 17th of September 2009. It is a phenomenal song which turns on your thinking caps.
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Apart from it being obviously an awesomely good hear, it actually has an underlying meaning to it. Through the music video, we can clearly see how verbal and non verbal communication complement each other and are part of a whole. It elevates the meaning of the song to greater heights; showing a clearer picture of what is implied from the song lyrics. I can also truly see how non verbal communication is receiver orientated and subjective, as it took me a while to understood what the song implied and also some reading up to understand the context of which the song was written.
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Through the music video, various types of non verbal communication are explored.
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The most obvious use of non verbal communication is Objectics, as we see the band placed in the miniature world of the toys, signifying our positions in reality and how small we are. We are almost like the toys, like how they are being controlled, we are too being manipulated. There is also the use of the teddy bears which the band uses to represent how we are usually constricted and constrain and the need for us to break free (shown when the teddy bears start tearing up the town). It also implied that we are not that innocent like how we look.
Through the teddy bear, there is also the use of Physical Appearance, as scary and even vampiric looking teddy bears are intentional chosen to show how ugly and aggressive we can get after being controlled for so long. Additionally, the set of the toy town was initially portrayed in its appearance to be dark, gloomy and chaotic (with the sparks and fires) to show the ugliness, lies, and deceptions of the world we live in.
The use of Paralinguistics in the song also evidently supports my previous statement of how verbal and non verbal communication compliments each other. This is shown during the chorus (shown below):
They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious ~
The use of the tone, volume and the background music accentuate and compliments the verbal intentions in the chorus; the force and power in the tone of the singer further amplifies the passion and strength conveyed in the chorus of how we are to break free from the control.
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The above analysis and interpretation of the song is purely my own personal views and we can clearly see how non verbal communication is receiver orientated and subjective, as you compare my interpretation of the song with the Band’s true intentions in this article. http://www.mtv.co.uk/artists/muse/news/155533-muse-uprising-was-inspired-by-g20-protests
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So what was your interpretation of the song at first. To be truthful, I did not actually understood it at all. However, now I am totally in love with it and can feel for it.
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♥ junying
Hi!
Woah! I’m the first to comment. I do like the starting of the song. It’s refreshing to see a video that uses dolls and toys to represent the people although it is a bit too gothic for my taste.
Anyway, I do agree with you that this video is effectively sending the contents of the message across through the storyline. Perharps because it uses such depressing features that it made people to stop and reflect upon themselves. It definitely did that to me when I watched the video.
Non verbal cues are always assumed that the recievers will get the accurate menaing behind it. But, in this video, one may not feel that way especially if she does not know the band or the title. People may get the wrong idea if they do not listen to the lyrics closely. Hence, it will probably be a good idea if subtitles are put in to complement this video.
Pls comment on mine too
Really nice song! Heehee. So many non-verbal cues are present in it. No wonder it is able to capture your attention and make you fall in love with it! Coupled with the verbal, that is the lyrics, this song is able to portray the emotions that it desires for its audience.
Subtitles needed for lyrics though, some parts are not very clear. =D
Nice video you have got here!
I think the teddy bear really represents the conformed society we have here.
People just act as told and do not (dare) question why.
Once it got all bottled up to the brim, it explodes and showed the ugly side.
I like the sentence ” We will be victorious!” haha.
oh and the scenes of the toy city in flames is one good representation of non-verbal cues.
Cool video! Wow, and there are many non-verbal cues in this short video clip. I really learned alot. I feel that the various types of cues enhances the music video. It allows to be able to understand the video better. It is able to capture the attention of the audience. This shows that the non verbal cues used are really useful and portrayed the meaning of the video successfully!
Hey!!
One negative thing i find about non-verbal communication being completely receiver oriented is that sometimes we as receivers might misinterpret the sender’s message, and in the end the sender(s) does/do not get their communication across.
Apart from that, I thought their use of objectics was very fresh and imaginative to represent their views on how people were being restrained. The dirty toys and warped representations of teddy bears indeed brought about a very disturbing feel to show how even our innocence can be tainted, corrupting us as individuals. Reminds me of horror movies where nursery rhymes go out of tune and everything is just so creepily chaotic.
Hello! And yes, again, I agree with Rachel. Seeing from how the way you interpreted the song was different from what Muse intended, the use of NVC has its drawbacks as it is completely subject to the receiver’s interpretation.I would have interpreted it as an exhortation to stand up and be counted for. But that’s the beauty of art, isn’t it? Different forms of interpretation, garnered from different people who have different points of view due to the differing background and experiences. Actually sometimes our interpretation of NVC depends solely on our past experiences and backgrounds. For example, a person who grew up in a family where domestic violence is rampant may interpret the use of raised voices as a sign that there is impending conflict – in which people will be physically and verbally abused.
Indeed, I agree with your last point that people may be sculptured and influenced to their means of communications due to past communications and hence interpret different verbal or non verbal communications differently. Due to past communications, we hence form and associate different communications to different things.
hi!
I have to say that it took me quite a while to understand what the song is trying to imply. However, I feel that the use of non verbal cues is very effective here as it helps greatly in conveying the band’s intended message. In addition, I agree with you that non verbal communication is receiver orientated and subjective as different people can attach different meanings to it, which is evident here as there are several different kinds of interpretations as to what the objects(teddy bear)represents.
yeah a good song!
anyway what i think about songs nowadays is that they engage the form of non verbals extensively. heavy metal bands and gothic bands use visuals to influence the audience. this song is certainly a deviance from what we have been used to.
personally these songs or bands are a form of entertainment. they serve to shake our minds from the constructs that we have. i have no preference for such songs but indeed such songs do something that moves us away from the ballads that we have been flooded with.
Hi! It is interesting to see how the music video uses the teddy bears as a form of expression of how we truly feel. However, because non verbal cues are, like you said, subjective, receivers many not understand the true intentions of the song and end up misinterpreting the true idea of the song. But I must say that the song and the music video really does complement each other.
Hi! This music video is very unique. And even though this isn’t the kind of music that I would enjoy, after reading your post regarding how the music video reveals certain intentions of the song, I am starting to appreciate the song a little more. Unlike most other videos which I have watched where not much meaning is placed in the music video, this really stands out and captures my attention. Especially through the use of the teddy bear which I at first did not notice how symbolic it is.
I think it is indeed a good combination of both verbal and non-verbal communication. I don’t really enjoy listening to this kind of music. It’s just not my kind.
I prefer classical music or slow or romantic songs or old songs. Something more subtle.
However, I would say the video is rather cool! It’s one of the only times I don’t turn it off when listening to music other than my own kind.
And I agree with your analysis on the non-verbal cues! I liked the part about physical appearance the most!
=)Kai Ting
Hey I love Muse!! They are an awesome, talented band
Although the album cover may look scary with all the non verbal cues, it wouldn’t stop me from getting their album and listening to their songs.
They are just awesome!
whoa thanks for introducing me to this song. I dont listen to Muse but this mtv seems interesting for the way the band portrays its message with bears as symbols. This reminds me of Linkin Park whose MTV Shadow of The Day is also a politcal song showing images and video clips of all the past and present terrorism acts, wars, fighting etc to illustrate what a chaotic world we live in today. They also employ the use of fire and explosion to depict the sense of anger present in humans and how much the world has been degraded to this state we’re in now.