Project 5

Imagery

The video “Tag, You’re It” by Melanie Martinez the video uses the children’s game as a metaphor throughout the video. At the beginning of the video, Melanie is seen as a normal girl just taking out the trash, when suddenly The Big Bad Wolf drives by in an ice cream truck and it is seen that a knife is alongside him. It is very evident that the “wolf” has been watching her and thinks that she is the perfect victim. It even shows the “wolf”’s mouth watering just at the thought of her and her presence. Then Melanie approaches a grocery store where she goes in and buys a few items. When walking out of the store, she sees the wolf parked outside. Offering her ice cream, she proceeds to say she wanted Strawberry Ice Cream but he quickly pulls out a special Vanilla Ice Cream cone and denies the money that she tries to give him. Quickly after taking a bite out the ice cream, she collapses and the wolf takes her into the truck. She is then taken to his basement. In Kilbourne’s article, it states, “... just as we become numb to the daily litany in the news of women being raped, battered and killed” (para, 1/ pg.499). This statement is beyond true, and I think that this song and music video brings light to the statement that Kilbourne said. In the video, Melanie portrays as a normal girl and didn’t know what the wolf’s intentions were and that is so true in today’s society and I feel as if some people just push that to the side. Girls don’t choose to be raped or to be put in these situations, which is also portrayed through the song title “Tag, You’re It”.

Lyric Meaning

The meaning behind the song and video in itself makes you look at things from a darker and deeper perception of things, but the lyrics throughout the song gives even a deeper message. In the song it says, “Looking at me through your window… Boy, you had your eye out for a little”. The song also states, “Get your lady by her toes… If she screams, don’t let her go”. Both of the lyrics give a deeper message of what actually happens to women and the intentions of a man. In Kilbourne’s article, it states, “It is too frightening to face the fact that male violence against women is irrational and commonplace”(pg.496). This statement is also very true because the things that happen to women as portrayed in the video are so common in today’s society.