The verve bittersweet symphony - video deconstruction

The music video for the verve’s Bittersweet symphony compromises of the lead singer Richard Ashcroft walking in a straight line down a pavement. The bumps and barges his way through people, knocking them over and annoying them. This is a common characteristic of rock bands as they stereotypically cause more havoc and behave more violently than bands of other genres.
He talks about life being a bittersweet symphony and of having to always make ends meet. This is mirrored in the content of the video. Ashcroft looks dishevelled and depressed. His expression is unchanged throughout the video, as if he is on a mission and does no longer care. The music is very slow with a heavy beat which is seen through his slow steady walking pace and the emphasis on the beats is shown through the close ups on his stepping feet.
The camera techniques are fairly minimal in this sequence however they have a lot of effect on the viewer. There are a lot of close ups on Richard Ashcroft’s face and this shows him to have dark, sunken eyes. He seems tired and this is very in keeping with the sombre tone of the music. The mise-en-scene of the piece is exemplified through the singer’s choice of clothes. He wears a leather jacket and suede loafer shoes which were both typical fashion items of the time that the song was written. They also use very little or no special effects in the video. This gives it a very simple, low budget feel, which was desired and this links in with the idea in the lyrics that life is a constant struggle.
Richard Ashcroft is represented as a simple man, who, in retrospect to his lyrics, is in a constant struggle to keep the pains of life at arm’s length. Ashcroft is known to be a family man and works it round his very busy life as a performer. His hard work as a musician is referred to as ‘making ends meet’ which he does to keep his family safe and happy.
The video is an example of illustration. It has a very close relationship with the lyrics used by the band. The lyrics illustrate a narrative that is of a man struggling through life, work hard to keep himself and his family above water so to speak. This is mirrored in the content of the video itself where the band’s lead singer, Richard Ashcroft, is seen to be on a mission, as he is walking continuously for the entirety of the video.
The video makes specific reference to a main issue in popular culture, poverty. The lyrics illustrate a hard way of life, having to battle with financial difficulties. He says that you are a ‘slave to money and then you die’. This is serious worry for a vast majority for people in today’s society. This means that the audience can relate to the video more directly and it will be more meaningful for them as the majority will have experienced the scenarios depicted in the song’s lyrics themselves.
Different social groups, especially the lower classes are represented mainly through the lyrics themselves, although Ashcroft is portrayed is as a more lower class man hampered by the strains of life’s financial difficulties. It is usually the lower classes that are represented as ‘poor’ or having been dealt the tough hand in life.