Hozier - Take Me To Church

This song is by Hozier, an Irish recording artist. This song was released last year (2013) and is in his EP called Take Me To Church. In this music video there were a group of people who were chasing a man for being gay. This music video is about how gay people in some parts of society are still very much not accepted. Andrew Goodwins theory where the lyrics and visuals link could be applied here however in the second line of the song Hozier references a 'She' even though this song is about a gay couple. This would have have been done intentionally by the artist to appeal to a wider audience as although there are an increasing number of gay couples (maybe due to the legalisation of gay marriages), they are still a minority in comparison to the amount of heterosexual couples. This in itself could be suggestive and highlight that gay people are still not as accepted as heterosexual people. The line, "I was born sick but I love it" also portrays the limited social acceptance of gay people in society, to the point where he views himself as "ill" as though being gay were a disease. The music video was in black and white perhaps to make the audience feel empathetic towards the victims in this as it sets a negative tone. I feel as though I would be able to recreate much of this music video as most of the time the man was running and it was mostly set outside in fields or woods and the house. Some of the props included people in bandanas around their faces with hoods up and holding flares, all of which would be easily accessible and therefore could be recreated. Hozier did not feature in this music video therefore Andrew Goodwin's Star Theory cannot be applied to him as he was not the centre of the music video, rather it is focused on the unnaceptance and problems that the gay community face, with the two men in this music video serving as a microcosm of this. This was effective in Hozier portaying a strong, powerful and heartbreaking message as these problems are still very much prevelant in our society today.