Costume and Props

For the character of the business man, we wanted to use a costume that was stereotypical, simple, yet bold and powerful. Therefore, we decided on a choice of an all black suit, smart shoes and a red tie; the combination is rather generic of the modern business man and it therefore gives strong hints to the characters profession without actually revealing his occupation. Additionally, the neatly fitting suit in the rather dull black colour gives the idea of someone who is uptight and rather controlling.

However, the vibrant and rather overpowering red


Patrick Bateman, "American Psycho"

tie symbolizes power, danger and determination, we purposely chose this accessory for these connotations in order to give this character a bold and impressionable presence within the video. Furthermore, our choice for this piece of costume was inspired other media texts; the main film being "American Psycho", in particular the character of Patrick Bateman. Bateman (as well as his peers) is a Wall Street investor that leads a double life as a serial killer, his urges to kill get stronger as the film goes on and we see him begin to break down as the narrative advances. The world he lives in is so obsessed with self-image and consumerism that no-one can put faces to names anymore and they can't recognise Bateman as a killer even once he admits it. Moreover, this same idea about how society has become so self-obsessed that it can't realise the truth of whats going on in the world is one that we have tried to replicate through intertextually linking our music video and "American Psycho", the same can be said for the track as well.

Agent 47, "Hitman"

Additionally, the black suit and red tie combination also reference Agent 47 from the film and game series "Hitman", this is his signature outfit and we again referenced this to strengthen the connotations of our character. Agent 47 is a cold, emotionless and rather blunt character, also powerful and dangerous; these attributes are similar to those of Patrick Bateman from "American Psycho" and ultimately the character in our music video, furthermore, illustrating how this suit and tie combination can be linked back to personality traits similar to those high up in the corporate world as well as killers.









In terms of props for the business man, firstly we have depicted him reading and holding The Daily Mail in a few scenes. This is as The Daily Mail is regarded as a heavily conservative newspaper and so we decided that it be appropriately linked to the character we were trying to create, due to the ideas this persona is likely to posses.




In addition, we decided to include a briefcase for some of the video; this gives the idea that the business man character is involved with the corporate world, giving the impression that he is carrying statistical documents vital to say, a banking company. However, there is no real telling what is actually in the briefcase and so it appears to be rather enigmatic within the narrative. This could be seen as a reference to "Pulp Fiction", whereby, the audience never see what the contents are but are only left to assume.

Jules showing the contents of the briefcase, unseen to the camera, "Pulp Fiction".

In contrast to the business man, we wanted the protestors costume to be in expensive and bland; we went for a plain white t-shirt, a pair of old jeans and some trainers. The reason behind this choice is, we wanted to communicate the idea that the protestor character isn't wealthy and also isn't obsessed with consumerism (a contrast from the connotations of the business man's dress). Additionally, the clothes are casual and rather loose fitting symbolising a more open minded and less aggressive character, one who understands he needs his say in regards to the countries' political and economic status, but doesn't go about it in ruthless or violent fashion. Essentially, he is a representation for the 99% of our nation, whereas, the business men represent the 1%.

In terms of props for the protestor, we had one scene where he is holding a sign that reads "We're In Trouble". This sign, particularly the fact that it's homemade, can be instantly associated with protest and so we are able to establish the occupation of the character through this.




Additionally, the particular wording on the sign is part of the track's title (we decided not to include "Mr President" as it doesn't really relate to the UK), the reason we used this was partly to promote the name of the track in the video but also to communicate a message about society; "We're In Trouble" gives the idea that although the majority (99%) should be the power in the country, ridding corruption, the minority (1%) is overpowering purely on a monetary basis. Therefore, we're in trouble as the system doesn't work and is not equal to everyone.