Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts

"Jar Of Hearts"

No, I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

[Chorus:]
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms

And I've learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

[Chorus:]
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

Dear, It took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
'Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back

[Chorus: x2]
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are?

The song is about a guy who dated lots of girls and broke all of their hearts, and she was one of the victims that had her heart broken by him.

The camera shots in the video are mostly mid close up and close up shots, showing her facial expressions which will show the audience her feelings and how much it hurts her. There are also a few wide shots showing her walking slowly through an empty deserted street. I think this represents that her last love has made her so lonely and she’s feeling empty.  The angles are all at face level so this is maybe because they wanted to help make a connection with the singer and it makes it so like they audience is almost facing her and she is telling us the concept of the lover that she had for him and maybe warning the guys not to be like that. The camera movement is very slow and steady which I think creates tension when the audience is watching the video and it sets the mood of the audience. The shot lengths are also very quite long and some are even up to 10 seconds long. This might be used as it doesn’t make the video jumpy and more it makes it more continuous and by this it doesn’t break the tension so much and the audience can feel closer to her.

This is an example of a mid close up shot which shows her facial expressions well. This also shows the camera angle is at face level.

 

The scenes just change one after the other and there are hardly any fade outs or cross fades which makes it simple and more realistic I think. However there are a few fade in/outs, which I think are used to keep the tension and the connection towards the video from the audience.

 

This is one of the only fade ins that i can find, most if the scenes just switch.

In this video there is a lot of miss-en-scene used. There are lots of newspapers flying about, there’s a fog in the background, there’s lots of old cars, all the colors are dark and it seems like the video is in black and white. It seems to be a cold day although the female characters are wearing white dresses and the guys are wearing black clothes which can symbolize that she things the guys are evil and dark and she thinks that all the guys are like this because of what this guy did to her. The girls however are represented as pure and innocent.

One of the ideologies that are presented in this video is that the men are all the same, all heartless and they just want to break people’s hearts.  I think that this ideology is dominant as I think most girls had they’re heart broken, so they also think this.

The genre of the music video is a drama as the video and the song are both very sad and it tells a sad story. This music video could also be a romance genre as it sings about love.

This shows how emotional she gets about what has happened to her, her telling the story, it also shows that she is very sad therefore this music video is a drama and romance.

By taking the Stuart Hall theory and applying it to the video, one of the preferred readings could be that it’s a good song and it relates to them a lot. The negotiated reading could be that it’s a good song and it sounds good but this doesn’t happen to me. The opposed reading could be that this music video doesn’t relate to me in any way and I don’t need to listen it.

An audience might watch this video for social integration as they can relate to her as lots of guys break girls hearts. Therefore they can feel better by watching this, as they can also see the singer suffering because from something that has also happened to you. It will make them feel like they are not alone and they will feel better and happier.  

I think that in this music video Andrew Goodwin’s theory can be applied. This is because, firstly the structure of the music is verse, chorus verse chorus which makes it easy to memorize the chorus and it makes you sing it in your head after you stopped listening to the song. Also there is the main singer which is the star of the video, so having all the lyrics come from her makes the audience feel sorrier for her as she is so famous and rich but yet she still has these problems and is still feeling so sad. Another reason why it supports Andrew Goodwin’s as it is like she is the storyteller and we are just here listening to her story. Secondly, the singer is also acting which makes the song much more realistic and allows the viewers to connect with that in a way. Thirdly the star singer is shown all the way throughout the music video with just a few occasions where the man is shown. I think that the singer uses the video to both illustrate how hurt she is and to amplify her feelings and help all the viewer’s understand what she is going through. Lastly I in the video there are lots of transitions that make the video go smooth and to help set the mood of the music. Therefore I believe that we can apply the Andrew Goodwin’s theory as it fits all of his 5 points.

I do not think that Laura Mulvey’s theory applies to this music video as the woman is not made to look very attractive, or hot or sexy in any way. I think that she is made to look a bit dirty and messy to symbolize how her boyfriend ruined her and that she has went through a lot because of this. I think that because of this she does not look very attractive or appealing to either men or woman, therefore I don’t think that Laura Mulvey’s theory applies to this music video.

 

The female singer is shown being not very clean and with a very dirty wedding dress in a dirty street.