Week 2 Video Reviews
Whip It
Artist's Name:
Devo. Devo is an American “New Wave” band that was formed in 1972.
Song Title:
The song is titled "Whip It"
CD/Album Title
Freedom of Choice
Year
1980
Record Company
Warner Bros
Director
Gerald Casale and Chuck Statler
Narrative of Video:
The video starts with Devo’s drummer and then the scene quickly changes to woman standing in an open window putting on an apron then to a small
crowd of people gathered outside a log cabin. The crowd is dressed in cowboy attire and they are drinking beer. All of a sudden, the door flies open and one of the members of Devo rushes out holding a whip in his hand. He is dressed in black shorts and t-shirt, and is wearing what appears to be a red plastic flowerpot on his head. He begins whipping the hay on the ground as the song begins playing in the background. Each time the whip strikes the hay, the crowd lifts their beer cans up in a salute. The camera then moves to the rest of the band who are dressed the same as the one who came out of the cabin. A couple of them have their shirts pulled up over their chins. They are playing their instruments. The song proceeds in somewhat of a “call and response” format. One band member sings one line, and another band member sings the next. The video follows from one to the other. Soon, a woman wearing a blind fold and has her wrists tied, is led into the picture. She has a cigarette holder in her mouth. As the song continues, the one with the whip uses it to whip the woman’s hat from her head and the cigarette from her mouth. The scene focuses on the band for a few seconds and then settles on one of the men and women in the crowd who are having a fight. The video moves quickly from one scene to another. It focuses on the band for a few seconds, then moves to the woman standing in the window of the cabin, back to each singer, back to the crowd, and to the man holding the whip who begins using it to remove articles of clothing from the woman who had the cigarette in her mouth. The camera focuses in on the crowd for a split second as an article of her clothing comes sailing through the air and lands at their feet. At one point, the camera centers on a young woman who is holding a gun and has her eyes crossed. The woman is pointing a gun at the crowd of people. They duck for cover. The sound of gunshot is heard, and a beer can flies out of the hand of one of the cowboys who is seen in double. The quick pace of scene changes continues. One man from
the crowd goes inside the cabin. He takes hold of the young woman who was holding the gun and they disappear from sight. The man with the whip continues to use it to remove the clothing worn by the woman who had the cigarette in her mouth. The camera moves back to the older woman standing in the window who now has a pie in her hand. She summons everyone over and they move toward the cabin. The man and young woman appear again. The member of Devo continues to use the whip to remove the woman’s clothing until she is down to a red bustier. At the end of the video, the woman in the window is seen and a caption comes up under her that reads “Oh that Alan!”
crowd of people gathered outside a log cabin. The crowd is dressed in cowboy attire and they are drinking beer. All of a sudden, the door flies open and one of the members of Devo rushes out holding a whip in his hand. He is dressed in black shorts and t-shirt, and is wearing what appears to be a red plastic flowerpot on his head. He begins whipping the hay on the ground as the song begins playing in the background. Each time the whip strikes the hay, the crowd lifts their beer cans up in a salute. The camera then moves to the rest of the band who are dressed the same as the one who came out of the cabin. A couple of them have their shirts pulled up over their chins. They are playing their instruments. The song proceeds in somewhat of a “call and response” format. One band member sings one line, and another band member sings the next. The video follows from one to the other. Soon, a woman wearing a blind fold and has her wrists tied, is led into the picture. She has a cigarette holder in her mouth. As the song continues, the one with the whip uses it to whip the woman’s hat from her head and the cigarette from her mouth. The scene focuses on the band for a few seconds and then settles on one of the men and women in the crowd who are having a fight. The video moves quickly from one scene to another. It focuses on the band for a few seconds, then moves to the woman standing in the window of the cabin, back to each singer, back to the crowd, and to the man holding the whip who begins using it to remove articles of clothing from the woman who had the cigarette in her mouth. The camera focuses in on the crowd for a split second as an article of her clothing comes sailing through the air and lands at their feet. At one point, the camera centers on a young woman who is holding a gun and has her eyes crossed. The woman is pointing a gun at the crowd of people. They duck for cover. The sound of gunshot is heard, and a beer can flies out of the hand of one of the cowboys who is seen in double. The quick pace of scene changes continues. One man from
the crowd goes inside the cabin. He takes hold of the young woman who was holding the gun and they disappear from sight. The man with the whip continues to use it to remove the clothing worn by the woman who had the cigarette in her mouth. The camera moves back to the older woman standing in the window who now has a pie in her hand. She summons everyone over and they move toward the cabin. The man and young woman appear again. The member of Devo continues to use the whip to remove the woman’s clothing until she is down to a red bustier. At the end of the video, the woman in the window is seen and a caption comes up under her that reads “Oh that Alan!”
How the Music and Video Relate:
The rhythm of the image changes in the video is very quick and they match the tempo of the song very well. The song is upbeat sounding and the
images are both metaphoric and also comedic.
images are both metaphoric and also comedic.
Review:
The video works inasmuch as it moves quickly along with the song. The images change to demonstrate or elaborate on some of the song lyrics. The video and song both have a lighthearted feel to them. The song isn’t meant to be taken literally, and he images in the video accentuate this point.
For older audiences, it is easy to pick out the implications of S&M in this video. For younger audiences, it just appears that there are whacky looking guys wearing flowerpot hats that are singing silly lyrics while they do weird stuff.
For older audiences, it is easy to pick out the implications of S&M in this video. For younger audiences, it just appears that there are whacky looking guys wearing flowerpot hats that are singing silly lyrics while they do weird stuff.