Aiming to make our music video a poignant representation of feminist themes and social commentary on the patriarchal forces that impede the aspirations of marginalised women meant that we needed to think very carefully about how we would convey such complex topics visually. In other words, planning the ins and outs of our music video’s mise en scène was crucial.
This post goes over how we hoped to use the different visual elements of our music video to emphasise its underlying themes in a symbolic and emotionally impactful manner. All of these factors were, again, mutually agreed upon by both members through multiple detailed discussions in-person or on Zoom and WhatsApp.
Props
1. Blindfold + Blacked-out Book Pages
We had decided that the artist would be shown wearing a blindfold throughout the video (except at the very end), which symbolises how patriarchal forces limit women’s access to knowledge—this aspect of the narrative would also be developed further by the pages of the book the artist is trying to read being obscured behind black ink. The blindfold similarly serves to obscure the artist's vision, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for how marginalised women are prevented from seeing their full potential as individual beings with their own aspirations and dreams.
Using a shirt that features Allama Iqbal’s poetry as the blindfold could also be considered an important aspect of the mise en scène.
Translation has been taken from Quora:
Translation Credits: https://www.quora.com/profile/Abeeha-Farooqi
The poem, in my opinion, encourages readers to pursue the neverending quests of life and not be discouraged by endings and losses as there exist many wonders beyond them. Laced with hope, this poem perfectly embodies the message of empowerment the removal of the blindfold in the music video hopes to represent. Local audiences who understand poetry may be particularly impacted by this too due to the cultural significance Iqbal’s poetry holds in the subcontinent's historical context
2. Clocks
Being an archive of all sorts of mundane objects from the past, the Lahore Heritage Club has way too many clocks, most of which are not functional because they are antiques. Naturally, I thought it would be a good idea to make use of what was available to us and incorporate stuck clocks as a central motif in our music video. The stopped clocks in the museum would primarily serve to highlight the stagnant and oppressive nature of patriarchal forces that act as long-standing tormentors of marginalised women.
3. Paintings and Statues of Women
LHC displays many archived paintings and statues of women in its vicinity which we knew early on could be used in our music video to underscore the theme of women being objectified in patriarchal milieus and being prevented from asserting their individual identities. By focusing on such inanimate, nameless women, the music video could also successfully imply that the themes explored in it are representative of a universal struggle against patriarchal oppression that all women may face in different ways regardless of who they may be.
Notes from Future Tashfa: The decision to use repetitive shots of stuck clocks and paintings/statues of women in our music video was very deliberate; I had already discussed with Esha that by having a number of recurring visual motifs in our music video, we would be able to create meaning in a much more efficient and effective way. Hence, the video features a lot of repeated symbols that we think might help our audience make connections with relevant social issues and resonate with the piece of work as a whole.
Set / Setting
1. Museum + Library
The setting of the music video will play an important role in conveying our hypothetical artist’s messages. Since LHC is a private, small museum, some (especially our hypothetical international audience) may not be able to immediately recognise the setting of the music video as a museum. However, they might piece this together with the help of the cultural codes present in the form of the exhibited crafts as well as the antique/vintage props. It can also be assumed that local audiences (particularly those from Lahore) may be familiar with the setting as it is a community space which frequently organises events that encourage people to engage with sub-continental history, culture, literature, and more; all of that is to say that the setting may appeal to local audiences already familiar with the significance of the Lahore Heritage Club and help them develop a deeper understanding of how the themes portrayed in the video may be reflective of social issues that exist around them.
Keeping this in mind, different audience members may have different interpretations of the significance of the museum setting. For example, on the surface level, it could be pointing towards the preservation and celebration of history. However, at the same time, the artist will be portrayed as prevented from initially being able to break free from it because of long-standing patriarchal values which is especially emphasised by the use of clocks stuck in time.
The museum can also be seen as a metaphor for how women's contributions to history are frequently overlooked and undervalued in favour of men’s. The use of this particular setting could, therefore, be considered related to Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze, which suggests that the way in which women are represented in media can be seen as indicative of the patriarchal society in which we live which often only views them as objects that cater to the pleasure of the heterosexual male gaze—and nothing more.
The museum also features a library setting which is essential to developing the themes of our music video. Museums and libraries are places associated with learning and knowledge; the use of these settings, thus, aims to reinforce the theme of knowledge being withheld from marginalised women.
2. Hallway
Our location has a dark hallway that Esha and I both wanted to take advantage of. By portraying our artist walking through it in a disorienting shot (particularly paired with the low-key lighting), the music video would be symbolising an uncertain, and possibly dangerous, journey—perhaps the woman’s attempt at challenging the patriarchal chains entrapping her.
I shared with Esha a random Instagram video that we took as inspiration for what would become The Hallway Shot in terms of composition and camera movement:
Lighting
Employing Strauss’s notion of binary oppositions in some ways, we hoped to use contrasting lighting to highlight different themes within the music video. For example, the low-key lighting in the hallway would serve the purpose of underlining the potential danger of the artist’s journey of going against patriarchal oppression, representing her as an empowered woman willing to fight for herself despite not knowing what might be in store for her. On the other hand, shots illuminated by high-key, natural lighting (streaming in from a window, through trees, etc.) would be used to symbolically represent glimmers of hope that exist amid the oppression the music video focuses on.
Colour + Costume
The colour palette of the set features mainly muted earth tones, which reinforces the sombre and introspective mood of the video.
Audiences may be drawn to the bright red in the artist's clothes which resembles the bright red colour of the book the music video focuses on, contrasting with the muted colours of the setting and shifting the audience's attention towards the symbolism of hope and resistance against oppression, which yet again underscores the music video's feminist themes—this may also be considered a theme that will be aided by the dull earthy tones of the museum being punctuated with some shots of vibrant plants.
We planned to utilise the orange/red-ish lighting in the room the hallway led up to symbolise a sense of danger and emphasise the uncertainty surrounding how the protagonist’s attempts at opposing patriarchal constraints will end.
Costume - Make-up (or its lack thereof)
To conform to how alternative/indie music is often characterised by raw emotions, authenticity, and vulnerability, I’ll be using no make-up, etc. while filming for the music video.
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