Music Video: Seventeen Going Under (Sam Fender) (exams from 2024) GapFill

'Seventeen Going Under' is the title track from  indie rocksoulmetalblues artist Sam Fender. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Fender explained that he had written the song while he was in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic during a time of reflection and  introspectionlonelinessincarcerationdepression.

The song expresses a deeply personal narrative about growing up in a working-class community, feeling a sense of ennui and alienation, and the violence experienced in his youth. Throughout, there are  culturalenigmasemioticaction codes that convey the specific setting of a  ruralworking-classmiddle-classcoastal town in the north of England. A highly recognisable example of this iconography is the terraced streets of red-brick homes that Fender performs in. Additionally, Fender uses slang and  rhymesreferencessimilescolloquialisms in his lyrics, such as ‘bizzies’, ‘canny’ and ‘nowt’, reflecting how personal the content of the song and video is to himself. However, the  themesgenretheoriesactions and emotions Fender expresses are relatable to audiences beyond his own individual experience, something that may have contributed to the success and acclaim the song has received.

Unusually for the genre of  performancelyricconceptconcert music videos, Fender’s expressions and movements throughout are minimal, and he appears to be tense, regretful and conflicted. He stares directly into the camera lens with an intense gaze, even when the camera  zoomscranestrackspans around him.

The narrative structure of the video is  conventionallinearnon-linearconfusing as sequences are shown out of their chronological order. This choice could be seen as a way of visually conveying the message of how and where you grow up influences who you are as an adult. Additionally, Fender is often separated out from others in the video, such as how he stands within a crowd who are all facing a different angle, further strengthening the themes of reflection and alienation.

 Extreme close-upMidWideClose-up shots are used as cutaways to emphasise and heighten particular emotional beats, such as a shot of  someone being punched in the stomachbloodied knucklesa bloody nosea knife when Fender sings a line about hurting people you love.

The video for 'Seventeen Going Under' is arguably a highly effective music video in using technical and visual codes to create a well-defined mood and atmosphere that  contrastscomplementsconfusescontradicts the lyrical meaning of a song.