Kanye West has mesmerized the audience of mainstream music with his new endeavor, Runaway, a half hour masterpiece. His film depicts the story of “renewal and loss,” featuring Mr. West himself and a phoenix, portrayed by Selita Ebanks. The imagery is beautiful, featuring a color scheme filled with reds and greens, and slowed down scenes to serve the aesthetic details of nature to the viewer’s eye. Themes are explored in this film, such as the lack of acceptance and integration in society, as well as love. More importantly, Kanye West pushes the boundaries of music promotion, having six of his songs as the soundtrack from his upcoming album, one being the namesake of the film.
What I found most peculiar about this film was its unconventional nature. There is a scene where dark skinned people dine, while the opposite serve them. The entertainers, ballerinas dancing to the hiphop genre, are also fair. This is a completely opposite depiction of American society pre-Civil Rights movement, where African Americans served and provided the entertainment, taking jobs of lower status. Additionally, the whole concept of a romance between a human and animal is really interesting. The phoenix is shown as a hybrid avian human, a very pretty one. I commend Selita on her superb performance, with the occasional jitter, as well as her expressed effort in performing tasks with talons.
“Runaway” proves to be revolutionary in our generation’s pop culture. Be sure to watch it…you can do so here.
If you have a Youtube account, this should also work (video is inappropriate for minors and requires you to sign in).
This video reminds me of music videos, or short films, done by Lady Gaga. Both artists are trying to fuse the world of music and art through their videos. I thought that this was a very interesting video, and I didn’t even notice that it was 34 minutes long! The messages he portrayed through the film had me thinking. The theme of discrimination was obviously the most prevalent theme throughout. His love couldn’t stay in a world where “anything that is different [we] try to change.” Role reversal between Blacks and Whites also depicted that message. I wonder if Kanye West is implying that there is still a major problem with discrimination in the U.S…
I think Kanye has an endless budget and a severely limited imagination.