2. Written and produced by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Uploaded to YouTube on July 20th, 2011
The video has over 65,000,000 views, 400,000+ likes
and 8,400 dislikes
3. The message Macklemore is preaching is against consumerism in America. The
music video uses Nike shoes to symbolize expensive and premium items that
Americans are obsessed with buying.
Nike shoes are an effective symbol because they are associated with being the
best in basketball and being cool around friends and in America. Although the
quality from the shoe isn’t that different from other brands, the message of the
video points out the flaws Americans have by thinking expensive things define
them and make them better people. The video those this with out mocking or
shaming the viewer but instead focuses on a young boy that the viewers can
relate to. This video is very effective because Macklemore avoids preaching their
message to the viewer throughout the video but rather indulges them at the
beginning by praising Nikes, an expensive item, and later pointing out the flaws in
spending unreasonable amounts of money for an expensive variation of a simple
item.
4. In the beginning of the music video, an
elementary school boy actor, is meant to
represent Macklemore in his youth and
provide a connection between the
viewer and the story. The video focuses
on Nike shoes and their importance in
his childhood. Macklemore introduces
Nike shoes, early in the video when he
says “I was 7 years old, when I got my
first pair… and I was like “Mum , this air
bubble right here, its gonna make me
fly.” these lyrics introduce Nikes as
subject of the videos by making a
reference to Nike Air Jordan shoes with
the phrase “air bubble” and by showing
a zoomed in shot of his shoes. These
lyrics also excite the audience by
referencing the experience many of
Americans have had of using and
showing off that expensive item you just
bought.
5. As the video progresses, Nikes are praised for
making him cool in the lyrics “I was so cool, My
friends couldn't’t afford’em, four stripes on their
Adidas” This is said long side a low, slow
panning video scene of his shoes compared
with his classmates, this scene tells the viewer
that Nikes are considered cool because of their
expense and unobtainability to the general
public. The other shoes are Adidas and shoes
that are well known to the general audience.
The other shoes are dirty and show significant
signs of wear, which further distinguishes Nike
shows are superior.
