1. Music Video Analysis – Gay Bar – Electric Six
This music video contains 54 shots, making it a relatively low cutrate video considering many music videos surpass 100 shots.
The video begins with an establishing shot with a title saying
‘Washington D.C. 1863’. The scene then changes to a wide angle shot
of a picture frame featuring the white house. We can then see
through jump cuts, which zoom into the image that there is a wellknown silhouette, Abraham Lincoln. As the lyrics begin the scene cuts
to the figure in the window, which is also the lead singer,
stereotypically dressed as Lincoln. As the tempo changes we then see
that the character is only accurately portraying Lincoln with the
upper half of his body, he is wearing leather shorts. On the beats
additional ‘copies’ of this character are edited into the frame, they are
singing the same lyrics but have different movements.
After a jump cut we
then see a medium
close up shot of the
same character in a
different setting, he
is riding a
stationary bike
surrounded by his
doubles. After a
zoom cut we can
see that the
characters are all dressed in different colours: purple, red and blue.
Similarly to the previous shot additional characters have been added
using the surrounding gym equipment. We then see a medium close
up of the main singer doing weights on a weight lifting bench with
the aid of an additional character. In the censored version of the song
there is a prominent whipping sound that replaces the words
‘nuclear’ and ‘war’, this could hint towards what is to come in a scene
in the video.
The shot after this is of the lead singer in his costume, consisting of
shorts, a top hat and a fake beard, the latter of the three being used to
resemble Lincoln, is doing weights along with a double, which would
have been edited in during the production of the video. They are
surrounding a Greek statue of a naked man, which goes along with

2. the theme of the song and also with the title, “Gay Bar”. The camera
then cuts to a scene of the main character holding onto a ladder as an
additional character grinds up and down on him. This too goes along
with the whole theme of the video/song. The scene after this is of the
main Lincoln character looking into a mirror flexing while an
additional Lincoln holds up the mirror. It then cuts back to the
previous scene of the gym where the Lincolns are riding the exercise
bikes and doing weight lifting on benches surrounding. They then
clap along to the beat of the song in unison. The following shot is then
of the two Lincolns doing weights by the Greek statue, but this time 2
additional Lincolns are clapping to the beat of the song.
A Flying V electric guitar is then introduced into a previous scene, we
is lying on the weight lifting bench playing the instrument while
looking at the camera.
Through the use of a jump cut the scene
then changes to a medium close up, similar
to what has been seen previously, of the
character in a bath being groomed by
multiple other Lincolns. We then zoom cut
out to where we can see multiple hands in the bath water fondling
Lincoln; this is censored through the use of bubbles. The scene then
cuts to 3 Lincolns, singing along to the lyrics as they are grinding up
and down a stripper pole, similar to what could be witnessed in a gay
bar. The costume in this scene differs from the others as they are now
wearing bondage gear, involving leather chest restraints and chains.
The camera then cut zooms out to a wide angle shot showing

3. additional Lincoln’s grinding on stripper pole’s wearing bondage
gear.
The next scene cuts to a hamster travelling in a plastic tube, this
section appears much more tame compared to other scenes, this fits
well with the slower pace of this section of the song.
In the following scene a set of
curtains open to show what
appears to be a male exclusive
gang bang of sorts. This is
teamed with a guitar solo at
which point the camera zooms
is. The video then cuts to a
variety of phallic shaped images e.g. squash, pepper grinder and eggs.
This then leads to the artist singing “I’ve got something to put in you”
which is shown alongside the phallic objects so suggest adult
orientated activities.
At regular intervals when the artist begins to sing the camera cuts to
the main character in a bed with 2 other men. We can see that there
are several bubbles on screen, this shows how surreal it is but also
gives the impression of a good time as bubbles are often associated
with childhood memories, only in this case those memories are
tainted black by the innuendo style of Electric Six. The scene which
follows is of the lead singer sitting on a chair as another man in
braces rubs and strokes the lead singers chest, whilst sitting on the
chairs arm as the singer strokes his leg. There is then a montage of
previous scenes in which all characters are clapping along to the clap
track placed in the song; this provides a good summary of the surreal
environments provided in the music video. The camera then cuts to
the lead singer of the band standing naked in a bath, with only an
electric guitar covering his manhood. The camera then quickly cuts to
the bed scene in which the lead singer is shown licking a lollipop, an
innuendo in its
own right of a
homosexual act.
A montage
follows again, this
time with a
variety of
innuendos

4. including the ringing of a bell, the rubbing of a hammer and the final
one being a model train going into a darkened tunnel. On the final
guitar strum, the video cuts to black.