The video has many intertextual references to works like The Wicker Man and the children's TV show Trumpton. It depicts a town where the upper classes hold power over the workers and foreigners. Scenes show the mayor controlling the townspeople and migrants being forced into unfair labor. The video comments on issues like xenophobia, authoritarianism, and differences in social class. It uses surreal puppet imagery and animation to portray these concepts in a way that references both nostalgia for childhood media and darker symbolic art styles.

1. Radiohead-Burn the witch
Alsofindintertextual links.
FirstInsights
Whenpaintingared cross on the doorin the video,andthe lyrics“redcrosseson woodendoors” it
representshowinoldentimesaredcross usedto be paintedonthe frontof a door to signifythat
the residenthadbeenafflictedbyaplague,and itwas there as a warningto others. The overall red
coloursrepresentbloodanddeath.
There’sanintertextual linktothe Wickerman/Burningman.
Puppetsmaybe usedbecause of linkstoTrumpton(childrensTV show)
Full Analysis
At the start of the video,there are manyopeningimagesof the puppets. One of
these isthison the left. Thiscanautomaticallyshow how there isclassdifference
includedasthe man inthe blue jackethas poweroverthe otherpeople ashe is
standinginthe middle of themall ona stand,whilsttheyall listenwhichindicates
that he is incharge andmakesdecisions.

2. Thisimage can linkto the intertextual reference of The WickerMan. Thisisbecause
it foreshadowsthe actual wickermanfromthe horrorfilmwhichappearslateronas
here,the manis makingit.
Thisis alsoan image thatis shownbefore the lyricsstart.Thisemphasisesthe
immediate colourof red,whichhasconnotationsto death,blood,violence which
can foreshadow whatwill happenlateron. The redstainscan also represent
bloodstains(shots)
Thiscan againshow how there isa difference inclassonce againasthere are
characters whoare doingmanual workandthenit will change toimagesof upper
classmen,such as thisimage where the manisbeingdrivenaround.He isill inthis
image as he iscoughingintoa tissue whichcan linktothe plague whichisa theme
inthe whole video.
Thisimage isthe firstone thatappearswhenthe lyricsstart and the artiststarts
singing. The firstline is“Stayinthe shadows”.Thiscan linktohow the man inthis
screenshotiswaitingforsomeone- the manwhowasbeingdriveninthe car.The
lyricscan alsoshow how all the charactersare stayinganonymousandnoone speaks,
so we don’tknow whoanyone is. Thiscouldmeanif the manin the car isthere fora
bad reasondue to signsof violence anddeath,itwill be anonymous. Thisisalsothe
firsttime we see thischaracterand thisindicateshow he isthe mayor basedoff of
childrensTV show:Trumpton.
Althoughit’snotshownat the same time as the lyric,thisimage linksto“red
crosseson woodendoors”. Thisisbecause boththe image andlyricshowthis
as a linkto the plague,as whenthe plague wasaround,people didthistoshow
the personinthe house wasinfectedanditwasalsoa warningto others
walkingbytostay away. Lyrics at thispart of the videoalsosay “clear at the
gallowsthisisa roundup” whichcan linktomigrantslivingina climate of fear.
Thisimage includesan intertextual link.Thisbeingthatthe seesaw
represents adunkingchair,whichwasa method usedin16/17th
century
of dunkingwomentotestif they were awitch. If the womandrowned,
thenshe had beenpure andnormal but if she floatedthenshe wasa
witchand killed.Thislinkstothe lyrics“Burnthe witch”whichare sungat
thistime,astheydon’twant any witchesaround andwouldkill anyone
whotheythoughtwas one.

3. Thisladyis anotherwho’sbeingtested, She’stiedtoa tree.InThe Wicker
Man, thisritual is explainedasone of manyassociatedwithMayDay: six
maskedswordsmanlockingbladesinthe shape of the sun. Inthe video,they
make thisshape thisoverthe girl’shead. Thisisalsoshownwhensaying“We
knowwhere youlive”,whichhintshow there isasense of dangerandpower,
as the mencan be harmful if she disobeys.
Thishas historical linksthatanypeople whowere foundtobe witcheswere
hung. There isalso lotsof woodin thiswhichcan againlinktothe ideaof the
wickerman. The man alsolooksshocked,whichcanhintthat somethingbad
may happen,andgivesthe ideasomeonewilldie.
Thisimageryshowsthe difference between classandgenderinthe video.
The 2 men in the firstimage looksof highclassand like theyholdlotsof
power.The otherswhoare aroundthe plantsare workingand therefore
seemof lowerclass. Thisisalsothe science whenthe artistsingsthe lyrics
“singthe song of sixpence thatgoes”whichlinkstoa children’snursery
rhyme,where ,where the nurseryrhyme hasblackbirdpie thatisset
before akingwhere rightbefore he canget hisfingersonit,the birdsfly
out.The rhyme evokesasitsmaincharacters the royaltyandthe
privileged,perhapsbeingprankedorfooled whichforeshadowshowthe
man inthe firstpicture on the leftisgoingto be treated inan unimportant
way.
Thisscreenshotshowsthe colourredagain, andas thisisa reoccurringcolourit can
connote ideasof death,bloodanddanger.Thiscan show how the finishedmakingof
the WickerMan whichisunderthissheet, canleadto dangerfor someone. Asall the
characters are staring at it,it showshow people mayknow whatwill happen. The lyrics
are alsostill “Burnthe witch”at thispart of the musicvideo,so ithintsthatthe witch
will be killed.
As the man onthe lefthasbeen beingledbythe manof importance andhighstatus
on the right, it proveshow he didn’tknow whatwascomingas he was shockedon
thisarrival.Ashe islookingatthe wickerman, it againlinkstoan intertextual
reference becauseitisgoingtobe set on fire,whichmaybe scary.
Thisshows how the man has startedto holdlittle powernow.Thisis
because everythingisfirstlyseenasanoutsider,and he isentering
the “Wickerman” so he is goingto die. He isholdinglesspowerashe
isvulnerable atthismomentandthose of “lowerclass”are just
watchinghim.

4. Otherintertextuallinks
Thismusicvideoalsohasintertextual referencesthatare inthe whole video ratherthanjustsections
of it,whichisto do withwhytheyare puppets. The musicvideoislargelybasedonanold childrens
TV showcalled‘Trumpton’. These are charactersfromthe show:
As these characterslookexactlylikethe onesinthe video,itshowshow the videohasbeenbased
off of this.
Anotherintertextual linkshownisthroughafilmnamed“Blue Velvet”.Thisopenswithscenery
where everythingis“perfect”andthere are noproblems. It’sbasedonequilibrium.
The imagesabove showthisopeningtothisfilm, whichare reflectedatthe startof the musicvideo
to showperfection,andpossiblyforeshadow how thatwill laterchange.
Viewpointsandideologies
Burn the witchcontainsa numberof ideological values. The songandvideoreflectthe social issueof
xenophobia. Forexample, whenthe lyricssay“thisisa round up” and “thisis a low flyingpanic
attack” it can linktohow there are people(migrantsandforeigners) livinginaclimate of fearas they
are notacceptedequallytoeveryone else. Inaddition,thereisalso partof the musicvideowhere
there are migrantsfarming and waving.Thiscanshow how xenophobiaisportrayed asreal inthe
videoas theyare beingforcedtodo unfairwork,whilstitcommunicatesthe changesinacceptance
of people whoare differentandlongingforamore respectful andorderedsociety,where everyone
knowstheirplace. Thislinkstothe issue of authoritarianism,whichisshownasthe mayordoesn’t
care abouthow the migrantswhoare farmingfeel asthey are justbeingforcedtodo work.
Thisis the final image showninthe musicvideo.It goesalongwith the lyrics
“Burn the witch”. Thiscan againlinktohow theywantedtoburn the man for
beinganoutsider,whichiswhathappensinthe wickermanfilm. Italso
provesthe ideaof how powerful mennormallyholdpoweroverothers,and
inthiscase it istrue as the character inthe blue jacketwiththe chainseems
to holdmajoritypowerashe sentthe man to be killed.

5. Some otherideologies showninthe video are consumerismand populism. Thisisbecause of how
the videocan be seenasa political orsocial commentaryon rise in populisminthe UK, as an
outsiderisbeingshownaroundthe townbythe townMayor. This alsolinkstoconsumerismas
musicvideosare profitable andpromotional andintendedtosell the artistas useful andvaluablein
orderto get profitsodespite the artistsabsence,thisisstillshown.
Burn the witchalsoreflectsindividualism byhintingthatevery individualhasthe rightto self-
fulfilmentandabetterlife. Thisissignifiedbythe farmerswhoare doing unfairwork andreallywant
a betterlife.
Populism:a political approachthatstrivestoappeal toordinarypeople whofeel thattheirconcerns
are disregardedbyestablishedelite groups.
Xenophobia:dislike of orprejudice againstpeople fromothercountries.
Authoritarianism:lack of concern forthe wishesoropinionsof others.
Consumerism:A social and economicorderthatencouragesthe acquisitionof goodsandservicesin
ever-increasingamounts.
Individualism:the habitor principle of beingindependentandself-reliant.
Claimsabout realism
The choice of characters andscenery wouldnaturallybe seenasunrealisticbecause of how the
characters are all puppets,andthe sceneryisn’tareal area butit isall animation.Although,this
couldstill be considered astrue toeverydaylife asall the settingshave arecognisable meaning. The
unrealisticsenseof characterswouldhave justbeendone inorderforthe videotolinktothe
children’stvshowTrumpton.Overall, the ethnicityof charactersdoes differbutitisn’tas realisticas
it isharderto recognise butthiscan still be usedtorecognise stereotypes.Inthe sense of themes,
the musicvideohasrealismasthere are real issuesshownof xenophobiaandoverall difference in
society.
Links to Expressionismand postmodernism
Many people describepostmodernismasatime of architecture andart, whichcouldbe usedto
describe thisvideoasitcan be seenas artisticdue to the animationsand the “fun”aspectof the
video. Postmodernistmovementalsousuallyincludesasense of nostalgiawhichcanagainbe found
inthe BurnThe Witch musicvideodue toitsintertextualreferencetoanold children’stvshow
Trumpton,and alsothroughanotherintertextual reference,thisone beingof nurseryrhymes.These
can therefore cause peoplewatchingto reminisce ontheirchildhoodmemories. The videocanalso
linktoexpressionism.Thisisbecause itisaboutexpressingemotion,andthismusicvideocando
this.Aswe see how lowerclassesare mistreated,the videocanbe seentofocuson the feelingsof
these people and the large theme of xenophobiacanshow how the mayor feelstowardsother
people.

6. SOCIAL GROUP Representation/Use of positive and negative stereotypes
Class In the video, the maincharacters shown are bothof a highclass, the Mayorespecially as he would
holdhigh amountsof power. You can see by his outfit andthe chain that he is importantand
wealthy. He represents his class positively. Also, the manwho arrives in the back of the car is
wearing a suitand hat. He is being driven by a driver which makes himlook like he holdsstatus, so
this highclass is the mainone shown. We do, contrastingly, alsosee workers who are of lower class
suchas the man paintingthe red telephone box andthe man puttingwoodtogether, who would be
workingclass. Therefore, we see a mixture of classes, and the upperclasses are shownin the most
positivelight.
Age Children are briefly shownon the seesaw andthere are also a range of adults, whoall mostly look
aroundthe same age of 30-50. Thereis also elderly people such as the womanin the house with the
plague andthe old man andlady whoare farming butalso waving at the mayorandthe man in the
suit. The elderly are portrayedinthe mostnegativeway as they are bossedaroundandare workers
for people who are of higher class thanthem and they pretend tobe happy, butinreality are
treated as a minority.
Gender The women are shownmore negatively thanthe men in this video. Firstly, the main men shownare
of high class and althoughthere is only 2 outof many whoare, there are no high class women
shownat all. There are barely any typeof womenshownat all, sotherefore are more negatively
portrayedas they are shownas unimportant, whilstmenlike the mayorhavepower over what
women do. All other males are shownas workers.
Ethnicity Mostcharacters in this music videoseem like they are white but when lookingin detail, other
ethnicities are shownwhen they are farming. These farm workers appear tobe referencing a news
report of immigrantfarm workers. They are therefore shownas ethnic minorities andnegatively as
the high class, white male bossesthem aroundandtreats themunfairly.
Disability All the people in the video are able-bodiedand althoughpeoplemay havemental issues, they are
notshown asit is meant tobe basedoff a perfect town where there are no problems.