The music video tells a story of a gay couple facing discrimination and violence. It begins by introducing the couple and showing them happy together but feeling trapped by society. As the video continues, a group of hostile men search for the couple with violent intentions. The couple tries to escape but one is captured and tortured with a knife to his throat in front of a large fire while being filmed. In the final scenes, the chest containing the couple's memories is burned and one man is beaten on the ground while his partner watches helplessly. The video conveys the message that discrimination and homophobia can have tragic consequences including torture and death.

1. Textual Analysis 1
Hozier- Take Me To Church

2. We are introduced to this music video with a
moving image of fire. Immediately, we think
this video is going to involve some sort of
negativity due to the connotations of fire. The
fire is only small to begin with however we see
by the end of the music video the fire is a large
blaze and the negativity has strengthened in
the narrative. Almost suddenly we are able to
identify the narrative as the two men together
look like a couple therefore it is obvious the
video s based on sexuality.
The Parental Advisory label (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label
is placed on audio recordings in recognition of excessive
profanities or inappropriate references, with the intention of
alerting parents of potentially unsuitable material for younger
children.

3. The line ‘“we were born sick” you heard them
say it” is against this shot of the man burying
the chest. We do not know whats inside but I
presume it is the memories of the couple
because they have to hide their private life
away from people, they do not support the gay
relationship which also links to the lyrics we
were born sick because sick is an exaggeration
of the word disgusting which some faiths find
gay relationships wrong and forbidden.
The close up shot of the man burying the chest
establishes the fact that he is so close to dirt
which could represent the view of people who
are homophobic because they believe gay
people are dirty.
The use of handheld camera is effective
within the film of the man locking up the
chest as It shows his panic and the fact he
needs to hide it before people see.

4. The birds are flying away from somewhere
which may symbolise the fact that the men
want to be able to be together and be free
since birds are a symbol of freedom.
However, this shot may also symbolise the
fact that they need to run away from others
since people don’t accept their gay
relationship and they cannot truly be free
with this negative stereotype they are given
by people who are homophobic.
This scene shows the couple looking really happy and in love while sharing a hug. A close up
shot is used to emphasise how close the couple are when they are alone. However, it is evident
that they feel trapped and cannot be free as who they want to be when in public due to the
close up shot filmed behind bars almost as though they are in prison and are in the wrong. The
lyrics alongside this image are “the only heaven ill be sent to, is when I'm alone with you” which
suggests that they only want to be together and that is when they're truly happy.

5. The next shot shows an over the shoulder shot of a man watching the couple,
in relation to cinematography and rule of thirds; the man takes up half the
screen and looks very large in comparison to the two men who look very
small in the shot. This could be a suggestion as to how society can belittle
people for their sexual preferences however this shot makes them look
vulnerable and makes the man look antagonistic. A medium close up is used
right before a close up of the same man wearing a hooded jacket just staring
on. He is looking at the men purely because they are together which makes us
empathise with the men as they walk with their heads down (in shame) and

6. A close up shot of the couple kissing now dominates the screen in relation to rule of thirds
which shows the love they both share for each other and how happy they are as partners when
they're alone. Through the cinematography and editing, we are able to suggest that the men
just want too be happy which coincides with the lyrics “the only heaven ill be sent to, is when
I’m alone with you” as they can only be themselves when they are together.
Mise en scene reinforces the harsh reality of people who are homophobic as this
establishing shot of a group of men are seen searching for the couple. The men are
wearing hooded clothing, scarves covering the majority of their face and gloves
covering their hands however the mise en scene also shows us it Is not filmed in the
winter period so these men mean harm with their actions and need to cover up
evidence by wearing this specific clothing. We also recognise that these men are the
antagonists in the narrative as there are only two gay men but 3 times as many men
in this establishing shot so there is an army against the 2 men.

7. • We see the man running to meet his
partner as the camera carries on cutting
to the gang in a hurry as well which
suggests the narrative has now become
a battle and the situation is more
intense towards the middle of the song
as the editing becomes faster paced.
• Handheld camera is used due to the
fact that one of the gay men is
gathering his things from his house in a
hurry which implies to the viewer that
the couple had planned to run away
from all of this and he is gathering their
things. In regards to editing, the camera
cuts between the panic of the man
collecting his things and the gang
approaching closer to the camera than
when we first saw them which creates
the feeling that they’re on his back and
we begin to empathise as though these
men are the antagonists.

8. The gang go to the couple’s house
where an older man stands watching
them approach his door. We suspect
this is one of the gay men’s father as
the gang then launch a bottle set
alight towards the window and one
of the gang members punches the
older man, knocking him to the floor.
This would portray the idea that if
you support gay relationships you will
be punished as well because it is a
‘sin’ in this video which relates to the
lyrics “I’ll tell you my sins and you can
sharpen your knife” because they
have sinned by being themselves.

9. Even though the narrative is that the gay couple
are the ones in the wrong and the ones who are
‘sick’ we begin to really hate the antagonists as a
close up shot shows one of the men being
dragged towards a large fire with a knife
(relevance to the lyrics “sharpen your knife”)
besides his neck as he screams for his life. The
camera then cuts to a shot of a video camera with
depth of field focusing only on the camera as
someone is videoing this torture. The last scenes
we see are of an extreme close up of the chest
being thrown into the fire as the man begins to
cry and his partner finally finds him only to see
him being beaten on the ground, kicked by the
group of men.