The video depicts a group of youths growing up in the suburbs over time. In the beginning, the suburbs seem peaceful as the kids play and have fun. However, hints of conflict emerge like police sirens and references to potential "wars". Over time, the military invades the suburbs, tearing down houses and forcibly removing people. The youths witness increasing violence and destruction as the suburbs unravel. By the end, the war has torn the friends apart as they come to hate each other. The video uses the youths' changing expressions to show how the declining suburbs negatively impact their lives over time.

1. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire - Analysis
The music videofirstsetsthe scene withanestablishingshot of peaceful lookingsuburbs onasunny
day withonlythe soundof police sirensinthe distance thatcontradictsthe peaceful looking
surroundings.Shortlyafterthe songbeginsandthe firstlyricsthatare sungare "In the suburbs,I
learnedhowtodrive"whichagainmakesusfeel like thisisanormal sub-urbanneighbourhood.
Althoughthe kidsinthe videoseemtoyourtobe drivingacar as theyare makingtheirjourneyon
peddle bikes. The camerashotinthe openingscene isanextreme longshotasit isusedto setthe
scene,theyhave the actor inthe scene to show the vast emptinessof the space aroundhim.
The nextline of lyricssay"and youtoldme we'dneversurvive,Grabyourmotherskeyswe are
leaving"Thisagaincontradictswhatwe are seeingasduringthese lyricswe see agroup of youths
whoare havingfunand that are not doinganything particularlydangerousthatwouldmeanthey
wouldn'tsurvive."Grabyourmotherskeyswe are leaving"againlinkstothemnotbeingoldenough
to drive,somaybe theyare planningonrunningawayand escapingfromthe suburbs.Trackingshots
are usedthroughthe scenesof childrenplayingsothatwe get a sense of us beingthere withthem,
it givesusmore immersion. A seriesof mediumcloseupsshow isthe expressionsonthe actorsfaces
and itshowsthemhavinga goodtime,makingthe mostof whattheyhave althoughitismainlyjust
eachother.
"You alwaysseemedsure thatone daywe'dbe fighting.Inasub-urbanwar,your part of town
againstmine". The firstsentence inthisquote hasnolinktothe videoasitstill showsthe kids
havingfunalthough itistrue that all groupsof friendshave theirfights,argumentsanddebates.The
secondhalf of the quote has a linkto the visualsasyousee the childrennexttoa fence lookingover
to the otherside where there isasmoke cloudrisingas if there hasbeena fire or an explosion,also
there isa apache helicopterflyingoff inthe distance whichlinkstothe connotationsof warthat are
beingrepresentedinthe lyrics. Thisiswhenwe realise thateverythingmaynotbe as peaceful aswe
firstexpectitto be. A wide angled longshotshowsthe full view of the wastelandthattheyare
lookingatinthis scene.
"I sawyou standingonthe opposite shore"issungwhilstthe childrenlookoverinthe distance
towardswhere the helicopterisheading."Butbythe time the firstbombsfell.We were already
bored,we were alreadybored,alreadybored"now the youthshave movedontoa more populated
area where theyare hangingoutand up tono good usingBB 'pellet'gunsshootingtowardspeople
at the shops.Thislinkswiththe ideaof themisboredbecause theyhave togetintotrouble tokeep
themselvesoccupiedalthoughtheylookliketheyare enjoyingit.The reference tobombscontinues
the ideaof warthat is reference throughout. A mediumcloseupshows of the youthsfiringthe guns
showsusthe funtheyare havingdespite the warandpovertyaroundthemitshowsusthat they
don’treallyknowwhatisgoingon aroundthem.
The chorus is" SometimesIcan't believeit.I'mmovingpastthe feeling.Sometimes Ican't believe it.
I'm movingpastthe feelingagain"The firstchorusdoesn'trelate tothe visualsmuchastheyare just
runningfromtrouble andhangingoutas theywere before.We couldinterpretthatthe words"I’m
movingpastthe feeling"meansthat theyare growingapartas friendsandtheirfeelingsforeach
otherare fading. Bythe endof thiswe see oninterestingandeffectiveshotof the couple whoare

2. underthe bridge andthe darklightingmakesthemlooklike silhouetteswhichispleasingto the eye
and effective.
Duringthe instrumental andthe startof the firstverse whichis"The kidswantto be sohard" we see
militaryconvoysinvadingthe suburbsandpatrollingthe streetswhich couldbe whythe kidswantto
grow upto 'hard' as theycouldsee the militarymenastheirrole models.
"But inmy dreams,we're still screaming andrunnin'throughthe yard,andall of the wallsthatthey
builtinthe seventiesfinallyfall,andall of the housestheybuildinthe seventiesfinallyfall.Meant
nothin'at all,meantnothin'at all. Itmeantnothin'"As theysaythat the wallsandbuildingfinallyfall
we see the youthsridingbackthroughthe suburbsastheydidin the beginningbutthistime there is
rubble inthe backgroundwhichmakesusthink that the militaryhave begantearingdownthe
housesand structuresof the suburbs. "Itmeantnothingatall"couldtell us thatbecause theyare
still kidshavingfunandnothing haseffectedthemyetthattheydon'tcare about the destruction. A
multitude of mediumlongshotsshowthe teensplayingandfighting,althoughtheyare laughingas
well itcouldalsobe to symbolise the tearinthe relationshipthatisbeginningtoform.
Duringthe nextchorus we see themplayingandridingaroundasusual until partway throughwhere
it cutsto the nighttime andwe see one of the youthsmore grownup,late teens,ridinghisbike
throughthe suburbswhere the militarypresence hasincreasedandtheyare showndraggingabody
of a man across the streetawayfrom the road,alsothe otheryouthsare ridingthoughthe town
lookingmore worriedastheywitnesspeoplebeingforcefullyevictedfromtheirhouses. The medium
longshotsof the devastationandviolence shocksthe viewersasthe videogoesfrompeaceful to
quite darkand disturbingdue tothe forceful violence.
The nextline is"Socan youunderstandwhyI want a daughterwhile I'mstill young?"Duringthiswe
see one of the youthsinhisownhouse withhisdaughterandhis partner,which directlylinkstothe
lyrics.Butalso "while I'mstill young”,he wantsachildwhyhe isyoungbecause withall the
destructionhe maynotlive tobe veryoldand enjoyhislife.
" I want to holdherhandand showher some beautybefore the damage isdone"andthisisanother
reasonhe wantsto have a daughterat a youngage while there isstillsome beautyinhis
surroundingsthathe can showher.The visualsshow twoof the youths,a female andamale,who
have beentogetherfromthe starthuggingfor securityonthe sofato try and blackout the mayhem
and damage. Throughoutthispartof the videoitshowsclose upand andmediumshotsof the actors
and actressesastheyworry fortheirlivesinthishardtime whichagainisshockingto the audience
as it isn’tsomethingmanypeople canrelate to.
But if it's toomuch to ask,too much to ask thensendme a son"at thispointhe isthinkingthathe
justwantsa childandhe doesn'tcare what genderitisbecause he wantsto show themthe world
before he isunable to.Inthe visual we see thembeingcheckedbythe militaryandfocallypushed
againsta fence as one looksat the otherindisgust.
"Underthe overpass, Inthe parkinglotwe're still waiting.It'salreadypassed". The videoshows one
of the youthsfinishingworkandwalkinginthe carpark as he reachedhisbike he seesthatithas
beenvandalisedandslightlydestroyed.Ithinkthispartisa flashback to a time shortlybefore they
are interrogated.

3. "So move yourfeetfromhotpavementandintothe grass" Thiscouldmeanthat theyare stoodand
are hangingoutwhere theyare not suppose to(thisbeingthe hotpavementthatif theystaythey
couldface consequences) the grassonthe otherhandis a saferarea where theywill notbe hurtas it
isn'tas hot or dangerousas the figurative pavement.
"Cause itsalreadypassedItsalreadypassed,alreadypassed"Duringthisthe youththatseemstobe
the maincharacter is ina shallowfocusshotlookingoverwhelmedbyall thatisgoingon aroundhim
that the audience justseesasa blur.
The Third and final chorusshowsthe youthslookingateachotherinhatredand disgustas all the
war has torn themapart.Especiallyfortwoof the characters whoare laterviolentlyfightingasthe
otherslookonin shockand are unable todo anythingasthe door to the restaurantwhere theyare
fightislocked.Theymanage toflagdowna militaryvehicle whichwe canpresume helpsthembut
we do not knowforsure as thisis where the videoends.
Throughoutthe video mostof the shotsare mediumshotsof the actors or are close upsas they
wantto capture the expressionsontheirfacesbecause theychange throughoutasthe timesget
harderfor them.We can alsorelate tosome of the strugglesandthe peaksof theirlivesjustby
interpretingwhattheyare feelingthoughtheirfacial expressions.Overall keepingalotof the shots
the same in the videohasworkedforthisreason.