Festivids - The Vids I Made
Feb. 17th, 2024 08:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deelaundryI was struck by the song “Dance the Night” from the first moment I heard it, watching the Margot Robbie-led Barbie movie. The lyrics capture a role that I have seen women feel forced into playing my entire life: the always-calm, charming presence made up to be beautiful who supports everyone else’s happiness, regardless of her own.
“Watch me dance, dance the night away. My heart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face. … I'll still keep the party runnin', not one hair out of place.”
It’s a role that men rarely recognize that women are forced or pressured into taking, because society never expects men to know that. The fake concept is that women are natural hostesses and caretakers, that they all like having that role, and that it’s “just how women are.”
Bullshit.
Anyway, “Dance the Night” is a banger of a dance song, and it also has the sociopolitical thread running through its lyrics.
Then Festivids came up, and my match had a few different sources I’d never heard of, including an Apple TV show called The Afterparty. I happened to be house-sitting for a friend who had Apple TV, so I decided to check the show out.
It’s a comedy murder mystery that is explicit that each witness recalls things differently, and in fact each witness recalls things in a different “genre of film” – art film, thriller, action-adventure, etc. This is all kinda my jam, and I enjoyed The Afterparty season 1 immensely. (Haven’t watched Season 2 yet.)
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT - Revealing the murderer of Season 1 of The Afterparty
At the end of Season 1, it’s revealed that Yasper killed Xavier, and Detective Danner walks us through how he concealed his crime. After watching the conclusion, I later was listening to the Barbie soundtrack and BAM. Dance the Night fit.
Yasper doesn’t have to take on the “perfect hostess” role in the rest of his life (although he seems to be a naturally charming and supportive friend), but he needs to do it in this particular circumstance to cover up his involvement in the crime.
The story he tells Detective Danner, covered in episode 3, “Yasper,” comes out as a fun musical filled with dance numbers. He also spends his conversation with Danner metaphorically dancing around the truth. Like the lyrics, Yasper is saying, “Watch me dance” to distract you from what he’s doing behind the scenes.
“My heart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face,” is true within the night itself (none of the characters knew how Xavier had disappointed Yasper), in his version of the night, and, Yasper hopes, in his conversation with Detective Danner.
Final vid: Dance the Night
A few bullets on how this played out as I was making the vid:
- “Watch me dance” is also related to how Yasper portrays himself to his peers as more successful than he really is – he wants to impress.
- “Come along for the ride” – Literal ride in the car, plus Yasper wants everyone to “come along” and believe his story about how the night happened
- “Take the heat/moment I shine” - AV footage!
- “Every romance shakes and it bends” - Yasper doesn’t have a thwarted romance (he has a thwarted professional collaboration) but Brett and Aniq both do, and those distract from Yasper so he is happy to use that
- Walt cameo!
- At 1:17, I include the footage that’s an intercut of Aniq getting off the floor in different episodes just to set you up that that’s a thing the show did. Later I show you the rest of that footage, where Danner saw the one thing that was different in Yasper’s version versus everyone else’s.
- “My heart could be burning” - Yasper fidgeting with the toothpick is the physical giveaway of his disappointment about Xavier
- “But you won’t see it on my face” - Of course he posted on social media. Of course he did!
- My first draft, over the final words “Dance the Night!” I had the moment when Yasper pushes Xavier. It was suitably dramatic, but I decided it was better to make it about Yasper’s conversation with Danner. Then the vid ends with Xavier falling. Bye, Xavier!
After my main vid was turned in, I thought about making a Barbie treat but wasn’t sure. Then I found out producers of The Afterparty had released a song and video by Xavier, which was a banger and fit Ryan Gosling's Ken so wonderfully. Final vid: Imma Live Forever.
Kudos to Dave Franco and Ryan Gosling for their brilliant satirical portrayals of those two archetypes.
ETA:
“Watch me dance, dance the night away. My heart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face. … I'll still keep the party runnin', not one hair out of place.”
It’s a role that men rarely recognize that women are forced or pressured into taking, because society never expects men to know that. The fake concept is that women are natural hostesses and caretakers, that they all like having that role, and that it’s “just how women are.”
Bullshit.
Anyway, “Dance the Night” is a banger of a dance song, and it also has the sociopolitical thread running through its lyrics.
Then Festivids came up, and my match had a few different sources I’d never heard of, including an Apple TV show called The Afterparty. I happened to be house-sitting for a friend who had Apple TV, so I decided to check the show out.
It’s a comedy murder mystery that is explicit that each witness recalls things differently, and in fact each witness recalls things in a different “genre of film” – art film, thriller, action-adventure, etc. This is all kinda my jam, and I enjoyed The Afterparty season 1 immensely. (Haven’t watched Season 2 yet.)
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT - Revealing the murderer of Season 1 of The Afterparty
At the end of Season 1, it’s revealed that Yasper killed Xavier, and Detective Danner walks us through how he concealed his crime. After watching the conclusion, I later was listening to the Barbie soundtrack and BAM. Dance the Night fit.
Yasper doesn’t have to take on the “perfect hostess” role in the rest of his life (although he seems to be a naturally charming and supportive friend), but he needs to do it in this particular circumstance to cover up his involvement in the crime.
The story he tells Detective Danner, covered in episode 3, “Yasper,” comes out as a fun musical filled with dance numbers. He also spends his conversation with Danner metaphorically dancing around the truth. Like the lyrics, Yasper is saying, “Watch me dance” to distract you from what he’s doing behind the scenes.
“My heart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face,” is true within the night itself (none of the characters knew how Xavier had disappointed Yasper), in his version of the night, and, Yasper hopes, in his conversation with Detective Danner.
Final vid: Dance the Night
A few bullets on how this played out as I was making the vid:
- “Watch me dance” is also related to how Yasper portrays himself to his peers as more successful than he really is – he wants to impress.
- “Come along for the ride” – Literal ride in the car, plus Yasper wants everyone to “come along” and believe his story about how the night happened
- “Take the heat/moment I shine” - AV footage!
- “Every romance shakes and it bends” - Yasper doesn’t have a thwarted romance (he has a thwarted professional collaboration) but Brett and Aniq both do, and those distract from Yasper so he is happy to use that
- Walt cameo!
- At 1:17, I include the footage that’s an intercut of Aniq getting off the floor in different episodes just to set you up that that’s a thing the show did. Later I show you the rest of that footage, where Danner saw the one thing that was different in Yasper’s version versus everyone else’s.
- “My heart could be burning” - Yasper fidgeting with the toothpick is the physical giveaway of his disappointment about Xavier
- “But you won’t see it on my face” - Of course he posted on social media. Of course he did!
- My first draft, over the final words “Dance the Night!” I had the moment when Yasper pushes Xavier. It was suitably dramatic, but I decided it was better to make it about Yasper’s conversation with Danner. Then the vid ends with Xavier falling. Bye, Xavier!
After my main vid was turned in, I thought about making a Barbie treat but wasn’t sure. Then I found out producers of The Afterparty had released a song and video by Xavier, which was a banger and fit Ryan Gosling's Ken so wonderfully. Final vid: Imma Live Forever.
Kudos to Dave Franco and Ryan Gosling for their brilliant satirical portrayals of those two archetypes.
ETA: