HW Question

How is media language including intertextuality used in burn the witch to construct representations of groups, message and values?

Burn the witch is a narrative music video by Radiohead which depicts the horrific experiences of a man who observes a tyrannical society concealed under the face of an idealistic British town. The video was released before the EU referendum hence it focuses on themes of social exclusion during the immigration crisis. The video uses aspects of media language such as mise en scene and intertextuality to construct alternative messages and values regarding immigration and social exclusion.

Mise en scene is used in Burn the witch constructs messages about the oppression and the theme of appearance vs reality. The video begins by showing a traditional rural British village where the townspeople and mayor seem to agree on an issue. Shots of citizens carrying out daily tasks such as mowing the lawn, painting the post-box further reinforce the happy and normal village life.  The setting implies feelings of warmth and safety in the town which contradicts the concealed oppression, seen in the shots which follow. A man is seen marking someone’s front door with a red cross, eradicating a member, and waving at him at the end , children joyfully play on a dunking chair traditionally used to punish witches, and a beautifully decorated pastry is seen from which blood is dripping. All of these shots are clear examples of oppression in the town, however they appear in a manner which makes it seem that there is nothing wrong, for example the reality of an animal being slaughtered is neatly hidden under the sheet of pastry. Burn the Witch’s use of mise en scene such as setting location, bright lighting give an important message about the reality of oppression which is often concealed under the appearance of stability.

A significant intertextual reference made in Burn the Witch is to the 1973 film The Wicker man, which shows the journey of Sergeant Howie, an outsider on a remote island.  The reference is clearly seen in the final shots of the video where the townspeople show the tourist a wooden effigy, similar to the one shown in the film. This scene is the final act committed to remove the tourist from the town, hence it is a strong message about social exclusion. Throughout the video thbe mayor of then town is seen leading the tourist and showing him the different acts of oppression practiced in the town. For example, towards the middle of the video a woman is seen tied to a tree and men in swords cover her, two women joyfully are seen decorating some wood with flowers  which turns out to be a hanging rope, showing how normal pubic execution is in in town. However, the tourist not once questions the towns idea of justice and punishment, and his silence eventually leads to his death, as he is burned in the effigy. This intertextual reference is perhaps the bands way of spreading the message of people needing to shed light on injustices.

The final piece of intertextual reference made in Burn the Witch is to 1960s animated children’s programmes; Trumpton and Camberwick Green. Both series depicted idyllist communities, created to teach the young values of social solidarity. However Burn the witch seems to mock such traditions through the dark narrative. The video uses similar bright lighting, slow editing and steady camera work, and even characters such as the mayor to construct the same peaceful world. However, the acts of cruelty committed and normalised during the video, for example, children on dunking chairs, the bloody cow pie and the tourist burned in the effigy criticises the ideal worlds the programmes build. Perhaps the band uses the village as a metaphor to give the message of hidden oppression in society, which people often fail to recognize because they are brainwashed into the idea that they exist in a perfect community.  

Overall it can be said that Radiohead uses three different pieces of media language to construct messages around the idea of community, hidden oppression and social exclusion. The band plays with various elements of genre to not only criticise the stereotypes regarding immigration and exclusion but also build a rather alternative viewpoint.