SD Wolfpup's "Fix You" (BSG)
Download vid (goes to website)
Alas and alack, I didn't get a chance to go to Vividcon and have been jealously reading everyone else's posts and downloading scads and scads of vids.
Since I can't do con reports, I figure I will write up in detail the vids that really got to me somehow, even if they weren't shown at VVC.
This one apparently premiered there. For some background, I've seen the BSG miniseries and the first six episodes, and then bits and pieces of S1. So I have a vague idea of what happens.
Everyone seems to be talking about Coldplay as a musical choice; I have no idea what is and isn't popular, so I had no idea. I had also read a little commentary prior to watching the vid, so I knew it wasn't going to be what it seemed.
That said, having the vid be from Six's POV, having this rather gentle, loving song be about Six's love for humanity and her desire to fix them, all this totally bowled me over. Also, it didn't hurt that the editing is awesome.
I love the opening chords to the opening of the doors; the chords sound vaguely church-y to me and the doors open to something that look like a sanctuary. And then, flashes of all the things that go wrong in people's lives -- Roslin's discovery of cancer, Starbuck, Apollo. I love the Starbuck bit in particular, the look that she seems to be doing well, but privately, she isn't, because isn't that what we're all like? And I like how "When you feel so tired that you just can't sleep" echoes "33."
And just as I thought it was going to be a Roslin-Starbuck-Apollo vid, the vid goes back to the man in the spaceship, once again on the vaguely church-y chords (well, they're through the whole thing, but I notice them more in the spaceship setting), then to the pain and hurt that the rest of the crew of BSG suffers. Admittedly, the clip of Six and Baltus to "Could it be worse?" around 1:04 throws me off a little because I'm so focused on the humans and their pain.
Then comes one of my favorite parts: 1:08, the chords crescendo and the doors to the spaceship open again, echoing the first clip. The song is promising salvation ("Lights will guide"), but we see Six, smiling beatifically at a human baby, we see Six, slowly striding to the beat in her awesome boots, smiling again at the old man. And oh, I love how Six's steps are on the beat, and how Six's kiss (of DOOM!) lands on the "fix you" of "I will try to fix you."
Then comes 1:29, the tempo speeds up, with the images of Cylon-caused explosions echoing Six's kiss/fix. And it's frightening how beautiful the trails of the bombs are in space, set to the music, sometimes interspersed with the quieter moments of pain (Roslin, head in her hands).
I adore the shot of all the soldiers lifting their guns to the beat at 1:56.
Then, to match the music, we get faster images of pain and grief and anger; to match the widening of scope from Six to all the Cylons, we get images of human interactions, group interactions, as opposed to the more solemn, private moments from the first part. The overt violence also matches the overt aggression of Cylon explosions, as opposed to the implicit threat of Six's smile. And I love how Six's grief and her mercy, of sorts, are woven through all these images (I can't quite tell what the moments are, since I haven't seen much of the show). I also get a bit confused by all the blond women, again, since I haven't seen the show. I love Six extending her arm out, face bloodied, cutting into Cally and the Chief drawing a tarp over a broken and bloodied body, since essentially, that is what Six is offering.
The music slows down again at 2:24, again timed to a giant explosion. And then, another one of my favorite parts! Cylon ships blinking into view on "lights will guide" around 2:26, acting as guiding stars. This vid is evil. I love it. I love how so much of the light in this vid is Six's hair, or things on fire because they've been blown up, as opposed to the comforting lights that are supposed to guide you home in the lyrics. And of course, the home here isn't the fabled Earth everyone is looking for, but Cylon-occupied Caprica (I think?).
I also love more door/light imagery around 2:33, paralleling Six walking into a room with Cylons marching through the terrified human crowd. And oh, Six has such a gentle smile on her face, and then the song hits again with "fix you" to Cylons marching.
And now, to the completely wonky interpretation that I made up myself, largely due to the fact that I watched this endlessly while in a depressive funk. It's so cool how sdwolfpup turns what would normally be a very comforting song into a velvet-sheathed dagger, and it kept reminding me of brain chemistry. How when you're depressed, the "fix" of suicide or self-injury or any means of destroying yourself is so comforting, so soothing. It's such a convincing remedy to the pain of existence, of the endless fighting and anger and tears and anxiety, the quiet moments when you're by yourself and you think everything has failed, everything you have done has failed. Adama, missing his sons, alive and dead. Tigh, stubbing out his cigar on a picture of his wife. Loss and death and regret all mixed together. And Six/the Cylons/your brain on depression offer such a convincing alternative.
They'll just fix you.
It'll be easy. There will be guiding lights. You won't have to worry. You won't have to do anything. You just have to sit back, and in one glorious burst of light, it will be over, the pain will be gone, you'll be fixed.
They all just keep neglecting the fact that you'll be dead.
Again, my own, completely wonky, interpretation.
Alas and alack, I didn't get a chance to go to Vividcon and have been jealously reading everyone else's posts and downloading scads and scads of vids.
Since I can't do con reports, I figure I will write up in detail the vids that really got to me somehow, even if they weren't shown at VVC.
This one apparently premiered there. For some background, I've seen the BSG miniseries and the first six episodes, and then bits and pieces of S1. So I have a vague idea of what happens.
Everyone seems to be talking about Coldplay as a musical choice; I have no idea what is and isn't popular, so I had no idea. I had also read a little commentary prior to watching the vid, so I knew it wasn't going to be what it seemed.
That said, having the vid be from Six's POV, having this rather gentle, loving song be about Six's love for humanity and her desire to fix them, all this totally bowled me over. Also, it didn't hurt that the editing is awesome.
I love the opening chords to the opening of the doors; the chords sound vaguely church-y to me and the doors open to something that look like a sanctuary. And then, flashes of all the things that go wrong in people's lives -- Roslin's discovery of cancer, Starbuck, Apollo. I love the Starbuck bit in particular, the look that she seems to be doing well, but privately, she isn't, because isn't that what we're all like? And I like how "When you feel so tired that you just can't sleep" echoes "33."
And just as I thought it was going to be a Roslin-Starbuck-Apollo vid, the vid goes back to the man in the spaceship, once again on the vaguely church-y chords (well, they're through the whole thing, but I notice them more in the spaceship setting), then to the pain and hurt that the rest of the crew of BSG suffers. Admittedly, the clip of Six and Baltus to "Could it be worse?" around 1:04 throws me off a little because I'm so focused on the humans and their pain.
Then comes one of my favorite parts: 1:08, the chords crescendo and the doors to the spaceship open again, echoing the first clip. The song is promising salvation ("Lights will guide"), but we see Six, smiling beatifically at a human baby, we see Six, slowly striding to the beat in her awesome boots, smiling again at the old man. And oh, I love how Six's steps are on the beat, and how Six's kiss (of DOOM!) lands on the "fix you" of "I will try to fix you."
Then comes 1:29, the tempo speeds up, with the images of Cylon-caused explosions echoing Six's kiss/fix. And it's frightening how beautiful the trails of the bombs are in space, set to the music, sometimes interspersed with the quieter moments of pain (Roslin, head in her hands).
I adore the shot of all the soldiers lifting their guns to the beat at 1:56.
Then, to match the music, we get faster images of pain and grief and anger; to match the widening of scope from Six to all the Cylons, we get images of human interactions, group interactions, as opposed to the more solemn, private moments from the first part. The overt violence also matches the overt aggression of Cylon explosions, as opposed to the implicit threat of Six's smile. And I love how Six's grief and her mercy, of sorts, are woven through all these images (I can't quite tell what the moments are, since I haven't seen much of the show). I also get a bit confused by all the blond women, again, since I haven't seen the show. I love Six extending her arm out, face bloodied, cutting into Cally and the Chief drawing a tarp over a broken and bloodied body, since essentially, that is what Six is offering.
The music slows down again at 2:24, again timed to a giant explosion. And then, another one of my favorite parts! Cylon ships blinking into view on "lights will guide" around 2:26, acting as guiding stars. This vid is evil. I love it. I love how so much of the light in this vid is Six's hair, or things on fire because they've been blown up, as opposed to the comforting lights that are supposed to guide you home in the lyrics. And of course, the home here isn't the fabled Earth everyone is looking for, but Cylon-occupied Caprica (I think?).
I also love more door/light imagery around 2:33, paralleling Six walking into a room with Cylons marching through the terrified human crowd. And oh, Six has such a gentle smile on her face, and then the song hits again with "fix you" to Cylons marching.
And now, to the completely wonky interpretation that I made up myself, largely due to the fact that I watched this endlessly while in a depressive funk. It's so cool how sdwolfpup turns what would normally be a very comforting song into a velvet-sheathed dagger, and it kept reminding me of brain chemistry. How when you're depressed, the "fix" of suicide or self-injury or any means of destroying yourself is so comforting, so soothing. It's such a convincing remedy to the pain of existence, of the endless fighting and anger and tears and anxiety, the quiet moments when you're by yourself and you think everything has failed, everything you have done has failed. Adama, missing his sons, alive and dead. Tigh, stubbing out his cigar on a picture of his wife. Loss and death and regret all mixed together. And Six/the Cylons/your brain on depression offer such a convincing alternative.
They'll just fix you.
It'll be easy. There will be guiding lights. You won't have to worry. You won't have to do anything. You just have to sit back, and in one glorious burst of light, it will be over, the pain will be gone, you'll be fixed.
They all just keep neglecting the fact that you'll be dead.
Again, my own, completely wonky, interpretation.