"Behind These Hazel Eyes" analysis

For my second textual analysis I have decided to look at a video by Kelly Clarkson to the song ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’. I have chosen this video because I am basing my video on a tough relationship between two people and I have looked at videos that base themselves on heartbreak or loneliness. In this video Kelly is being represented as three people. One a bride about to get married but has a broken heart, Kelly singing with her band in the dead forest is the storyteller, and the Kelly who watches her fiancé marry another woman. All of these ‘characters’ she portrays lead up to one who has doubts about her relationship. The song was co written by Kelly and is about a relationship she had which left her broken hearted.

The narrative of this video resembles a short film. At the start of the video we see Kelly in a dead forest with her band and small shots of a church building. This already sets the mood of the song as there are no bright colours or any life in anything around her. We then see Kelly dressed as a bride with her bridesmaids.
The mise-en-scene is iconic to a wedding as she is wearing a white dress and the other women are holding bouquets and the lighting is very soft and light. She is surrounded by bridesmaids which in a way show her trapped in her dress and herself. It then cuts to a show of her in the dead forest with the band. This is a way of splitting each character she plays. The Kelly that sings in the forest is almost like the story teller of the song and eventually comforts her when she is upset. As she looks at the picture of her fiancé and another woman in a wedding dress a storm begins. This symbolises her anger at him and frustration she has. As the storm blows through the windows the bridesmaids leave but Kelly stays in the room and keeps looking at the picture. The frame of the picture is red and she holds her red roses next to it. The red frame and roses connotate romance however they can also symbolise danger. The way she drops the flowers and frame and how she is letting her dress and hair become ruined shows how heartbroken she is. The juxtaposition used is a way of showing that the Kelly singing with her band is giving the other Kelly a wake up call about this relationship and opens her eyes by starting the storm. Another time we see Kelly is wearing a black dress and is at the wedding of her fiancé and the mystery woman. The mise-en-scene is again very dark lighting and the contrast between the black and white dresses. The dead leaves are in contrast to the confetti traditionally thrown at weddings which are colourful and bright.
The shredded dress she wears whilst running into the forest is resembling her broken heart and her feeling of betrayal. As she collapses in the forest she falls into a puddle and mud and becomes unglamorous but this is very dramatic as it is unusual. This also shows how broken she feels and how she doesn’t care. When we see the two Kelly’s together this is very different to other videos and it is resembling her real feelings and emotions. She is also being comforted by herself which can show that she doesn’t need a man who breaks her heart in her life. This is then juxtaposed with the bride leaving him at the alter and finally releasing herself from this relationship. The dead forest could resemble the dead relationship she has. The black costume is used to connotate the darkness of the relationship and the lies it involves. The rain and water used resembles tears and sadness that she feels. The innocence of white is also being conveyed to keep quiet and pretend to be happy whereas the black costume is being used as a way of showing her emotion and real feelings. The use of close ups add to the emotion of the song and the lyrics. In an emotional song you will always see a range 0f close ups.

The lyrics of the song are connected to her feelings and the video and lyrics go perfectly well together. For example ‘no I don’t cry on the outside anymore’ this line is describing how this heartbreak has left her stronger and not broken. It is also resembling how she wont let him see her sadness or broken heart.

The genre of this video is a kind of dark romance as it shows the heart break rather than the sweet happiness. The song genre is a pop/ rock song as it has a strong beat but isn’t heavily reliant on the instrumental. It is more based around the lyrics. The scene when she is in the mud and puddle this is unlike her other videos as she is unglamorous.

The audience for this music video will be a mainstream audience and mainly females. This would be because this song is very personal to Kelly and to women who have been left broken hearted. As Kelly won the singing competition, American Idol viewers who enjoyed her performances or who voted for her will also be watching this video to see how well she has done.

Overall this music video is a very good example of how lyrics and emotion can be portrayed by the artist. This video is very different to others as she is seen as two different 'people' e.g. the bride and then singing in the forest with her band. Usually actors would be asked to portray these characters but instead Kelly has done this herself and made it more personal for the audience and herself.