AlunaGeorge, one of my FAVORITE groups, have come up with this amazing song and even a more amazing music video. 'Attracting Flies' is a perfect example of the whole fairy tale aspect we wanted to include in our music video.
From her basket of goods to her red hooded jumper, you can immediately tell that Aluna is playing little red riding hood in the beginning of the music video. The original story of little red riding hood has a young girl as the protagonist and is dressed quite modestly. On the other hand, in this music video, the protagonist is dressed quite provocatively. Her short, skin-tight and red dress is something you wouldn't expect the original red riding hood to be wearing.
In this still shot, you can see the 'evil' following her in the darkness. In the actual music video, this figure doesn't do anything but stand there. I would assume he's there to either harm the red riding hood character or steal the basket from her.
The red riding hood theme wouldn't be complete without the big bad wolf! In this shot, the white wolf is in the car with George and they are playing the 'thirsty' character's. Their eyes follow Aluna whilst she walks though the dark alleyways- alone and vulnerably. Their gazes do not break and it looks as though they are ready to pounce on her.
Another issue AlunaGeorge wanted to raise in their video was the growth of illegal substances. In this case, weed. The first fairy tale aspect you think of with the idea of being 'over grown' is Rapunzel and her long hair. Because of this, the video used her hair as a metaphor for the weed. As you can see, the character here is pulling hair off the weed plant, rather than the leaves itself.
It is noticeable now that Aluna has the role to play the main character in each sketch. Here is a clear image of her playing the role as Rapunzel as her hair is long, hanging out the window. Earlier on in the video, the hair was a symbol for weed. As her hair is over grown, it could be representing the greed and endless desire to have drugs in her system.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears... but in this case, the three huge and scary looking men. We can tell this scene is representing the Three Bears as they are all eating a bowl of porridge and there are three of them. This is different to the original take on Goldilocks and the Three Bears as the location looks more uneasy to be in and 'Goldilocks' is sat next to 'the three bears' (the are actually enemies in the original version.
A lady with an achy back on a pile of loads of mattresses could only mean one thing... princess and the pea! Here, Aluna is representing the princess in the story and George is trying to figure out what it is that is making Aluna feel uncomfortable. The dark lighting makes me feel like it isn't something positive...
... just as I suspected! It all looked 'normal' until this next shot reveals what was under the mattress. Of course, the original pea that would've been in the fairy tale has been replaced with a pill.
Here is a shot of Aluna again, laying down, asleep on a mattress... so of course, she is representing sleeping beauty. She is dressed in white; the candle's are lit; the sun beams are shining down on her and the room looks relaxed. All these aspects make me feel like she is in a better place in her mind.
Later on in the music video, this is revealed. It is a book that would've been read by people that have been suffering from depression and a load of pills beside it on a table. This makes me suspect that 'sleeping beauty' has taken her life away by over dosing. This then explains to me why it looks like she is in a better place in the previous screen shot. She must of suffered from depression when she was alive and decided to leave this world and go to a better place.
Finally, AlunaGeorge have ended their video on a powerful note. Here is a long shot of Aluna with seven 'dwarfs'. Really, they are just hoodlums with weapons such as bats and hammers. They are dressed as your stereotypical gang members and Aluna looks like the lead 'Snow White'.
