How Does Nirvanas Video 'Heart Shaped Box' Convey Themes Of The Genre?

Nirvana are a much celebrated band that are seen as the pioneers of the grunge movement in Seattle in the early 90's. 'Heart Shaped Box', taken from their last album 'In Utero', was directed by Anton Corbijn and conveys many themes of the grunge genre, isolation, alienation and a fragmented existence that was set to destruct at any given moment.

This establishing shot (above) sets the scene very strongly in envoking a sense of morality, a theme which is dealt with throughout the video. This is achieved with the colour imagery of the black curtain and cross, the curtain creating a sense of being surrounded by the immorality the curtain connotes. The cross conveys a religious aspect to the scene which is reinforced by the birds-eye camera shot: together combining to emphasise an aspect of judgement from a higher power, which empowers the sense of morality within the scene alongside the stream of light breaking through which is positioned onto the band, strengthening the aspect of judgement upon them which fits into the sense of purgatorty that comes within the mis-en-scene of the chairs. Alongside the black and white the only notable colour shown within the setting is red, connoting violence and rage which is a theme of the genre.

The next setting comes in at 15 seconds into the video and is only the forth shot in, the slow editing emphasising the sombreity of the verse and, in turn, the genre itself. The theme of morality using religious imagery is again apperent with the use of the crucifix, symbolising death alongwith judgement. The use of mise-en-scene in that the crucifix is wooden embellishes the bleakness and harshness of the image alongside the fact it is included with the connotations of immorality and death with the crows and a ladder which makes it apparent that the victim must create his own demise- emphasising the bleakness that comes with the image. The endless barron location of the desert also reveals the desolation of the video whilst the adjusted vibrancy of the colours makes the location seem much like a dream-world, which envokes the idea of oblivion and escapism which is common within the genre. The imagery of an emaciated old man also reinforces the desolation of the image, stripped of everything he has except for a santa hat: ironic in the warmth and happiness the image would usually convey and, with the red colour imagery, instead connoting pain and death. The use of the colour red also fits with the poppies on the floor, which as well as emphasising the imagery of the hat also hints at the use of heroin: used for escapism and numbness in seperating the user from the real world which makes it widely affiliated with the grunge movement- it is well known also that Cobain himself was a heavy user of the drug.

Once the performance shots incurr, the setting changes dramatically, in place of the yellow and blue is red, which connotes the rage and frustration which is intertwined within the dynamic of the song and with the genre itself, which becomes much more louder and ragefull as the chorus begins, the editing also becomes more fast and chaotic: consisting of variations of an extreme close up of Cobain, which strengthens the sense of anger. The backround consists of blurred and distorted images of the previous setting and of the rest of the band, which connotes the aspect of alienation and seperation from reality and society which is a theme of the genre.

The music video displays a moral ambiguiety throughout, a battle between good and evil. This is displayed by use of binary opposites, a common opposite within the video are the aspects of black and white. The most reccuring example of this are the use of the white (above) and the black (bottom) KKK outfits, which is an extremely strong case of moral ambiguiety considering the actions of the KKK, who were incrediably prejudice towards African-Americans and are infamous for their white outfits, the inclusion of a black outfit sets a mass of confusion and ambiguety, especially as a child is wearing it, whom looks remarkably like Cobain.

The video also effectivly uses narrative structure to convey the themes of the genre, using non-linear and abstract scenes which are slightly different from each other and linked only by mis-en-scene, which creates the sense of disconnection and escapism alongside a moral emptiness which comes with the fact that we are not, as an audience, invited into the video.

Grunge as a genre is radiated throughout the video, the elements and themes of escapism, isolation, alienation and moral destruction very apprent by use of mis-en-scene, camera shots and imagery within the video.