UP&UP – COLDPLAY

The music video I watched and am choosing to analyze is Up&Up by Coldplay. I chose this music video because I recognized that the band and directors of the music video employ a variation of rhetorical devices in reference to one common theme. The author is focusing on a particular situation with humanity and the way that we view the world. This is relevant to our society because we can all relate to one another and the situations that arise around us. The main message to this music video is that we are capable of doing anything and achieving our goals through our thoughts. Although simple, this music video portrays powerful messages in relation to mother nature and past events. The music video emphasizes the motion of environmental, social, and political issues through different scenes. It highlights both a dystopian and utopian perspective of how we can relate to the world around us. Our impact is greater than just ourselves, and through the music video, the creators show that no matter what gender, ethnicity, or culture, we must look after humanity and do our part to create an optimistic space for people to live. Coldplay uses a specific tone and voice in this song that promotes a sense of relaxation and confidence. Through pathos and the use of rhetorical devices, Coldplay develops an emotional connection with the audience in reminding all individuals that there’s a bright side to many parts of life if we believe that.

In the music video, the song and language devices play a huge role in my analysis. Some rhetorical devices that I recognized while listening were imagery, metaphors, and personification. Visual imagery is used when Chris Martin says, “See a pearl form, a diamond in the rough” and “Angels in the marble waiting to be freed,” they are painting a picture for us using visual scenes and graphic explanation. The music video relates to the visual imagery that the lyrics provide as the scenes in the music video relate to the visual scenes of the lyrics. These two examples of visual imagery in the song show that the singers are encouraging themselves to break through the obstacles in their journey. Seeing a pearl form, a diamond in the rough means that we are all performers on this very Earth. Many individuals may not have reached their full potential and regret the chances they never took which represents a “diamond in the rough”. A metaphor that first struck my mind when listening to the song and watching the music video was the first line, “Fixing up a car drive in it again.” This is a metaphor because it is a figure of speech applied to an object that is symbolic of something else. Fixing up a car and driving in it again is a reflection healing yourself from something toxic or destructive in your life. We are all able to get back up from something that start fresh if we believe in recovery and healing. The last rhetorical device that relates back to a message for humanity is seen in the lyric, “underneath the storm an umbrella is saying sitting with the poison takes away the pain.” This line attributes a personal trait to something non-human, an umbrella’s reaction to the rain. This line is effective because it provides an example of how if we weather the storm and prepare for the worst, our version of the worst may not even happen as facing adversity may not be as hard as expected. 

To incorporate a reassuring and peaceful voice, the singers used repetition and rhymes as a part of their song style. In reference to repetition, “it’s in your blood,” the song title itself is called “Up & Up,” and “gonna get it, get it together,” are all repeated throughout verses. The importance of repetition is to place emphasis on the main themes of the song. For example, the repetition of “Up & Up” is a constant reminder to us that we are in control of our life and in seeking happiness. To make the song a bit more poetic, Coldplay incorporates rhymes like, “moon and spoon,” “part and heart,” and “seed and freed.” Rhyming is a simple, yet impactful tool that we utilize to create patterns and musicality. With this upbeat, relaxed song, the factor of rhythm and beat play a role in the effectiveness of the song’s purpose. Overall, Coldplay was very successful in purveying their purpose through their rhetorical techniques and the music video was an accurate depiction of this. 

On the surface, viewers may see the music video as a creative and imaginative piece, however, when you dive into each scene and analyze the relationship, there is a pattern that the creators developed in relationship to the lyrics. The music video shows different scenes that relate back to Apollo 11, the Vietnam War, human rights, social phenomenon’s, global warming. Some examples of scenes and their representations are shown with a car driving around Saturn. These scenes of the car racing around Saturn, the Apollo 11 moon landing, and more, are presupposed progress of human discoveries in science and technology. The scenes relating to science and technology are a depiction of all the great milestones in the history of exploration, shedding light on our capabilities and discoveries. Another interesting theme in the music video related to the history of human war and the disregard that our generation has about it. The powerful scene of the girl doing backflips into a bomb refer to the Vietnam War. However, the purpose was not to portray war, but to show what arose after war; hippy culture and anti-war thoughts. We continue to move up and up as a society however there are still issues that we deal with as a society. He illustrates the social phenomenon and human rights through the juxtaposition of people and environments. A notable scene that touches on human rights is when an African American is jumping over the Washington Monument, signifying the step towards African American rights. There is also a scene where a car is speeding over the New York skyline, showing the social phenomenon of overcrowding and traffic in densely populated areas. There is a representation of global warming in another scene where a McDonalds cup is blocking the entire water flow of a river. This touches on pollution around the world, specifically towards our marine environment. 

Overall, all of these representations contribute to the bigger meaning of perspective. This music video was intended for the entire nation, and even world to watch. Coldplay’s main purpose of this music video was for people to connect to the surrealism of each reworked scene. This music video expressed the many different attitudes that individuals have about the world, however, the main message remained the same that we should never give up for what we fight for. We should continue to encourage ourselves and others to take on new perspectives of our world.