
The young middle school-aged boys who are the subjects of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs music video undergo a transition from the beginning to the end of the video. In the opening shots, the lyrics, beat and visual motifs, are uplifting and causal. As the video progresses, the music becomes ominous and the lyrics become negative. Through examining the different shots and colors used in the video, we are able to recognize the boys’ transition. The visual motifs used in the music video for Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, which include an achromatic color scheme, long shots, and extreme close ups, exemplify the subjects’ transition from young, carefree boyhood to recognizing the reality of living in the real world. 

The image above, taken from the music video to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, shows four boys on bikes riding down a suburban street. This shot is an establishing shot because it gives a sense of a time and place where this action is occurring. From looking at this shot in the music video, we can tell the song and video will be about young boys, probably close friends, from a suburban neighborhood. This shot is also considered a long shot because we see the boys’ entire bodies within the shot. We can tell they are young by their size and the youth in their faces. By allowing us to look at the seemingly endless road behind the boys, this long shot shows far the boys have traveled on their bikes. We can see that they are moving forward. The boys’ white shirts and dark pants contrast to the neutral grey street, as well as the muted blue sky. Because of the contrast in colors, the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the boys, and can identify them as the most important part of the shot. Another thing that draws our eyes to the boys in that they are in the foreground, or the part of the view that is nearest us, of the shot and in the middle. The background is filled with motionless houses, cars, and sky, which give contrast to the boys moving forward. The color scheme is somewhat achromatic, meaning that it is made up of blacks, greys, and whites, with some contrasting colors from the sky and the trees. These different colors can be seen in various aspects of the image. Overall, the somewhat achromatic color scheme gives off the impression that the boys are content with their lives in the suburbs, but not extremely thrilled. The subjects are all doing the same thing, riding their bikes down the street, giving us the impression that they are close friends hanging out. They all seem to be looking and talking to each other, which further proves to us that they seem comfortable around each other. The subjects seem to be unaware that they are being watched by millions by giving no thought to their surroundings as the ride down the street. They seem to be enjoying each other’s company, which can be seen through their reciprocal gazes.  All of the visual motifs used in this shot add emphasis to the initial lighthearted and friendly tone of the video. 

In this image, which is shown later on in the video, we see a boy running down the street. By recognizing his gaze as extradiegetic, we can see that he appears to be angry and frustrated. We can see that he is on the same street that all the boys were on in the previous shot. Instead of riding his bike with his friends, he is sprinting down the street. He is still wearing the white shirt that he had on in the previous shot, and in his eyes we can see extreme anger. He is in the direct foreground, making this an extreme close up. The closeness of the shot only allows us to see the street that he is running on, and a little bit of the sidewalk and grass that lines the street. The closeness of the shot also allows us to recognize the character’s emotions. This shot’s color scheme is somewhat achromatic, as well. Almost everything in the shot is grey, black, or white, besides the boy’s hair and skin, and the grass along the outer edges of the shot. The subject is in the foreground of the shot, and we can tell he’s in motion by his flowing hair and the blurriness of the shot. The background is a complete blur, giving us the idea that he is running from something behind him that we can’t see. His gaze is extra-diegetic, meaning that he is focusing on something outside of the panel of the shot. This shot, which was taken from later in the video, depicts a change from the carefree ambiance in the first shot. This shot has an ominous tone and focuses on one boy’s face and the anger we can see in it, which is highlighted through the visual motifs.

At the beginning of the video the lyrics are, “In the suburbs I, I learned to drive” (0:43). These lyrics go along with the first image shown above. These lyrics show a sense of innocence that the boys have. They learned to drive in a suburban neighborhood with nice cars and somewhat identical houses. The song starts out sounding happy, with an upbeat tune that draws the listener’s attention in. The boys’ lives seem normal. They are riding their bikes down the street of their suburban neighborhood, learning to drive, and hanging out with their friends. The visual motifs used in the first shot exemplify this. For example, the boys are in the center and foreground of the shot, representing that they are the center of their own worlds. The achromatic color scheme adds a sense of complacency. As the song goes on, the beat becomes more harsh and heavy. The tone becomes more ominous compared to the lyrics above, which exemplified a normal life by simply learning to drive. Later on in the song, the lyrics are “Kids wanna be so hard, but in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard” (2:03). The kids in the shots above try to be so tough and strong, but they are still suburban kids who grew up doing normal things. Despite their realization that life isn’t as sweet and innocent as first imagined, and society’s expectations that boys should be tough, they are still kids. The second image portrays this. The boy seems to be angry and scared, which explains why he is running away from something. His facial expression and the closeness of the shot prove that he is holding back his fear in order to appear tough through the challenges he is facing.

Overall, the visual motifs used in both of the images shown above provide specific examples that represent the lyrics. At the beginning of the song, the boys in the video represent the typical suburban life; they are riding down the neighborhood street on their bikes and learning to drive. The light colors of their shirts, bright sky, and use of a long shot all combined together display a lighthearted tone. As the song goes on, we hear and see the transition in the boys’ attitudes through one boy’s facial expressions, as well as the ominous music and lyrics. The extreme close up allows us to read the subject’s facial expression and recognize his anger. The evolution of the positive, normal lives of the boys to their realization that real suburban life isn’t as easy as first imagined, is depicted, through visual motifs, in Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs music video.
