

‘Wing$’ By Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a song from their album ‘The Heist’ in which Macklemore explores many different meaningful topics through not only his lyrics but also his visuals composed by Ryan Lewis. This is especially the case in ‘Wing$’ where Macklemore explores a thought he believed as a child; that individualism and popularity can be bought by following diversions of social trend. In this case he speaks about his shoes, more particularly Nike Jordans, which he believes act as his wings during this time period he is relating back to throughout. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ screenplay effectively creates this idea of his shoes acting as wings, through certain techniques such as camera angle, colour and lighting.

This is done particularly well in a still at 1 minute 30 seconds, where a young Macklemore is playing basketball, with some other kids, and most importantly he does this with his Jordans on.

During this still the Camera emphasises the thought of flying and wings, by using a ‘bugs eye view’. This view makes the viewer look up towards the young Macklemore wearing his new shoes as if they are literally making him jump higher climbing above all the other kids who surround him as he rises for the net. This creates the idea that the viewers are jealous of Macklemore, looking up in awe of his possessions and individuality he believes the shoes show. As well as this the ‘bugs eye’ camera angle also makes him seem larger than life, as if he is unstoppable and able to achieve anything including following the path of his Idol Michael Jordan, and his first step in this is through his shoes. Overall this camera angle creates the image of his Jordans acting as wings as he rises above the others in the shot including the viewer all due to the focal point of his Jordans.

The lighting in this still is also very effective in continuing this main idea. Macklemore and his shoes are brought to the foreground in this scene as they are both illuminated along with the net and rim of the basket. This light makes him stand out significantly in a sort of angelic form in bright light, but rather than an angel of heaven, he is an angel of Michael Jordan. This is the case as Macklemore’s wings to make him an angel are actually the Jordans he wears, lifting him above the others as he follows the dream. This relates to the idea of ‘the sky is the limit’ as he rises up like a bright light in the dark and dreek night as the shoes allow him to follow this dream of his. The brightness of both the basket and Macklemore creates a link between the two as he follows his dream and the basket represent his target and dream which he believes as a young kid the shoes can help him to achieve.

The composition during this still is very important to the overall thought created by it. The kids who are playing basketball with the young Macklemore surround him looking up towards the center of the composition which Macklemore occupies. They are specifically shaded so that their figures become darker causing them to start to blend in with the dull background as described earlier. They are sort of eaten up by the darkness to show their little importance in the scene. This could be due to their supposed lack of individuality and importance in Macklemore’s childhood mindset as they don’t posses the newest and coolest items of clothing or shoes like he does. As well as acting in this way, the darkness of the surrounding kids also emphasises the focal point of Macklemore and his shoes to greater extent as it forces them to stand out. It also creates an image similar to one that would, in the past, used to show the worshiping of a social higher power such as a god or king etc. This makes Macklemore seem to be important as the song implies the shoes make him feel in his school community.

The frame also implies that the shoes are also implies that the shoes are even more than just wings as time begins to slow as he jumps when he wears them. The raindrops slow and sharpen along with the basket, as if the shoes do really give him the powers to make him play better. But we know this is just the image of a young child’s feelings of what he thinks the shoes do for him.

In the background of the image there is a large city scape towering above all the other buildings in the near vicinity. This starts to create the idea that he is realizing that there is more in the world than just items that can be purchased. The buildings are light up brightly in the nights sky emphasizing the importance of them even for than the shoes in that matter. Macklemore is starting to come to a moment of realization that there is a big world where there is more to becoming a successful individual who is liked and popular than just one who buys their worth. This allows the image to act as a turning point to the whole music video as Macklemore reflects on his sort of idiotic mindset about his shoes and the supposed effect they had. He finishes the song with the line, “they were just another pair of shoes” making them sound as if they had lost their importance somewhat.

Overall this still from Macklemore’s music video ‘Wing$’ has a large effect on the song as a whole. It does this through techniques such as camera angle, composition and lighting which create the idea that his nw pair of shoes act as his ‘wings’ carrying towards his dream of following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan.