
Mercy is a music video from the band Muse about the government’s attempt to synthesize and control the people. The band Muse is one of the more unique groups of modern progressive rock; with their music ranging from symphonic rock to space electronica and everything in between. They’ve become well known around the world, possibly due to their themes and dramatic style. A Muse album wouldn’t be a Muse album without conspiracy and resistance as central themes of their songs. Other bands, such as Green Day, would have you rage against social constructs and the people who raised you; Muse wishes to shed light on those who actually control the world, and try to inspire us to tear down the throne’s of our dictators. Mercy’s music video in particular gives us theatric imagery to show a very common technique in dystopian societies, that attempts to give sense of safety and comfort. The motif in the video is the suits of the workers and handlers within the facility, where the video takes place, and how they are used to install a sense of pleasantry in the company of these people.

In the video we follow a woman in what looks to be a scientific testing environment.

The scientists experimenting on her, are looking for a way to either design or enhance her, for which the evidence is blue prints of what appear to be synthetic limbs; which is later revealed to be used for synthesizing clones of the girl. The motif itself is what everybody in the building is wearing. Both scientists and handlers alike are sporting white turtle necks and pure white suits with sunglasses hanging from the pockets on the jackets. The white color of the jackets is very important because of what the color white typically represents. White is associated with purity and holiness most of the time, which brings some important symbolism into the video. The handlers and scientists offer a sense of safety and righteousness to whoever sees them when they wear white, just like the knight in shining armor who is rarely the bad guy. But just like in real life, all is not as it appears.

As the video progresses the girl is guided through life in a synthetic utopia by the suits. She begins to suspect there is something wrong when she suddenly comes across what seems to be a clone of herself. This is where the suits begin to reveal what they truly stand for. They are a physical manifestation of deception. Before this point it is possible to assume these clean looking people are simply helping her or conducting research for the greater good, but after the encounter and discovery of more clones, it is clear that the suits have other plans behind the scenes. The white suits are simply a facade to deceive the girl. It was all a ruse to get you to look past what the intentions are of the corporation.

One other important element to the suit, not to be overlooked, is the sunglasses that the handlers and scientists wear. Throughout the video, many of the people in charge are seen with these glasses on; These shades are used to hide the eyes of the men in the video. This is meant to represent the intentions of the oppressors being impossible to see. Eyes can give away the most important information from a person, as many believe them to be the window to a persons soul. In response these men conceal their ideals, goals, and secrets. Where their eyes are looking is anybody’s guess. If we can’t see or know what our leaders are doing how are we to blow the whistle on those who wield such power over us?

This is one of the reasons muse released this album. The events in the video can be interpreted as a reflection of what’s going on in modern day politics and society. As people learn from seeing political interactions, most of politics is rarely about policy, but rather propaganda. No matter where you stand on government policies, or the leaders of our nations; there will always be someone to tell what you want to hear. They use slogans to appeal to the masses with crafted speeches that may seem comforting, with hopeful ideas that make you feel better. However, once they have the power they use it to push an agenda that was left out of the spotlight; all they did was put on a nice white metaphorical suit to make you feel at home. Muse wishes to inform us on these habits that seem so typical with our leaders, no longer would they have us take these watered down dictators on first impressions. The band wants us to look beyond the white suits and shades, and to seek the truth about the people we give power to. 

With all this in mind we can look at the video with new clarity, and along with the video we can examine the world and its rulers with a necessary skepticism. While the theme of the video is obvious, it’s the details that bring meaning and life to those themes. The Orwellian dystopian society is nothing new, we’ve all seen it in movies and music alike. In the details we can see the clues on how to identify and expose the proponents of these dystopias. The importance of the suits and their designs is irrefutable once their significance is brought to trial. Once made known to the people, they will watch their seemingly perfect leaders fall flat on their faces as the truth emerges from the shadows of white suits.   
