Music Video Analysis using Goodwin's Theory: 'How' by Regina Spektor

I chose to analyse Regina Spektor's video for 'How' because not only is her artist identity (and accompanying ideology) similar to that of Ava, but this video in particular, although simplistic, could be interpreted in a number of ways.

The song is primarily about a past lover and the difficulty the artist has in moving on, but there are several other layers of meaning that could be extracted from both the lyrics and the imagery. 

Lyrics

How can I forget your love?
How can I never see you again?
There’s a time and place
For one more sweet embrace
And is time, ooh
when it all, ooh
Went wrong
I guess you know by now
That we will meet again somehow

Oh baby
How can I begin again?
How can I try to love someone new?
Someone who isn’t you
How can our love be true?
When I’m not, ooh
I’m not over you

I guess you know by now
That we will meet again somehow

Time can come and take away the pain
But I just want my memories to remain
To hear your voice
To see your face
There’s not one moment I’d erase
You are a guest here now

So baby
How can I forget your love?
How can I never see you again?
How can I ever know why some stay and others go?
When I don’t, ooh
I don’t want you to go

I guess I know by now
That we will meet again somehow

Time can come and wash away the pain
But I just want my mind to stay the same
To hear your voice
To see your face
There’s not one moment I’d erase
You are a guest here now

So baby
How can I forget your love?
How can I never see you again?

 

Analysis

Illustration
- Monochrome styling and colouring of the video corresponds with the general melancholic and nostalgic elements of the lyrics. 
- "We will meet again somehow." - The slow addition of colour (largely bright crimson reds and pastel blues) reflects the change in tone in the lyrics from dejected to hopeful.
- The imagery of nature, especially floral, bird and insect imagery, has connotations of happiness and optimism, which supports the change in tone mentioned above. 
- The costume design, which incorporates the image of stereotypical romance, the rose, is a reflection of the overarching theme of the song: love. 
- "You're a guest here now." The action of blowing the cloud away reflects the way in which a guest would eventually leave. 
-"How can I forget your love?/ How can I never see you again?" - The butterfly iconography here makes her appear vulnerable and fragile, as do the rhetorical questions she asks throughout the song.
-"But I just want my mind to stay the same." - Holding up the old, black and white photograph in front of her face shows her unwillingness to adapt to the circumstances.

Amplification
- The beginning of the video features Regina Spektor and her violin, with her eye make-up and lipstick resembling the colour and the shape of the violin. The implication of this is that she finds herself in her music, and perhaps music becomes a means of escaping these otherwise melancholic surroundings.
- Not only is Regina the focus of the video, but she is alone for the duration of the video, which accentuates her solitude after the separation from her lover.
- "I guess you know by now/ That we will meet again somehow." The prop of the sparrow here connotes freedom , which could be either from the relationship or from her current state of misery. Sparrows are also symbolic as they represent innocence, which perhaps highlights the artist's naivety and accentuates the theme of entrapment discussed below.
- "There's not one moment I'd erase." - Having Spektor's arms run over the projected image of words could create the implication that the relationship relied heavily on words; whether it was love letters or verbal communication is ambiguous, but her "moments" are linked with these words.
- The way in which she blows the cloud away could also be symbolic in terms of freedom from the relationship or from the tension that it brought, since clouds represent gloom.
- The sequence where Skeptor opens her eyes multiple times could be a way of communicating that she has finally 'opened her eyes' and seen the truth of their relationship.

Disjuncture
- There is a distinct theme of entrapment that presents a juxtaposition with the calmness of the lyrics. For example, on the 'ooh's, Regina's wrists seem to be in chains and locks.
- The placement of the neck-piece, which features the rose and the butterfly, is almost quite restrictive. It resembles a choker, which not only supports the notion of entrapment and suppression, but further develops this point to suggest that the artist was trapped in a conventional relationship made of symbols dictated by society.
- One of Spektor's dresses almost represents entrapment, because of the high neck and the way in which it is designed to look like a belt. This somewhat bleak image creates the impression that her voice and opinions were suppressed in this relationship.
- The irony rests in the fact that Spektor is singing about never seeing her lover again, yet she breaks the fourth wall and makes direct eye contact with the camera, as if she was speaking to her lover.