Daniel's Similar Textual Analysis

‘Basket Case’ – ‘Green Day’

Green Day are a very popular band, but they’re also a controversial band because they continue alienating significant portions of their fan base. I have chosen to analyse this video because of the unusual techniques used in it and in which the way the lyrics correspond to the video, it relates to the ideas my group have produced for our music video featuring a local, unsigned band.

This Music video is set in a depthless world in which musicians lip-sync in simulated depictions of musical performance or act out the fragmented narrative elements referring to the lyrics. ‘Basket Case’ is a track from ‘Dookie’, the three times platinum and third album of American Pop Punk Rock band ‘Green Day’, which was released in 1994. The music the band produces seems to target an audience of males and females ages mainly from 11-18. Whether the band considered this whilst writing their music I do not know. Many of the songs written by Green Day are based on personal or group experiences that have occurred in their lives.

The song is about lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong’s struggle with anxiety. It was written before the front man was diagnosed with a panic disorder as he was going crazy. The lyrics to ‘Basket Case’ tell the story of a man who is paranoid and after and, after meeting with a psychiatrist who tells him that his lack of sex is causing his stress, decides to go to a prostitute. However Doctor refuses to listen, as explained by the lyric. ‘He said my life’s a bore/so quit my whining, cause/it’s bringing him down.’
The video was shot in an actual mental institution called Agnew’s Development Center in Santa Clara County, California.

One of the first sights we see is of men in white outfits and a steel shutter door being closed behind him. Diegetic sound is included right up until the track starts. The whole video was originally shot in black and white and then later colourised, contributing to the unnatural, demented feel of the mise- en-scene. Visible in the first shot is a masked patient whose mask is the only thing that is of colour, making him look unusual and out of place. We see close ups of the music equipment being set up, and a white-suited guy presents a rather nervous and confused lead singer with a guitar. He abruptly comes out of character and begins the song.
The other band members are wheeled in. It is clear that they are all inmates, both by their slightly confused and abnormal behaviour and by the way people in white coats are directing them around. This especially apparent for the bassist, Dirnt. Close ups are used to show the lead singer’s eyes darting around nervously as he sings.

In the second verse, we see front man, Armstrong, standing against a white wall in a bathroom. A high-0angled camera shot makes him look small and insignificant, and yet his dark garments make him stand out. We see drummer, Tre Cool, being wheeled down a corridor in a wheel chair by a white coated man – with another patient similar to the one we see at the start in the background. It cuts back to Armstrong and then to Dirnt, who is looking bored, resting his head in his hands.

The video is somewhat concept driven as it relates strongly tot eh lyrics, but also part narrative as the lyrics do tell a story and the video does contribute to the understanding of the overall message that the song forwards. We see plenty of shots of different band members performing the song together. This is heavily performance driven as it is as though they are performing live, on stage, to an audience. Frequent cuts from different angles prevent the audience from losing interest. A brief cut to Dirnt staring out of a window perhaps in desperation, cuts back to him performing, and then a shot of Armstrong is obscured by a masked figure walking past the camera. A barrage of rapid cuts echoes the machine gun-like drum roll. Throughout the progression of the song, more and more patients appear in the living room. This suggests that more and more normal people are going crazy as well as them.

The drummer is wheeled to a counter where a woman wearing a lab coat provides him with some sort of medicine or drug. He grins as he swallows it. ‘Grasping to control.. .’ sings Armstrong as the camera pans around, showing various people behind him. The pan is slightly unsteady, as though performed with a handheld camera, contributing to the surreal nature of the video. The majority of cuts are all straight cuts. Overall, they are fairly quick paced cuts, yet still dynamic as the cuts are at different lengths to focus on different aspects and sections of the video.
There are a number of high angle camera shots of the lead singer featured as this strongly relates to the fact that he is paranoid, and is particularly effective when he rolls his eyes up anxiously.

Those mental patients in marks seem to be doing a number of strange things, creeping around, playing with exercise balls, and appearing extremely close up to the camera. They remain un-colourised except the masks themselves throughout the video, which makes them all look peculiar. The drugs we are shown close ups of lead to Drummer, Cool, and later Armstrong being surrounded by flying fishes and his own eyes which have been merged into the clip, post shoot. This suggests a hallucination being caused by the drugs seen previously, perhaps?
The video is full of bright colours which makes it seem simplistic and, at the same time, over the top. This contributes to the feelings of psychosis.

At the end of the video, the metal shutter is closed in front of the camera. This place is closed, and it seems Green Day are to remain inside. Through the shutter, we see the band stop playing and are then stationary.

In my opinions, it is clever portrayal of an anxiety disorder. Although it being slightly strange and disturbing for some, it articulates the message of the songs very well, right down to thinking you’re going insane and mixing up words in your head. And the line ‘Am I just paranoid, or am I just stoned?’ gives a good idea of how it feels to be in front man, Armstrong’s shoes.