Deconstruction 3 (Johnny Cash - Hurt)

Style:

“Hurt” was originally by Nine Inch Nails however I preferred the Johnny Cash cover which is probably the most notable cover of that particular song. I feel that the Johnny Cash version is a lot deeper and emotional as it’s coming from an older man who’s looking back on his life. The genre for this song is a mix between rock and country. “Hurt” is a single from the album “American IV: The Man Comes Around”, which is the last album Johnny Cash released before his death. I wanted to deconstruct this music video because I felt it was really moving and provokes more emotion from the audience. The video has aspects to it I really like for example, the video show’s various clips from Johnny’s past, it refers to his religious beliefs. I feel as if the video is a timeline, it shows his downfall by including clips of his museum being closed and him being alone for the majority of the song. The video was directed by Mark Romanek who is known for collaborating with Nine In Nails in the past. During the music video Johnny Cash performs the song which is why I checked that box. I checked the classical box as the video is telling the story of Johnny’s downfall. The song touches on certain topics such as heroin and Christianity which I felt is socially conscious.

Purpose:

The purpose of this music video is to promote Johnny Cash’s album “American IV: The Man Comes Around” as well to entertain his fans and gain new fans of his music. The video is reflecting back on Johnny Cash’s life as he’s now old and frail. It mentions how he’s lied, done drugs and hurt people. In a way Johnny Cash is telling you all of his regrets in life then goes to say if he could take it all back, he would.

Lyrics:


The lyrics consist of the first verse refers to heroin use to take away memories and feelings. The chorus consists of Johnny Cash questioning what he has become then going on to say that he will let you down and hurt you. The last verse in the song involves Johnny Cash’s relationship with Christianity as he refers to Jesus Christ.

Meaning:

The whole song is quite depressing and could be interpreted in many ways especially because Johnny Cash wasn’t the original artist for the song. However this version is a flashback of all the wrong Johnny Cash has done and how he regrets doing various things as he cannot forget them. In a way the songs tells a story showcasing the downfall of Johnny Cash and the problem’s he has been through, the video helps visualise it

Generic Conventions:


There’s nothing generic about this song, there’s no swearing or generic locations in it for it to be a rock song one example being Guns ‘N’ Rose’s “Welcome To The Jungle” which is shot in a grimy like city. It’s way too depressing to be a generic country song, an example of a generic country song could be one of Johnny Cash’s older songs, “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” which is completely different from this song.

Camera Shots/Movements:

Long-shot, mid-shot, extreme long-shot, medium close-up, close up, extreme close-up. All of the shots are steady and hardly any movement of the camera is involved. The close-up camera shots allow Johnny to stay in the viewer’s mind, as if to remind the audience that this is his life. The long-shots are various clips of Johnny walking away from the camera. The mid-shots include shots of Johnny Cash and his wife and Johnny speaking to the camera. There are a few extreme close-up’s which show Johnny Cash’s hands playing the piano.

Lighting:

For the indoor shots, there is artificial lighting however there is one shot in which you can see natural lighting outside. The outdoor shots use natural lighting. Almost all of the video uses low-key lighting to showcase the depressing nature of the song.

Editing:

The video starts of quite slow and in sync with the song. Near to the end of the video the song speeds up, the shots then are all fast straight cuts while remaining in sync with the song. There are a lot of found footage from Johnny Cash’s past spliced into the video. This may be so the viewer can recognise that he was happy back then but not anymore.

Effects:

No special effects were used in the video however found footage from various sources was used frequently.

Miming/Lip-Syncing:


Johnny Cash mimes playing the guitar and piano as well as lip-syncing. He may be miming to show the viewer that is literally Johnny Cash in reality not just behind the camera. It also ensures that the audience keeps Johnny Cash in their focus throughout the song. He lip-syncs to the track as it relates to him and makes the video seem like he is telling a story, he is talking directly to the audience, this is demonstrated during a part of the song were he points directly to the camera and sings “You are someone else, I am still right here”.