Saturday, September 15, 2012

Runaway by Kanye West




The West-directed Runaway used a heavily-saturated color palette; bright oranges, fiery reds, and lush forest-greens dominated. He lingered over his imagery, frequently slowing down the motion for us to observe the phoenix's most causal gestures. In one bravura sequence, he included a red-dressed marching band that pulled along a giant papier-mache bust of Michael Jackson in its wake.
West has said that Runaway contains nine songs from his forthcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and supplies “visuals for all these songs that deserve videos.”
Late in Runaway, the phoenix speaks: “You know what I hate about your world? Anything that is different you try to change, you try to tear it down.” West's visual and musical sophistication was constantly contrasted with images of the phoenix's playful innocence, until she finally burst into flames and ascended back “to my world,” as she put it, leaving West's character desperate, running down the road after her, left alone.

Given how controversial West's every artistic gesture seems to have become, I have a feeling we'll be in for a round of dismissals of Runaway as a pretentious piece. Instead, it deserves to be seen as a carefully modulated art-film made by a man on a mission.

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