Emeli Sande Essay Question

With reference to Emeli Sande's "Heaven", how realistic are the representations offered by the video? In your answer, you should consider the social and cultural context.

In this music video by Emeli Sande called 'Heaven', the music video is a narrative/conceptual as it brings together shot types, where the artist lip syncs and also shots where there are abstract motifs.

This music video clearly represents society, where individuals have the intention to make good intentions, however, issues in their society allow their faith and positive attitudes to diminish. Things such as pain, despair and poverty take over, and this is highlighted by the lyric "I wake with good intentions, But the day, it
always lasts too long, Then I'm
gone", which emphasises the lack of control, making individuals bring out a negative side out of them due to the tough positions they are put in, and this is connoted by the lyrics "Will you recognize me, When I'm stealing from a car ,You're not gonna like me, I'm nothing like before". In addition,
there is a shot with birds flying in the air, signifying liberation,
and letting go of burdens, which is further signified byby "Then I’m gone". Flying spirits also can represent free spirits, which then links back to the tile
of the song "Heaven", and its religious imagery. Also the stone
figures of Christ and Mary
in the video add even more religious imagery in the video.


The music video starts off with the artist shouting out "Oh Heaven, Oh Heaven" which sounds like a plea, as she isis trying to contact
God and ask for forgiveness and/or strength, as difficult situations bring out the worst in some people. This could be a reference to poverty, as individuals maymay do acts that are seen as 'bad' by religion. Also, there is
elements of religion, throughout this music video as there
are lots of crosses seen in the video, representing the Christian faith, which he may also adhere to. In addition,
there is lots of art depicting religion, such as the tattoo on the individuals, which shows them with wings, highlighting religious imagery,
as well as this there is a women standing in front of angels wigs, which
seem to be graffiti on the wall. Another reference to God is the consistent use of natural bright
lighting connotes Heaven, which can be further depicted
as the people in the music video are always seen looking at the sky in awe.

This music video is very diverse, using an array of different people, who are both the main focus and also the background characters.
There is multiple ethnicity's represented.Shot types such as close-up are also prominent in the video, as they focus on the faces on each person in the video, highlighting their facial features. In the close up, there is also use of direct address,
which clearly shows the sadness and hopelessness in some individuals.


This music video is also very different toto music videos that are released these days. In current
music videos, women are normally sexualised, while men are portrayed
as dominant. However, there is an element of this,
but could be deceiving, as at the start of the video,
there is a woman walking down a flight of stairs, from a high angle, making her look
vulnerable and inferior. But on the other
hand, Emeli Sande is portrayed as inferior, as shots on her are mostly
from low angles, looking up at her, which makes her look inferior,
Also she gives direct address,
which makes her look increasingly dominant. This is a contrast
to the feminist theory, as females are
seen as dominant in this video.

To conclude, this music video is a great representation of life in multicultural areas and highlights faith throughout the music video, to show that there is always someone to go to when times are tough.