Self Destructive Lifestyles and Male Violence - Glimpse of Us, Joji (Music Video)

Directed by Dan Streit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgsWGfUlwJI

Initially, what struck me first were the harsh juxtapositions that dance together within the narratives of this video work. The low resolution video style and handheld capture all wrap up this strong sense of personal and intimate look into a group of men, who live a nomadic but self destructive life; all the while a soft gentle piano and whispery high male voice sing over this compilation of clips. It cements somber ballad with high octane chaos, which makes the video highly more engaging. The video follows these men on escapades that are violent and dangerous, seemingly going round in circles and carrying out this self destructive lifestyle over and over. 

The men all have shaved heads or get their heads shaved almost like an initiation and all wear balaclavas when they are out. This has heavy connotations to skinhead culture and right wing extremism, something that represents these extreme masculine stereotypes specifically within patriarchal society. This further has nods to oppressive structures of patriarchy and the extreme manifestations this can birth within men. These ideologies can result in terror and violence, like what is presented in the video, as these men sink deeper into this cult like state of violence and aggression.  

The video cuts to more emotional moments with a text message to a possible ex-girlfriend or family member and has moments of these men breaking down within the toxic male environment, yet they persevere, carrying on with the shocking life they lead. These moments give some humanity to the thug like behaviour they are portraying and make the people within the video have more complex emotions that are physically internalised when they act out violence. The violence suggests a struggle to control the way they feel, so they use it to have power over their regrets and suppressed emotion.

Furthermore, this can also be found in the lyrics "that's where I find a glimpse of us", with the connotations of "glimpse" feeling like a memory within the context of the song and the video combined. This almost feels like a regret or a longing to be who they used to be before all the madness before they committed to this self destructive lifestyle. It digs into the fear these men have to communicate emotionally and be able to be comfortable within their feelings. Instead, they decide to choose a vicious cycle of violence. It highlights the terror that patriarchal society inflicts upon men and how it affects their ability to communicate. There's a longing need for young men to grow up with more feminist ideologies and ways of thinking, especially on an emotional level and how teaching men how to communicate their feelings, is a way of loving men. That men are less likely to internalise and manifest these emotions into violence if they were able to communicate properly. 

However, I do understand that this video is a very extreme way of looking at masculinity and emotions and doesn't represent all men and how they approach complex feelings. But it does highlight some of the extreme paths men will take as a result of this oppression and how this leads to them enforcing patriarchal oppression on other men.  

I found this video so interesting and it has been a lot of fun to make inferences and analyse its varying thematic threads. It has other themes as well, some of them are: love, relationships, loss and breakups. I felt though personally for me that male violence was a massive theme that ran through the video. The song has been massive in recent pop culture, especially on TikTok with the song going viral and being used all over the app. It's even more interesting to see it confront these themes and ideas especially with the mammoth amount of interaction online. Pushing this extreme version of modern masculinity and the complex emotions that manifest in these lifestyles as a result of patriarchal terrorism on generations of men. It feeds a lot into my current research practice and the things I'm finding interesting and reacting to in the contemporary world.