A Criticial View of Music Videos

The music video for the song "Sleepless Nights" was released on December. 12, 2008. This song was written by a Canadian Pop punk band named Faber Drive.


Initial Reaction: My first thoughts about this song was that it would about a relationship between a girl and boy with a sour breakup causing them to have restless nights. As I listened to the lyrics and watched the video to the song, i realized that this song was about the challenges a child and a mother face when they have an abusive father and husband. I found this video powerful because it captured the violence and cruelty of the husband and father and the emotional pain the mother and child unwillingly faced.

Analysis and Interpretation: The musical group created this video to show what some families experience in their everyday lives together. Having an abusive father is very difficult for the mother as well as the child. The song is told through the child's eyes. We are taught to stand up for what we think is right. The child hears and watches his mother get violently beaten  by his father but it's very difficult for him to do so because he is afraid. The theme of this video and this song, is to respect women. The father should put himself in her position and realize what he's doing wrong. We see the father yelling at the mother during breakfast because she accidentally gave him spoiled milk. The child just watches his helpless mother because he knows he can't do anything about it.  The message of the song is aligned with Christian values because we are taught to respect one another. "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them"(Matthew 7:12). The golden rule tells us that we should treat other people the way we want to be treated. We should put our self in their position before we think about doing something to them.

Consideration of Cultural Context: Many families encounter being in a abusive relationship. It is very difficult to cope with because the mother and child becomes traumatized by these events. The video shows that it can be stopped. Everyday of your life, you watch you father violently beat your helpless mother because of her small mistakes. You wish to stand up to him one day, but you're afraid. The video shows that there's hope. At the end we see the mother and child leaving the father. There is no need to be afraid anymore. They can start a new life and leave hard-life and fears behind them.

Expression of Aesthetic Judgment: The storyline is very simple. A family is in an abusive relationship. We see the struggle and trauma the mother and child face because of the father. The lyrics state "If I had my way, I'd corner him and say. Put yourself in her position. All she needs is recognition". We see the boy looking through the crack of the door watching his mother get beaten. He says that if only he could have the courage to stand up and protect his mother, he would tell his father to ask himself "what if that was me?". The visuals affect my admiration to the song because the setting and acting was very realistic. They made it as realistic as possible to reinforce the fact that an abusive relationship in a family is a very serious topic that many families face.

Ongoing Reflection: This song has a lot of deep and serious meaning to it. We often forget to put ourselves in other peoples' shoes long enough to realize our selfish decisions that can affect others. This song serves as a reminder to treat people the way we want to be treated. Often we wonder why people treat us badly. We disregard the fact that maybe we treat people the same way. We can look at this song in a different perspective. Abusive relationships within families are traumatizing. The father should respect the mother and vice versa. Respect for others begins with respect for yourself and respect towards in your home. Overall, I think this song was well done and the message was accurately portrayed through the video as well as the lyrics.