Muse are a self-protesting, political band who make statements through their music, and came as a shock to the music industry with their clear and harsh messages about the corrupt government, lying politicians and destroying of the economy. Their 2015 album 'Drones' came as no surprise with its political agenda that matched the rest of the bands discography, featuring songs such as 'Defector' opening with a speech from JFK and talking about the indoctrinating behaviour of government. 'Psycho' is another song on the album, which focuses on men being pressured into the army, with the emotional and physical abuse they receive, and the way their minds are adapted with an overload of toxic masculinity to turn men into emotionless, cold-blooded 'psychopaths.'
The music video to 'Psycho' is interesting as it creates a hybrid between lyric videos and music videos - lyric videos make this especially interesting as these began as a fan-made type of music video and now seem to have been claimed by musicians and creates an entirely new genre of music video.
The video begins with an image of a man with a morning star for a head and camouflaged body holding a baby in his arms. The head gives connotations of violence, and the body colouring shows the uniform in the army that makes everyone the same, and keeps them hidden from side, as though the dark side of being in the army is being hidden as well. He has well-toned arms portraying masculinity, and the child he cradles could show that these men are nothing more than just men who want to be able to simply live and be fathers, but instead go into a heavily repressive system that has them coming out of it feeling cold-blooded. The child is also a representation of 'starting them young' - as though from the moment the child is born and declared a male, the country he lives in will stop at nothing to brainwash him into feeling he needs to serve. The image overall is eerie, and the music hasn't even begun - only white noise plays in the background, and the lack of colour adds to the unsettling tone.
The video then follows with an army sergeant looking the camera head on and giving aggressive 'instructions', using heavy language and shouting as though to make himself clear. The angle where he is looking straight into the audiences face gives a much more intimidating effect and feels direct, like the audience member is being targeted by his aggravation. 'If you do not do what you are told to, when you are told to do it, you will be punished, do you understand?' is the first question he has, in a hostile and combative tone that makes the question feel a lot more threatening than it is, along with a finger being pointed by him directly towards the camera. The response from a man we can only see the mouth of is 'I, sir' which allows us to put our self in the responders place as their is no face to identify him and so we can almost make out that it is us. 'If you leave my base without proper authorization, I will hunt you down, and throw your ass in jail. Do you understand?' is the following line, followed by the same response of 'I sir.' The person responding does so in a forced shout, as though to conceal any fear and make sure he is heard.
As seen above, the video then follows with an army sergeant looking the camera head on and giving aggressive 'instructions', using heavy language and shouting as though to make himself clear. The angle where he is looking straight into the audiences face gives a much more intimidating effect and feels direct, like the audience member is being targeted by his aggravation. 'If you do not do what you are told to, when you are told to do it, you will be punished, do you understand?' is the first question he has, in a hostile and combative tone that makes the question feel a lot more threatening than it is, along with a finger being pointed by him directly towards the camera. The response from a man we can only see the mouth of is 'I, sir' which allows us to put our self in the responders place as there is no face to identify him and so we can almost make out that it is us. 'If you leave my base without proper authorization, I will hunt you down, and throw your ass in jail. Do you understand?' is the following line, followed by the same response of 'I sir.' The person responding does so in a forced shout, as though to conceal any fear and make sure he is heard. The language used by the sergeant is aggressive and he even begins to swear, showing his profession has no impact on the language he uses. It seems to present those in this role as aggressors and a need for power over others. The speech is concluded as he says 'Your ass belongs to me now.' Again, the clear need for power - the feeling of wanting to own someone.
The music then begins, with a heavy bassline that sets a complimentary feel of aggression and impact. The face of the baby held in the mans arms fades into camouflage, again showing men who set out in life to be good, nurturing fathers have this taken away by a mentally forced role in the army, and the child fades into nothing. This also enforces the idea of men being mentally trained into the idea they need to go into the arm to 'become a man' from a young age. This isn't as verbally pressed compared to how it was years ago during the first and second world war when men were expected to go out to fight while their wives stayed at home for the domestic care of the house, but there is still a clear and heavy arrow pointing towards men showing them what they are expected to do, and this may be intimidating - the possibility of being judged by other men and even women, feeling they won't be seen as 'manly enough.'
We then see the band against a background of soldiers walking, weaponry, and scenes of war while they are completely blackened out with only their silhouette visible. The lyrics are very fitting to the visuals we have seen so far - 'Love, it will get you nowhere. You're on your own, stuck in the wild.' Again with the image of the baby in the mans arms - having love will get him nowhere. This reinforces the idea of toxic masculinity that is being presented - having emotions as a man will get you nowhere, and the best thing to do is push it away and replace it with fuel for fighting and anger, and use it to serve your country as a true patriot. The 3 men in the band dancing before this imagery also gives the idea that they can understand this on a more personal level. The fact they are blacked out is similar - anyone watching can put themselves in their shoes and almost replace any 3 of them with themselves. It gives almost a blank canvas to throw yourself on to.
Above, a person is shown throughout the video in quick glimpses covered in paint changing around colours. This shows us in the reflection - we will become whatever those training us want us to be and they have full control and dictatorship of how we are shaped.
The video then continues with the sergeant seen at the start. These continue to flash throughout - some with multiple eyes, looking inhumane, as to say the way they are being treated is also inhumane. Some even possess weapons, and it gives in to an idea of of prey and predator.
There is a line 'You will kill my command and I won't be responsible.' This shows that those in command in the army can order around soldiers and basically make them do as they want, and though the action came at their fault and down to their responsibility, they will not be the person held accountable for it. The colours on the person make them unidentifiable, and shows that they themselves are insignificant. The chorus also has the repeated line of 'Your ass belongs to me now' showing they are literally owned. However, this goes beyond the army, which we know especially based on Muses' political ideologies as band about political correctness and callout.
The army sergeant makes a reappearance but this time only by his voice, which we can now easily identify as if though we the audience have also experienced slight indoctrination. He spews things such as 'You are a psycho killer. Say I'm a psycho killer,' and then a man responding with what he is being told to say. This shows people will basically follow whatever they are told to do with no questions ask and as if though it comes out of a place of fear. The sergeant then shouts 'You are a pussy, I said show me your war face.' He is derogatory and there is no fear placed upon himself - he is free basically to say and do what he wants and this comes from a place of power that he received from serving in the army and receiving this brainwashing behaviour throughout his life himself. There is something unnerving as his eyes shift around in what looks like a still-motion rather than moving naturally, with big dark circles that add a haunting aspect to his face. At this point as well, when his face is shown again, there are splodges of red, as though to show the things he has been through and the things he is willing to put you through.
While this is a music video, the text in the background and the lyrics shown throughout add so much more context and meaning to the video. The lyrics at the very end change from 'I'm gonna make you a fucking psycho' to 'You fucking psycho.' Again, the band acts as a protest and the line is to turn around and put the blame and narrative onto those in control, and make a statement that those beneath them only blindly follow to the only thing they have ever been told and know, and essentially can't argue against, yet when they make a mistake it is their problem and 'there is no one to blame but them self.'
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