Am I missing something? I admit, there are often times that I interpret pop culture a little differently than others, but this new video from Years & Years for Worship featuring Olly Alexander … isn't it just showing a gay male prostitutes encounter with one of his johns?
Out.com says …
The video is a gritty masterpiece that features an interpretive dance solo by Alexander in a parking garage as well as a dance-off with some other hot street boys. Their short shorts and crop tops give the video major hustler vibes, while a menacing man in a car haunts their every move, shining his headlights on their intense performance.
I wouldn't all it a vibe. They're hustlers. I guess you need to decide for yourself.
In an article called "Years & Years' 'Worship' Video Embraces Queer Fearlessness," Fuse.tv gives us the following …
Olly shared his thought process for the video in this statement:
When we get the chance to make a video I start by asking myself a bunch of questions – what should it look like? How can we portray the songs meaning in the video? Is there a “statement” I want to express? What am I trying to say and what if it's misconstrued? I go round and round like this and recently I've been questioning nearly everything, asking myself I'm doing enough, if I'm helping at all and what use, if any, do I have as a singer in a band? Honestly, I don’t know the answers to these questions. I can’t pretend I haven’t felt, at times, profoundly discouraged and disheartened. I feel like I won’t ever be able to do enough. So, reality check, I make pop music. This is a video for a pop song. However, the visibility of queer people feels more important to me now than ever.
I couldn't have been more excited and grateful to work with two artists I massively respect, Matt Lambert and Ryan Heffington. Their super charged magical queer creative energy was a real privilege to be a part of. This video is a collaboration between us and I am very proud of it. I want to stare down fear and intolerance with the queer eyes in my queer face. I want to try to not be afraid. I know I'll make mistakes, but I want to keep going. I've seen the incredible amount of support and love from our fans and I’ve learnt a lot from them. I can only hope that the dialogue continues and we trust each other enough to carry on. To keep making people sit up and think, to start the conversations that tackle identity, gender, gayness, queerness and the inter-sections between them all. I know that I’m not going to be quiet about it. – fuse.tv
So what are your thoughts? Is there "worship" in this video?
Could you make the connection with the words if there is one?
Is this a good example fo Queer Fearlessness as Fuse.TV says?
Or is this Olly's way of making queer people more visible? especially in the sex trade?
I'll stick with my 'gay male prostitutes and a john' interpretation.
h/t: fuse.tv
That’s the interpretation I
That's the interpretation I got too. Olly as a male prostitute and hating every minute of it. Also what is the open mouth gesture mean?