Concrete Angel by Martina McBride - Music Video Analysis

Concrete Angle by Martina McBride, is a country ballad that tells the story of a little girl who is abused at home, which is depicted in the music video, directed by Deaton Flanigen. The video was made to encourage people to report any suspicions they have of child abuse. In country songs, there are often a lot of outdoor shots in the music videos which is also see in this video and as a ballad the cuts are quite slow rather than fast paced. There is a sense of voyeurism in this video, as we watch what happens ‘behind closed doors’ and we see what happens in the private of a child abuse victim’s home.

The video is about a little girl (Angela) who is suffering abuse from her mother at home. When she is at school people notice but no one says anything and she sits on her own in the playground, isolated. Then an boy her age (who is later revealed to be an angel) sits with her and talks to her making her laugh. When she gets home that night she puts her head out the window and talks to him from the house next to hers which is dark, suggesting that no one actually lives there. Her mother sees her doing this and grabs her by her arms, shaking her violently and then pulls her to a side so all we can see is a shadow as she beats her up. The boy still looks out of his window silently crying. An ambulance then shows up and the police corner off the house. The boy is standing outside the police tape watching as the paramedics are sent into the house. At Angela’s funeral there are very few people there including the boy. He walks through the adults and joins the angel of Angela. They then both run to a group of other angel children who supposedly also died of abuse.

The use of shadow throughout all the narrative scenes emphasises the dark and depressive nature of the song’s subject, while the well-lit scenes of McBride singing (supposedly close to the grave of Angela) suggests a freedom for Angela in her death, and that she is better off as a ghost with the other victims of child abuse than alive and living with her mother. The music video is also set during autumn as can be seen from the fallen leaves in the background of all the outdoor shots, symbolising the end of life but also beauty, like Angela who is young and beautiful but has no control over when she dies.

McBride is dressed in a long dark velvet dress with long sleeves which drop at the wrist, reminiscent of the cloak of the ‘grim reaper’ (the personification of death). However, all the scenes she is in are well lit in natural light which suggests that death will bring Angela help and hope. There are many high angle shots of McBride as she lip syncs, making her personification of death appear less threatening and more caring.

The lyrics of the song directly match the video as they narrate what we are watching. Therefore, the narrative nature of the video is illustrating the lyrics of the song. The opening lyrics are ‘she walks to school with the lunch she packed’ and the video opens with a shot of Angela’s mother smoking in her room as the camera moves left into the kitchen, showing Angela opening the front door followed by a match-on-action shot as she walks through the door with her school books and paper bag with her lunch in it.

In the second half of the verse the lyrics are ‘the teacher wonders but she doesn’t ask’. A close up shot shows Angela in her classroom with dark bruises on her arm as the teacher walks past her desk. The teacher looks slows down as she sees Angela’s arm but continues to walk past without saying anything.

Although there is a clear beat to the song, the video does not cut to it. As a ballad the song is slow paced and most shots are longer than they would be in an upbeat song, with short fades in between cuts.

As the video and song are both narrative, actors are used to play out the story being told in the lyrics. Martina McBride serves merely as a narrator and so does not appear in any parts of the story. However, as the record company are looking to promote her as an artist she does appear in the video in isolated shots of her singing in a graveyard during autumn. It is very unlike any of her previous videos as has a much deeper meaning and darker tone to it.

From the third-person narrative provided by McBride we are given an insight into Angela’s life and we are able to see what the other characters like the school teacher cannot. We are able to see what happens ‘behind closed doors’ as we see the shadow of Angela’s mother beating her up after she was talking to her angel friend.

This video tells a story through the singer’s narrative, in a highly emotional style, to raise awareness of child abuse. The original music video ends with the number to call if you suspect child abuse, emphasising the theme and intent of the video.