Brambila, Henry, Padilla, Rossiter 1

Oscar Brambila, Angel Henry

Antonio Padilla, Samantha Rossiter
John Kubler
English 114B
5 May 2014
Same Love
As a group we decided to go with the song Same Love by Macklemore. The opening scene
would take place inside of Frankie Jonassmain character bedroom as the lyrics say, When I was in the
third grade I thought that I was gay, 'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight.
During this scene Frankie would be lying on his bed watching videos on his computer about how Gay
individuals are highly criticized over the Internet. He begins to question his own beliefs and decides he
doesnt want to be Gay since from what hes seen online it is considered wrong. This scene demonstrates
the negative impact Internet has on dating. At first Frankie believed he liked boys then shortly after
viewing a few videos of how the media portrays them he completely alters his perspective.
The second scene would also take place in Frankies bedroom as the lyrics go, I told my mom,
tears rushing down my face. She's like "Ben you've loved girls since before pre-k, trippin'. Yeah, I guess
she had a point, didn't she? Except this time his mom, Joan Cusack, walks in and he explains to her how
hes been feeling a little over attached to males. Shocked by his response she tells Frankie that it cant be
true because ever since he was a little boy hes liked girls. Leaving Frankie a bit confused. This scene
demonstrates the masculinity issues for as males we are supposed to like females, therefore anything
other than that falls short of the norm. His mom, stunned from what he told her, even tried to convince him
that he couldnt like boys by trying to make him remember past occurrences with girls.
The next setting of the video would take part in a courtroom as the lyrics read, Man-made
rewiring of a predisposition. Playing God, aw nah here we go. America the brave still fears what we don't
know. And "God loves all his children" is somehow forgotten, but we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-
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hundred years ago. During this scene Frankie is staring into a courtroom, as a ghost figure. At this time the
court fails to pass proposition 8, which if passed would have given Gay individuals, whether male or
female, equal rights in marriage. Towards the end of the scene we see Frankies image fade away, however
he is now a few years older hence Macklemore is playing his role. This scene illustrates the obscenity
issues Gay individuals face on a daily basis. Given that we are from a country of freedom and equality,
issues regarding sexuality should have easily been dealt with however that is not the case and Gay
individuals suffer greatly because of this.
Following the previous scene we would introduce a new feminist character played by Ariana
Grande. She would be outside of the courtroom while the chorus, And I can't change, even if I tried even if
I wanted to. And I can't change even if I tried even if I wanted to. is being played. Ariana was just about
ready to propose to her long-term girlfriend, but with the setback given by the court she now feels hopeless.
This scene depicts the identity issues and challenges individuals with the different sexualities have to
endure. To this point in the film gay individuals still arent given equal rights.
Next scene takes place as the song goes; It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion.
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment. The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit
ins. It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference! Live on and be yourself. A group of
individuals have heard the decision made by the court over the news and have gathered to form a mob
outside of the courthouse, carrying picket signs and painted across their t-shirts with foul language. This
scene displays two topics; the media impact on society and language usage. If it wasnt for the news
advertising the rejection of the proposition no one would have known about it and consequently the mob
wouldnt have never formed. As a result, we turn back to Ariana Grande when the chorus comes on once
again. Throughout this scene Ariana Grande would be in her home excessively drinking her sorrows away,
which brings about the issues with consumption.
Eventually, years pass and the social media feeds are going crazy. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all
advertising the courts decision of the approval of proposition 8. During this scene the song states,
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Progress, march on. With the veil over our eyes. We turn our back on the cause. Til the day that my
uncles can be united by law. Which we would use to illustrate the impact social media has on the world. It
has converted a decision made in single courtroom into a viral celebration. The last and final scene would
commence as the lyrics say, We have to change us. Whatever God you believe in we come from the same
one. Strip away the fear; underneath it's all the same love. About time that we raised up. During this scene,
Macklemore is on the computer, in his new urban house, on a social media website. This website
shows that Prop 8 has passed and everyone is very excited. And he now lives in a new urban
apartment in a new world.
After the writer and director chose the topics they was going to cover the art director had to
now choose the scenery. Choosing the scenery and the setting was only difficult when it came to
actually trying to fit the tone of the song with all these topics about social injustices and trying to
combine everything into something that made sense. We decided as a group to take the lyrics
literally and try to add things to meet the requirements of having 10 topics that reflected on our
song. We tried to make the story of a little boy growing up in a world where there are so many
problems, how we introduce the topics of male identity issues, media impacts, etc. Since the
rhythm of the song is very calm, the settings arent too busy and dont have too much going on
because we tried focusing on getting the story in line with the topics and it wouldnt be so
awkward by having ideas on sexual orientation then obscenity issues without connecting them in
some way. The first scene was a boy thinking of whether he was gay or not in his room. At this
time we decided to take the lyric literal because the song itself says, When I was in the third
grade I thought that I was gay,/Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight.
This is where we got the idea of having the boy in his room confused about himself thinking about
whether hes gay or not when a kid shouldnt be thinking of that at all. Directly after that, the next
scene was the mother explaining to her son that he isnt gay, this scene was also directly taken
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from the lyrics, where Maklemore says, I told my mom, tears rushing down my face /Shes like
"Ben you've loved girls since before pre-k, trippin. About the first minute the video is at home
with his mother.
The next scenes were more difficult because we had to take artistic liberties with the song
and how we perceived it, this is where we added the topic that werent directly addressed by the
songs lyrics themselves. When the next scene comes up it starts in a courtroom with them not
passing prop 8 and having Frankie fade into Maklemore and hes in the background singing. This is
where we speak of the rights of gays, lesbians, etc. this was taken from our ideas and from the
lyrics because the lyrics say, a culture founded by oppression. The United States culture of
having a courtroom to decide certain laws and the homosexuals are being oppressed. Right after
the courtroom scene, the camera will go to the outside of the courthouse with people protesting
against and for gay rights. Because the song is about sexuality, we didnt have to venture out into
something completely out of the song to find a way to connect the song and topics. So we were
able to talk of obscenity issues and what is socially acceptable.
We made sure the song wouldnt be based around just one character. Mainly to show that a
lot of people suffer from these types of situations not just males and their identity issues but also
with transgender issues. This is where Ariana Grande is having problems because she believes
shes supposed to be born a women and is having issues with people accepting that. Since the law
didnt pass and she still cant marry her long-term girlfriend she goes home and drinks her sorrows
away. At this point shes in her house with all the lights off and very drunk. By having a darkened
background it gives the audience a feeling of sadness and its a very serious moment in the song.
She is now thinking about what is going to happen in her life and is it going to ever change. After
that, scenes of churches will appear because Maklemore speaks of how the churches basically
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brain wash people into thinking against gays and what not. The lyrics talk about how Maklemore
went to church as a kid and thats where I pulled that scene from.
Towards the end, we decided to end the song on a happier note and have a happy ending. The
song lyrics say, 'Til the day that my uncles can be united by law/ When kids are walking 'round
the hallway plagued by pain in their heart/ A world so hateful some would rather die than be who
they are this is where we got the idea to end it happy and the way I chose the scenery to try to end
it well. Next, the scene is going to go onto Maklemore and its in the future and hes on the
computer, in his new urban house, on a social media website. This website shows groups of people
protesting for gay rights outside the same courthouse from before and having a gay marriage law
passed so that same-sex couples can marry. And he now lives in a new urban apartment in a new
urban city and they are now living in a new world.
Next the art director had to pick what each actor was going to look like and wear. The
outfits were based on the fact that our group wanted to keep a gender neutral vibe to the entirety of
the video. In the first scene, we see a young Macklemore sitting in his room on his computer being
influenced by social medias view of homosexuality; he is a young boy living in a non-progressive
society. He is dressed in a casual t-shirt, blue jeans and is sporting a flat top. This is the normal
attire for a young boy of his age. In our next scene we scene young Macklemores (Jonas) mother
(Cusack) who is scolding him for even believing he could be gay. In this scene, she is wearing a
very plain white blouse, mustard colored mom jeans and is sporting a middle class attire. Her
outfit is not bougie and displays her very plain and boring lifestyle. She is not wearing much
makeup, and could be considered frumpy by audiences. Her style is based around a middle-class
budget and is very plain. Young Macklemore is wearing the same outfit as he was in the first
scene, because we set this in a period of the same day.
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Our next scene takes place in a court room where the jury and judge have decided that they
will not pass Prop 8. In this scene the judge, a man, is wearing general judge attire; a plain black
cloak of sorts, nothing out of the ordinary. He does not have glasses or a mustache, just a clean
shaven, stern face. Along with the judge we see those who are hoping that Prop 8 passes in the
audience of the court room. Each person sitting in the benches is wearing a marriage equality t-
shirt and jeans. I specifically chose each member to be wearing the exact same thing, for the
reason that everyone is equal. I did not want to dress the gay men in effeminate clothing and the
gay women in manly clothing because those represent negative stereotypes. I wanted everyone in
the court room to be equal, which is the point we are trying to get across in the music video. Along
with the judge and audience members, we see young Macklemore in his t-shirt and jeans, he
slowly but steadily fades out of focus and a now matured and a older Macklemore appears. He is
wearing a marriage equality t-shirt underneath a leather jacket (somewhat of Macklemores
signature look) and jeans, like the rest of the crowd. By him wearing this as well, we see that
although Macklemore is not a homosexual, he is just the same as them; the only difference is their
unequal rights.
In the fourth scene the audience members in the last scene are seen leaving the court room
in tears only to be greeted by protestors. These protestors, unlike those who are for marriage
equality, are wearing very hurtful and discriminatory shirts. The shirts say things like God hates
fags and marriage equality signs with a big red slash through it. They are promoting the opposing
side of the marriage equality movement. Each person is carrying signs that show their distaste for
this movement. So we see the opposed versus the unopposed. We see the very big separation
between forces as those from the courtroom scene disperse. One individual in particular emerges
from the crowd a bit more distraught than the rest. This happens to be our next character, Ariana
Grande, who is just learning that the ability for homosexuals to get married has been denied.
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Although physically she does not look like a male, she has blossomed from one. I wanted to make
sure we did not make a stereotypical transgender move and pick a man and dress him in female
clothing. I wanted to make sure we chose a female to play the transgender because those who
transition do not always have a look. Many people feel that if you transition from a male to
female, you will look manlier, and that is not always the case. I wanted to represent the
transgender community in a good light. In the last scene Ariana Grande is seen in her marriage
equality shirt and jeans, but in the next scene we see her very emotional and drinking her sorrow
away with a lot of alcohol. In this scene she is wearing all black and has makeup running down her
face. Her somewhat put together demeanor in the last scene has vanished and she is now
distraught beyond repair. You can see that she has self-harmed herself and it is implied that she is
an alcoholic by the amount of alcohol she is drinking. In our next scene there is a significant
change in atmosphere, there is a New Urbanism feel to society. The houses have change and so
have the people, we see Macklemore and although he physically looks the same, the people around
him have changed. Hes on the computer and he sees that the law has passed the same sex
marriage. Everyone is more accepting of the lifestyle that was so harshly judged in the past.
Everyone has equal opportunity.
We wanted there to be a sense of equality straight off the board in this video project. In the
beginning, Macklemore sees the segregation and discrimination towards homosexuals, and how
they are portrayed as different and bad. Although, throughout the entirety of the video, it is clear
that they are all the same, hence why we dressed them all identical. It was the mindset of the
people around them that made them feel as if they were unequal. In the end, there is a satisfying
sense of equal opportunity and equality throughout the scene. People have realized that we are all
the same, our differences are our strong-points and everyone should have equal rights. Overall, we
chose to do this song because of its strong message and how it is relatable to many of the points
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we came across in our class this semester. Same Love by Macklemore expresses marriage
inequality issues, social issues, internet issues, consumption issues and it expresses a need for a
new urban society. A place where we can all be looked at and treated as equals. We believed the
change in the setting for this song showed progression in our society and that is what the song is
asking for. A plea for marriage, societal, and human equality. While society was changing,
everyones state of mind was too, and the openness and acceptability of this new culture set in and
really took effect in the last two scenes.