Afrika Shox - Music Video Analysis

Before you even watch the music video "Afrika Shox", the name of the band - Left Field - tells you the political views of the band. "Left Field" tells us that they are likely supporters of left field parties.

The flashing lights of the police car reflect the
electronica/dance genre of the song

The music itself is from the electronica/dance genre and the flashing lights of the city (particularly the police car at the start of the video) compliment this and tell you the genre of the music. This continues all the way through the video, with bright lights from neon signs and breakdancers.

The main character of the music video always looks confused and blind, as if the daylight damages his eyesight. This figure represents the slave trade in America - this man is hidden away in the dark corners of the city and is ignored by the citizens passing him. As he stumbles around the city, everyone ignores him as he represents the slave trade and they are in denial that it exists.The most obvious example of this is when his arm is shattered as he reaches out for help. This shows that other people are rejecting his ask for help and this - literally - shatters him. As he looks at his shattered arm, destraught, alll the witnesses do is look at him and walk on, afraid to help him as they would rather believe he, and the slave trade he represents, do not exist.

The many tilt shots and shots containing shake, edited together quickly with quick cuts in between, emphasize the feeling of confusion and not knowing where you are. The aforementioned bright lighting is also included here to help this. The shots used to show the main character always make him appear vulnerable, and the focus on his vulnerability progressively increases as the video continues and more and more parts of him are shattered. This finally climaxes with the main character laying helplessly on the ground, as someone finally helps and offers his hand to help him up, ironically asking "Do you need a hand?". This has a triple meaning - to help the main character up (he has lost both hands and one foot by this point), to offer help for the desperate, injured, confused man stumbling through the city, and as black humour concerning the fact that he has lost his hands.

Through the music video, the main character's decreasing amount
of limbs reflects the amount of times his request for help is rejected

This music video contains intertextual references to the poem "Limbo" by Edward Kamau Brathwaite. This poem describes the lives of slaves and their game of Limbo on a slave ship transporting them. The poem Limbo, like this music video, describes people who are lost, desperate, and in need of help.

Another part of the music video "Afrika Shox" that references the genre of the music is the breakdancing at the end of the video that I mentioned earlier. This dancing is a reference to the electronica/dance genre of the music as this type of dancing is often thought of when people hear this type of music. This makes you more aware of the music and helps you to remember the song.

There is also a sense of racism in this video. The black main character is ignored by the predominantly white citizens of the city, and they all act superior. The ending of the music video contains some previously mentioned breakdancers, who cause damage to one of the main character's legs - instead of helping him, they reject him and he ends up knocked to the ground.

He is often associated with dark areas as well - your first view of the main character is him emerging from the shadows of a dark, dirty corner of the city. At the end of the music video, he is also seen walking down dark alleys.

The main character is first seen in a dark, dangerous place

The majority of the music video is focused on the main character, who is a lonely, isloated, vulnerable figure who represents the slave trade. This suggests that the slave trade is still present in America - and the fact that the white population of the city rejects him also suggests that they are in denial over the existence of a slave trade in America.