Genre Specific Analysis: Hozier

Take Me To Church

In this shot we see a man trying to lock a box up with something that is most likely precious to him and that he doesn't want someone to find. In relation to the theme of the video of homosexuality, I think it's based on him locking his feelings away as he feels like he can't show them to people out of fear. In addition in this part of the video, he is rushing which again shows fear. This combined with the close-up shot emphasizes how important the box is to this man. 

The same man in this long shot is digging to further hide this box as he is desperate to hide it away. This makes the viewer curious at this point as they want to know why he is hiding it away and what reason is there for him to want to do this now. Also, the use of black and white for the entire video represents that it's a dark story and there is both a light side to it and a dark side. Also, at this point, it is clear that this video follows a clear narrative.

In this shot, the dark hooded man represents the dark side and how he is the villain, the hood also makes him mysterious as we don't quite know why he's there and why he is spying on these men. As he is dressed in black it shows that he has bad intentions and gives the viewer an idea of whats going to happen later on in the video.

The birds in this low angle long shot represent freedom as birds are free to go wherever they want to go. They are free to fly away from their problems. This may link to how the homosexual characters are feeling as they feel like that have to hide themselves away for fear that they might be disowned or hurt by others who don't accept them.


In this shot, you see him behind bars and the man looks as if he knows that the relationship he is in will end. Also, the bars represent that he is trapped in a situation where he can't feel like he can escape and be happy. When he looks down it makes him look like he is unhappy and looking down on the situation he is in.


In the shot, you can see them smoking which represents how dangerous the relationship is and almost makes the video darker. The close-up shot emphasises his life is getting worse as he is now smoking which we all now is destructive. This implies that this man has problems and that he is trying to get rid of them by smoking so as a viewer now we definitely know something is wrong.


This shows him running toward the light or the hope as he tries to escape the situation he is in. This is the other man, the one with less hair (not the protagonist) which makes the viewer think that he knows something the other doesn't. It represents that he is running away from his problems while the other is trying to hide them as they don't want to get hurt.


In this, the theme of destruction is starting to appear in the video shown on tv, as there are people raging about their rights. Homosexuality has been a high topic for protests as some still do not accept people who are homosexual. The riots link to the fight that's going on in the video. This makes the video very topical as it's being discussed today, this video is to raise awareness of what homosexuals have to go through.


Here we see the man running up a hill, this represents that what he is having to go through is an uphill battle. Also, this implies that he is running away from his home and his problems as you can see his home town in the background. This also makes him look isolated as he is alone and separate from the town behind him.

In this shot, we see one of the men being dragged off and we see the man in distress. In the song the man sings 'when the ritual begins', this paired with this image of him being dragged of implies that he is going to be made a sacrifice/ an example. The fact the man is distressed pairs well with the deep lyrics. Also, his jacket is turning a darker colour, it was originally white but now it dark grey. This shows that he is becoming more like the guys with the black coats out of fear. He is changing to become like them, to be accepted.

In this, we see a flare, which is about the people against the gay relationship, making a statement. The light represents how the people are burning the hope for this man away, the light could also represent his life and how they hold it in their hands. The artist at this point sings 'take me to church'. This illustrates the churches views against gay people and how their views can be similar to the horrible people abusing this man and dragging him on the floor as he is homosexual.

In this shot, we see the man next to the fire again hinting at the ritual aspect mentioned in the song earlier. This is dramatic as we see his lover just in front of the camera realising the situation he is in. The fact that he has stopped running shows how he has stopped to face his problems now instead of running away. This is filmed in a style called film noir which I think is to appeal to the serious aspect to the video as it's to tell a story about what some people have to go through, it also makes it intense, dramatic and dark.

This video tells a narrative in a thriller-ish sort of style that I want to go with, with my music video. I like how deep the lyrics are and how the video gets a message out. I feel like the lack of color in the video links to gay pride as gay pride is a thing to celebrate homosexuals and let them be themselves, but this video is so far from that and considering that gay pride uses all the rainbow colours this video shows none as it shows that a life with out anyone different is a life without colour.