Unveiling the Deceptive Realities in Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” Video

1. A Close Analysis of: By Yeon Kim

2. On a mere surface level, Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” music video directed by Chris Marrs Piliero, appears asa story of a young heroine in a foreign planet who destroys all the bad aliens and whose adventure culminates in a spaceship party where all the freed people dance and celebrate. Upon close reading the visual images and lyrics, however, there is more meaning beyond the surface level of the video; it is a story about a person breaking out of a deceptive relationship with an ex-lover; it is a story about a celebrity who is exhausted from keeping up a public image and fabricated life; it is a story about someone who wants to be herself and not live a life full of hypocrisy and lies.

3. “What You’re About to See Is Scientifically Authentic” The video opens with a text scroll reminiscent of Star Wars with old, campy Sci-fi B-movie music playing in the background. Analysis: Both the content of text scroll and the alluded genre, contrary to the opening discretion that the video is “scientifically authentic,” suggest that what we are about to see is fictional, a fabricated world that is “one step ahead of present day reality,” “inconceivable,” and “fantastically fantastical.” The Sci-Fi genre evocative of the 60s and 70s underscores this idea that the video is going to be about something that is far from reality. But what kind of reality is going to be fabricated here?

4. Alternating between two scenes… After the opening scrolls and the title, we first see Ariana emerging from a door, presumably that of a spaceship, who then takes off a badge attached to her hips. She then crushes the badge with her feet. Throughout the movie, there is an alternation between two scenes: one where a plot is taking place (Ariana destroying aliens and freeing people) and the other where she is singing alone in a spaceship resembling one from Stanley Kubrick’s legendary Sci-Fi 2001: A Space Odyssey. Analysis: We are constantly reminded that this is a fictional story, a celebrity singer performing a character (or narrating a story).

5. The destroyed badge bears the shape of a logo that the evil aliens are wearing on their clothes. It is repeatedly shown and stands as something that Ariana must destroy and “break free” of, whether it be a relationship, pretension, a broken heart, lies, etc.

6. More literal visual representations of “breaking free” takes place:In a spaceship (that does not seem like the one where she is “narrating” in), Ariana starts disrobing her astronaut-like outfit, revealing a superstar short shiny superstar dress underneath. Meanwhile in the foreign planet, she is destroying bad aliens and freeing people caged in bars. These scenes take place as she sings “I only want to die alive” and “I don’t want to hear you lie tonight, now that I’ve become who I really are.”Analysis:As someone of great fame, “I want to die alive” can mean that’s she wants to be remembered and loved by the public. However, her celebrity status renders her vulnerable to scrutiny by the media and the public (there is a scene where she is surrounded by aliens). There is great pressure to uphold a public image that is different from her actual self. But shewants to be die “alive” not as a phantomof someone who she isn’t; she wants to die as herself, unmasked, with no pretensions. We see Ariana disrobing her outfit, to peel off a shell, to reveal her true self.

7. In the climax of Ariana’s adventure, she is captured and chained to rocks by an evil master villain, who is bald with a long white beard. This can be a play on conventions of popular adventure films of the 90s like Indiana Jones. Ariana breaks free from the chain with superhuman strength and throws the villain into a well of burning fire. Analysis:This is a final act of Arianabreaking free of pretensions and falsities. Contrary to conventions of adventure films where a damsel in distress needs a strong male companion to rescue her, Ariana unchains herself with her own physical strength. This can be seen as satirical,as she frees herself from something beyond her powerand control. Becoming moreempowered and in charge of her identity (the society and genre doesn’t dictate her role and image anymore) both private and public.

8. As Ariana is transported from the planet to a spaceship, we see a “liberated” world, resembling a party scene where humans/aliens/alien costumed people are dancing, kissing, and DJ-ing. Yet this scene too, while showing a confident and liberated Ariana Grande, is also a fabrication, as the video culminates with the DJ-turned-pilot inserting the badge, which has represented the enemy force throughout the film, in a navigator system, and Ariana and the grew zooms off to another destination.