The song Roses is by American hip-hop duo Outkast (members Andre 3000 and Big Boi), though one could say it is more so by the former than the latter as it comes from their 2003 double album each side being a 'solo' album and this song coming from Andre 3000's side. The song doesn't have much meaning or message, it's just a harmless attack on girls who think they are all that and in the song a girl named Caroline represents those girls.
The rather simple story of the video consists of the Caroline from the song as a school-girl who thinks she’s all that and is thrown in the middle of two rival gangs: one gang of aggressive thuggish yobs whose leader (played by member Big Boi) desires her affections, and the other a posse of talented charming good boys (led by the other member Andre 3000) who make fun of the girl in a performance at the school hall. The thugs arrive at the show, and the two gangs get into a fight. The girl Caroline is rescued by a seemingly feminine camp man, and they both walk off.
The video has an intertextual influence to high-school/college set movies as it contains elements which feature heavily in those types of films, including the types of characters, the classic theme of rivalry between groups of lads, angry teacher, and the pun that a lot of the time the actors who play the students are in their mid to late 20's just like Outkast were at the time.
If you pay attention to the camera composition, it actually helps establish the characters. For example, a mixture of long-shots and close-ups of the thugs - showing their cars, gang-name on jackets, street gambling, and I guess aggresive-ish faces - inform the viewer that these lads are of the delinquent type. The same is done to introduce the other gang - which are instead dancing around and smiling - and, in contrast, shows them as much more friendly and approachable than the other guys. Also, a couple of tracking shots and long shots of Caroline and her gang show that they are 'big in the school' i.e. showing others getting out of their way, their dominance over the camera.
The mise-en-scène also helps identify the characters:
Caroline and her group of girls are seen checking themselves in mirrors, wearing pink and red, blowing bubblegum out of their mouths, and striding around like they own the place. These qualities of how the pretty and popular girls would act like are always used in high-school movies and are thus cliché but still quick to inform you of who/how the character is. The thug gang are seen hanging on a street corner, gambling on the street, possessing flashy cars (which they are seen knocking down school signs with), abusing others, and wielding bats. All these factors are stereotypical of your typical ‘hood’ gang.
The other gang are dressed neatly in matching clothing, and the lead singer is wearing sunglasses and has a bandana tied around his hair which gives a kind of cool but charming look. They spend a lot of the video dancing around and smiling, unlike the thugs, and objects they are seen with are innocent ones like flowers and cute decorations for their show. The camp man who rescues Caroline and seems to win her affections is dressed in a somewhat eccentric fashion sense, which is a common way for ‘possibly gay’ characters in films or shows to dress like.
Overall, the video is a parody of the high-school/college movie genre as it mashes together the common features into one big cliché. The visuals match well with the music as some of the characters dance appropiately in time, and the video roughly follows the lyrics too (about the whole Caroline girl).
The whole parody-concept is not unusual for a hip-hop video (I don't think it should be classified as a hip-hop video as there is hardly any actual rapping, but considering the group being recognised as a hip-hop act I guess that's why), as many rappers are keen to portray themselves in humorous/silly/fun ways/circumstances (contrary to popular belief that hip-hop videos all display arrogance and violence, that said there is a fight scene in this video but it's supposed to be taking the mickey).
All in all, there is no deep meaningful message it conveys; it's just a simple and silly.
The song Roses is by American hip-hop duo Outkast (members Andre 3000 and Big Boi), though one could say it is more so by the former than the latter as it comes from their 2003 double album each side being a 'solo' album and this song coming from Andre 3000's side. The song doesn't have much meaning or message, it's just a harmless attack on girls who think they are all that and in the song a girl named Caroline represents those girls.
The rather simple story of the video consists of the Caroline from the song as a school-girl who thinks she’s all that and is thrown in the middle of two rival gangs: one gang of aggressive thuggish yobs whose leader (played by member Big Boi) desires her affections, and the other a posse of talented charming good boys (led by the other member Andre 3000) who make fun of the girl in a performance at the school hall. The thugs arrive at the show, and the two gangs get into a fight. The girl Caroline is rescued by a seemingly feminine camp man, and they both walk off.
The video has an intertextual influence to high-school/college set movies as it contains elements which feature heavily in those types of films, including the types of characters, the classic theme of rivalry between groups of lads, angry teacher, and the pun that a lot of the time the actors who play the students are in their mid to late 20's just like Outkast were at the time.
If you pay attention to the camera composition, it actually helps establish the characters. For example, a mixture of long-shots and close-ups of the thugs - showing their cars, gang-name on jackets, street gambling, and I guess aggresive-ish faces - inform the viewer that these lads are of the delinquent type. The same is done to introduce the other gang - which are instead dancing around and smiling - and, in contrast, shows them as much more friendly and approachable than the other guys. Also, a couple of tracking shots and long shots of Caroline and her gang show that they are 'big in the school' i.e. showing others getting out of their way, their dominance over the camera.
The mise-en-scène also helps identify the characters:
Caroline and her group of girls are seen checking themselves in mirrors, wearing pink and red, blowing bubblegum out of their mouths, and striding around like they own the place. These qualities of how the pretty and popular girls would act like are always used in high-school movies and are thus cliché but still quick to inform you of who/how the character is. The thug gang are seen hanging on a street corner, gambling on the street, possessing flashy cars (which they are seen knocking down school signs with), abusing others, and wielding bats. All these factors are stereotypical of your typical ‘hood’ gang.
The other gang are dressed neatly in matching clothing, and the lead singer is wearing sunglasses and has a bandana tied around his hair which gives a kind of cool but charming look. They spend a lot of the video dancing around and smiling, unlike the thugs, and objects they are seen with are innocent ones like flowers and cute decorations for their show. The camp man who rescues Caroline and seems to win her affections is dressed in a somewhat eccentric fashion sense, which is a common way for ‘possibly gay’ characters in films or shows to dress like.
Overall, the video is a parody of the high-school/college movie genre as it mashes together the common features into one big cliché. The visuals match well with the music as some of the characters dance appropiately in time, and the video roughly follows the lyrics too (about the whole Caroline girl).
The whole parody-concept is not unusual for a hip-hop video (I don't think it should be classified as a hip-hop video as there is hardly any actual rapping, but considering the group being recognised as a hip-hop act I guess that's why), as many rappers are keen to portray themselves in humorous/silly/fun ways/circumstances (contrary to popular belief that hip-hop videos all display arrogance and violence, that said there is a fight scene in this video but it's supposed to be taking the mickey).
All in all, there is no deep meaningful message it conveys; it's just a simple and silly.
The song Roses is by American hip-hop duo Outkast (members Andre 3000 and Big Boi), though one could say it is more so by the former than the latter as it comes from their 2003 double album each side being a 'solo' album and this song coming from Andre 3000's side. The song doesn't have much meaning or message, it's just a harmless attack on girls who think they are all that and in the song a girl named Caroline represents those girls.
The rather simple story of the video consists of the Caroline from the song as a school-girl who thinks she’s all that and is thrown in the middle of two rival gangs: one gang of aggressive thuggish yobs whose leader (played by member Big Boi) desires her affections, and the other a posse of talented charming good boys (led by the other member Andre 3000) who make fun of the girl in a performance at the school hall. The thugs arrive at the show, and the two gangs get into a fight. The girl Caroline is rescued by a seemingly feminine camp man, and they both walk off.
The video has an intertextual influence to high-school/college set movies as it contains elements which feature heavily in those types of films, including the types of characters, the classic theme of rivalry between groups of lads, angry teacher, and the pun that a lot of the time the actors who play the students are in their mid to late 20's just like Outkast were at the time.
If you pay attention to the camera composition, it actually helps establish the characters. For example, a mixture of long-shots and close-ups of the thugs - showing their cars, gang-name on jackets, street gambling, and I guess aggresive-ish faces - inform the viewer that these lads are of the delinquent type. The same is done to introduce the other gang - which are instead dancing around and smiling - and, in contrast, shows them as much more friendly and approachable than the other guys. Also, a couple of tracking shots and long shots of Caroline and her gang show that they are 'big in the school' i.e. showing others getting out of their way, their dominance over the camera.
The mise-en-scène also helps identify the characters:
Caroline and her group of girls are seen checking themselves in mirrors, wearing pink and red, blowing bubblegum out of their mouths, and striding around like they own the place. These qualities of how the pretty and popular girls would act like are always used in high-school movies and are thus cliché but still quick to inform you of who/how the character is. The thug gang are seen hanging on a street corner, gambling on the street, possessing flashy cars (which they are seen knocking down school signs with), abusing others, and wielding bats. All these factors are stereotypical of your typical ‘hood’ gang.
The other gang are dressed neatly in matching clothing, and the lead singer is wearing sunglasses and has a bandana tied around his hair which gives a kind of cool but charming look. They spend a lot of the video dancing around and smiling, unlike the thugs, and objects they are seen with are innocent ones like flowers and cute decorations for their show. The camp man who rescues Caroline and seems to win her affections is dressed in a somewhat eccentric fashion sense, which is a common way for ‘possibly gay’ characters in films or shows to dress like.
Overall, the video is a parody of the high-school/college movie genre as it mashes together the common features into one big cliché. The visuals match well with the music as some of the characters dance appropiately in time, and the video roughly follows the lyrics too (about the whole Caroline girl).
The whole parody-concept is not unusual for a hip-hop video (I don't think it should be classified as a hip-hop video as there is hardly any actual rapping, but considering the group being recognised as a hip-hop act I guess that's why), as many rappers are keen to portray themselves in humorous/silly/fun ways/circumstances (contrary to popular belief that hip-hop videos all display arrogance and violence, that said there is a fight scene in this video but it's supposed to be taking the mickey).
All in all, there is no deep meaningful message it conveys; it's just a simple and silly.
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