Africa Shox

'Africa Shox' by Left Field

The first thing we notice is the bands name, Left Field, this instantly connotes to their political position and the idea that they are part of the left wing parties. The video shows that the band believe racism and inequalities are far too prominent in the US and that New York is in  fact the opposite of the Utopia  it is usually portrayed as.

The opening shots show many large metallic buildings, this represents the depression and the idea of New York being an un-natural environment that is hard to survive in. The buildings also create the sense of being oppressed, the strict grey colours link directly to the idea of New York being a Dystopia.

From the beginning of the video we see the genre (Electronica) shining through, in the first shots we see a police car with its sirens blazing, this could represent the strobe lighting effect used in most clubs and connotes again to the culture behind the music.

The main character is a homeless black man who is isolated from everybody within society, the confusion on his face and the stiff gestures of his body language show that he is new to the environment and that he is suppressed more than the other members of this society. The atmosphere created seems like hell and throughout the video the further he walks to more he begins to die, being literally shattered by society.

The use of a black actor relates to the slave trade and the poem 'Limbo' which references the Slaves being packed on top of each other in small gaps when boarding the slave ships. The word limbo also relates to being between Heaven and Hell and once again relates to the political spectrum with the idea of one political route being Heaven whilst the other is Hell.

As the video progresses the main character steeps even lower within society, we see this when the main characters arm is broken off by a random pedestrian. This connotes two things, firstly the idea that the chains of slavery were removed but that the black community is still treated with the same lack of respect. The second being the idea of his soul being broken by the white community in New York and that anything which goes against the Norms of the city should be removed.

Near the end of the video (once the main character has had most of his limbs broken off) we see an underground car-park with three white middle aged men break dancing. This shows that LeftField is aimed at a small proportion of the population and that the audience for the video is a small sophisticated niche group.

The idea that the black man shatters throughout the video relates to the idea that black culture is falling apart and the idea that the black man trips and shatters into hundreds of pieces connotes to the idea that the suppression on the black community is increasing throughout new york.