Pop-Music Video Analysis Of Waiting For Superman By Daughtry

“Waiting for Superman” is a song by the band Daughtry. The lyrics tell a story about a girl waiting for the right guy, or ‘superman.’ But while the song lyrics seem focused on the girl, a damsel in distress; the music video accompanying it focuses on telling the story of a man—the story’s superman. The story this video tells is heavily influenced by the pop-culture definition of a superhero, developing a comic-book-esque origin story for this song’s main characters. This underlying theme of comic books and superheroes is conveyed not only in the story told, but also in the portrayal of the characters, the emotion expressed by the setting and lighting, and lyrics of the song. This music video is in narrative form. As the soft opening notes …show more content…
The scruffy guy is simply walking down a sidewalk, nothing more than another pedestrian. But, suddenly he darts across the road, shoving the frustrated woman out of the way of an oncoming bicycle. She immediately turns around and angrily yells at him, not even acknowledging the fact that he saved her. But instead of yelling back at her or trying to defend himself, Superman just sighs and walks away. Down the street, the anxious lady gets her purse stolen. Superman notices her distress and darts after the thief, tackling him to the sidewalk. The police show up, and thinking Superman is in league with the thief, nearly arrest him. At the last moment, the purse lady is able to vouch for his innocence. The police release Superman and shove him roughly down the street without so much as a thank you. Superman walks off dejectedly. Another montage of the city occurs, including shots of the teenager still getting teased by a group of bullies and a crowd gathering below a …show more content…
Nearly every superhero story takes place in a city-like environment, whether it’s a real city, like New York, or fictional one, like Gotham. Scenes featuring abandoned buildings, bustling sidewalks, bird’s eye views, and darkened alleyways all work together to capture the essence of this city, and intentional placement of these scenes work to convey different moods. For instance, the teenager is being bullied in a dark alleyway, which gives the feeling of being alone and out of sight. Lighting also plays a key role in setting the mood for this music video. There is a slight brownish-yellow hue overlaying the entire video, giving it a vintage vibe. (And yes, it is another nod towards vintage comic books). In the opening scenes, the sun is rising over the city. This provides a feeling of hope and happiness, much like Superman was feeling when his day started off. As the song goes on, the city gradually grows darker as the sun moves across the sky and behind clouds, corresponding with Superman’s growing discouragement. As the day comes to a close and the sun begins to set, it finally bursts through the clouds as he rescues the teenager from the bullies, signifying his renewed