Kategorie: Course material in English
YNW Melly: "Suicidal" (english version) – Excercise sheet
Exercise sheet "Suicidal" for the subjects German, English, Ethics/Religion, Music and Art from 10th Grade, from 15 years.
A young mean sings his heart out in the midst of an existential crisis. Tristan Zammit, who rose to fame with cover and poster-art, translated the song by the American rapper YNW Melly into an associative kaleidoscope of pictures. kinofenster.de has drawn up an exercise sheet on the music clip for classes from 10th Grade up.
a) Listen to the song “Suicidal” by YNW Melly. Summarize in class what the song is about. What images do you associate with the verses and sounds you heard? Exchange your views using the flash light method (Methode: Zum Inhalt: Blitzlicht).
b) Now watch the video clip. What differences and similarities between your images from Exercise a) are especially striking? After that, determine the Zum externen Inhalt: film genre (öffnet im neuen Tab) of the clip directed by Tristan Zammit.
c) Now watch the music video again. Pay attention to how many characters are shown and what effect this has.
d) The refrain goes “Suicidal, your love is suicidal / And lately, I’ve been feeling suicidal”“. To whom is the song addressed? – Who is the lyrical second person?
e) The images in the music video associatively mirror the mental world of the lyrical first person. Some of these pictures refer directly to the verses, others employ a separate imagery. Along with a partner, select at least three images and interpret them. Use the following table on a sheet already containing examples.
| Timecode | Plot | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00:26- 00:00:30 | The protagonist dances alone in the garden with a bottle. | The bottle refers to the verse “Red Lipstick on my Hennessy”. The protagonist can still see the traces of his lover. That means she only left him recently, since they shared the bottle of Cognac. Dancing alone here visualizes the sense of abandonment, while the attempt to dull the pain with alcohol is also imminent. |
| 00:00:52- 00:00:54 | The protagonist’s hand reaches for another hand, which suddenly turns into a Cognac bottle. | The protagonist yearns for intimacy. The outstretched hand symbolizes help, but this suddenly turns into alcohol – the only consolation, apparently, in this situation. That the word “suicidal“ is heard simultaneously opens up another level of interpretation: the protagonist’s substance abuse is also dangerous, even potentially fatal. |
f) Present the results of your work in class. Then, using those results as a basis, compare the atmosphere created by the music clip with the mood engendered by the lyrics.
g) The lyrics of the song are written in the first person, who is not to be equated with the author. However, sadly there are people who really are tormented by suicidal thoughts. How would you react if a friend confided in you that they were thinking about suicide? Discuss in class and compare your strategies with those on the website Zum externen Inhalt: www.irrsinnig-menschlich.de/hilfe/suizid/ (öffnet im neuen Tab).
Optional:
h) One of reason why the video was animated was that YNW Melly is in jail, on Zum externen Inhalt: suspicion of murdering two of his friends (öffnet im neuen Tab). Imagine that your mother or father wanted to forbid you from listening to YNW Melly‘s music because they thought it glorified violence. What would you say? Use the relationship between the lyrical first person and the author as one aspect of your argumentation. Write down bullet points and refer to these when presenting your arguments.