Seventeen Going Under - Sam Fender

Question 1

Context - Sam Fender

Answer 1

Sam Fender is an indie/ alternative rock artist from North Shields in the North East of England, an area of social deprivation, where more than 30% of children live in poverty.
His music is both personal and political in content and is inspired by his own experiences growing up in his hometown.

Question 2

Context - Brit Awards

Answer 2

Fender won a Brit Award in 2022 for “Best alternative / Rock Act”, voted by fans, where he also performed Seventeen Going Under at the awards ceremony.
He dedicated the award to the North East Homeless centre.

Question 3

Context - Seventeen Going Under

Answer 3

The track was taken from Fender’s second studio album of the same name, released by Polydor records.
This song is introspective in its focus, looking back at his 17-year-old self and trying to make sense of the chaos of that time.

Question 4

Context - Seventeen Going Under music video

Answer 4

The video was directed by Brock Neal Roberts, with cinematography by Benjamin Wearing.
By January 2022, it had received 5.6 million views.
The music video also went viral on TikTok after its release.
TikTok videos with the hashtag #samfender received more than 258 million views at the time.

Question 5

Visual codes - Seventeen Going Under

Answer 5

The music video is filmed in real locations to create realism, for example, urban street scenes, in the car, domestic situations and on the coast.
Fender’s expression in serious and direct - involves the audience with his thoughts and narrative. Means the audience are able to “really” listen to the lyrics.
Lyrics match the visuals.

Question 6

Visual codes - Seventeen Going Under (clothing)

Answer 6

Clothing - relatable to the younger audience and carries cultural connotations in relation to the dual time frame and the music genre.
Fender is also dressed similarly - suggests that his main focus isn’t drawing attention to himself as an artist.
Suggests that he’s trying to fit in with a large group.
He establishes himself as part of the group and yet distanced from it.

Question 7

Visual codes - Seventeen Going Under (colour palette)

Answer 7

The desaturated, earthy colour palette reinforces the sense of real life. This is juxtaposed with the sunny beach scenes signifying more carefree times and the use of darkness when focusing on the shots of his mother and driving in the car at night echoing the lyrics.

Question 8

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (zoom)

Answer 8

The opening of the music video is a slow
zoom down a long street lined with terraced
houses, typical of a North-East mining town,
drawing the audience towards the artist in the
middle of the street, clearly placed as part of the
environment.

Question 9

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (wide shot)

Answer 9

Wide shot - showcases many people, Fender is in the middle of this large group.
In a group of people, yet Sam Fender is the only one moving / singing - creates a feeling of isolation often felt as a teenager. Suggests that despite dressing the same, he doesn’t feel like he fits in.

Question 10

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (close-up)

Answer 10

Close-up shots - used to reflect the raw emotions of the narrative.

Question 11

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (establishing shot)

Answer 11

Establishing shot - urban setting. Suggests the representation of real-life situations.

Question 12

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (tracking shots)

Answer 12

Tracking shot - suggests that he still feels lost and confused.
Shows that he might not be in control.
Shows he’s constantly reflecting on the situations around him.

Question 13

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (editing)

Answer 13

The editing cuts between the performance of the
artist and naturalistic vignettes which convey the
disparate narrative of Fender’s youth, romance,
friends, conflict, all conveyed through the lyrics ‘fist fights on the beach’ and through the visual signifiers.

Question 14

Technical codes - Seventeen Going Under (montage editing)

Answer 14

Montage editing sequences then convey the
chaos of being 17: dancing at a club, walking
in the dark, hands clasped in friendship, girls
fighting. The cuts become quicker and more
frantic, matching the increased pace of the music
this all signifying desperation.

Question 15

Non-linear narrative - Seventeen Going Under

Answer 15

The narrative is non-linear, moving between
the past and the present, featuring disruptions
and a sort of resolution that reflects Fender’s
dominant message of learning from the mistakes
of the past and understanding the angst of his
17-year-old self. The performance and narrative
scenes re-constructing situations from his youth
are universal and relatable to his target audience,
regardless of where they live or their situations.
The narrative shows Fender’s viewpoint that
you are a product of where you live and what
happens to you in your formative years. As the
video progresses, the artist literally grows larger
than his environment and moves above the
streets of his youth, transcending the past and
ending with a sense of hope.

Question 16

Narrative strands - Seventeen Going Under

Answer 16

The different narrative strands are dominated
by the performance of the artist who acts as the
storyteller, a typical convention of this style
of music videos. The repetitive lyrics of the
chorus reinforce the narrative of his youth, ‘I’m
seventeen going under’.

Question 17

Highly illustrative images - Seventeen Going Under

Answer 17

The images are highly illustrative, often
featuring a literal interpretation of the lyrics, this
adds to the sense that a vivid story is being told
with a clear message

Question 18

Applying Stuart Hall’s representation theory to Seventeen Going Under

Answer 18

His observations of working-class life are a significant element of his music.
The music video deliberately constructs characters and places as stereotypes to exemplify the way in which these social groups and areas of the country are often represented.