Friday, May 25, 2012

What's really going on in the "Call Me Maybe" video?

WARNING: You don't actually have to listen to this video. Turn the sound off if you don't want this song in your head. The refrain of this song is puzzling:
Hey I just met you/ And this is crazy/ But here's my number
Why would a woman in a modern Western country give her number to a stranger? Why not give him an email address, just to play it safe? Some might think that she's acting on impulse. But giving your home number away to someone with a poetry tattoo is like sticking your face into spinning lawnmower blades: no matter how lonely and desperate you are, it's not something that you should even be tempted to do. My hypothesis is that Miss Jepsen is being held captive in this video, and her captors have denied her Internet access. All she has is a phone that has the "9" and the "1" buttons removed.

 At the start of the video, we see her gazing at the man mowing grass next door. She's fascinated because it's the first new face she's seen in months. Why is she so eager to give her number away to a man who lives next door? Can't she go over and talk to him when ever she wants? Judging by her pale complexion, she rarely goes outside.

 When we see what happens at 1:05, we begin to learn more about her situation. Her captors force her to wash a car against her will. She doesn't run away or seek help: a classic sign of Stockholm Syndrome. Instead she washes the car as ordered. But she cries for help in the only way she knows how, by attempting to seduce the tattooed neighbor. She quickly loses consciousness due to a combination of exertion and malnutrition.

 At 3:01, the tattoo guy approaches Carly's captors. He's smiling because he knows exactly what's going on. He gives the guy in the hat his number. The hat guy has a look of despair because the number contains a "1". In case any of you have any doubt, answer me this: If Carly is a person who is free to make her own choices, then why is she wearing those ugly brown wedges?

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