Weekly Blog Post 6

The construction of Maria Mena's video for "Nevermind Me" very well aids to logos from the street set up to their choice of costumes (as conspicuous as you'd think a random monkey/bear and a cow would be). The first element to be addressed is the number of people seen on the streets. It is a happy medium between the roads in a small country town and the bustling sidewalks of New York City. I feel that the director did this because both extremes would de-emphasize the fact that she is supposed to be virtually unnoticed. In a tiny town, she'd be a sore thumb; think old cliché western--Looney Tunes style (Yosemite Sam). On the opposite side of the spectrum, one might think she'd easily be lost in the crowd, so that would be the best way to make her "hidden." However, in my opinion, I think that would make her stand out more. I picture her walking among a sea of suits and ties--a monkey wouldn't exactly fit that stereotype. There's also the potential that it could hide her too much., almost to the point of invisibility, even though that's the author's general feeling. I'll return to my metaphor for love. Although sometimes it feels like your "intended" might bump it to/sit on you and not notice, that's more than likely not the case. You're there, but you're not as significant as he/she is to you. Therefore, the middle ground suits this method of logos utilization much better. Besides, a crowd of that size isn't particularly efficient or accessible for a music video--unless you're the Beatles or something.

More good things to consider are the various--or few--hues used in this video. The streets are very indicative of Europe (at least, I assume that it takes place there, based on the format of the license plates)--although there aren't a ton of bright colors (unless you're in a tourist town), it's still beautiful. The walls and streets are close to the same color: a dull off-white, almost yellow-green. It goes right along with the attire of the people--drab and ordinary, with occasional flourishes of beauty and color. The video climaxes with her bumping into the boy, both realizing that they mutually tend to go unnoticed; they feel an affinity. It ends at a pond, while although seemingly ordinary, much more beautiful and intimate than their original surroundings. It very well indicates the "plot line" that is love, using the logos spectrum of colors.

Weekly Blog Post 5

Of all three appeals, pathos is probably the most present in Maria Mena's video for "Nevermind Me." It's loosely described as playing off the audience's emotions, but I particularly like the definition given on dictionary.com--"the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion."
I'm sure we can all identify with loving (I use that term loosely in this particular context) someone who, more or less, doesn't know we exist. If I met a person who told me that had never happened in his life, I'd call him a liar. As I alluded to in my previous blog entry, this is represented by Maria and the boy in the video by them trying to get the attention of surrounding people in one of the easiest ways possible: by dressing up like an animal. Still, either no one is noticing them, or they're just being flat-out ignored. This is how it is with unrequited love much of the time--there are days when you're sure that he/she feels the same way, and there are days where you're not sure the two of you are even friends. It's both ends of the spectrum emotionally.

If one examines this video even more closely, she'll find that there's also a subtle appeal to logos. Like I just said, they're dressed up in animal costumes. You'd think that would make them a hot button on people's radar screens, but instead they're pushed to the side. This isn't exactly normal, is it? If I saw a giant bear walking down the middle of the street somewhere, I'd probably at least try to figure out what he was distributing/doing there in the first place. However, this is perfect in the context of the video, which appeals to logos by being the opposite of everything you'd expect--something you can also say about love. It's not logical, but it still happens.