Melanie
Martinez is an innovative new artist who found her break in 2012 after taking
part in TV talent show The Voice. In 2014 she released Dollhouse her debut EP
and quickly followed up with a debut album Crybaby. Her music (so far) has
followed an on-going narrative, documenting the life of character Crybaby.
Dollhouse in particular talks about the life of Crybaby both through the lyrics
and the music video which portray the dark side of her family.
The music video opens with a shot of a little
girl sat beside a dollhouse and playing with an individual doll which she then
gently places inside the dollhouse, beginning the song and thus video. Alongside
the image, a ticking sound is used to create suspense and begin the creepy
illusion that the video portrays. The purpose of the shot is to objectify the
doll and set the scene for the remainder of the video. By initially showing
cryaby as an inanimate toy, it characterizes her for the audience as not being
Melanie but ultimately is the initial introduction of crybaby for the rest of
her album. The shot also creates the perception of the audience being outside
of the dollhouse and looking toward it as just a toy – a symbol of innocence –
not being able to see closely what is inside. This idea is linked to the lyrics
“I see things that nobody else sees.” Is this directed at the audience? A
metaphor to represent how the audience doesn’t see the dark side of Melanie’s
life perhaps.
The
next scene shows Crybaby herself, with a close-up of her face, generally used
to show the
used to show the emotion of a character but in this
case was used to show her lack of emotion. She is shown to have a bow in her
hair, a conservative pink dress and freckles on her face all of which conribute
to the child like demeanour and the symbol of innocence. However, the thing
that struck me most about the costume is she is she has half pink, half black
hair, this could be a representation of good vs evil – or even the good side of
her family vs the dark side which is the theme of the song. This shot is
reoccuring and used as a contrast to the darker shots shown in the narrative.
The next series of images are all oxymorons, with
contrasts within the images and all of the shots revelaing one of the family
secrets. The first shot shows the mother dressed formally in a pink suit, with
a full face of makeup and a fascinator however as the camera pans down it
reveals a licquor bottle. Next is the son dressed in a complete tux, looking
smart and fashionably upper class, however the revelation here is he is holding
what appears to be a cannabis plant. The final image of this sequence is Melanie in a different costume
(possibly a different character although that isn’t made clear) with baby doll
legs around her neck and pretending to eat something. The kitchen she is in for
this scene is cute, therefore the oxymoron is that this character which could
be perceived as psychotic does not belong there.
The
next scene is simply a visual representation of the lyrics however is crucial
in portraying the narrative. The lyrics are ‘picture picture smile for the
picture, pose with your brother wont you be a good sister? Everyone thinks that
were perfect, please don’t let them see through the curtains.’ The video
alongside this begins with a close up of Crybaby’s face just as many other
scenes do, however it begins to pan out to show the bigger picture. Her and her
brother remain motionless with her parents rushing about behind them which
connotes that the children do not want to hide the secrets, they are just
puppets in their parents ‘perfect’ façade.
The next sequence of events take a turn, with Crybaby
now stating the secrets she sees both in the narrative and in the lyrics, as
opposed to the previous sequence where the audience must infer for themselves
what is going on. However, swiftly after we hear her say about her ‘mom pulls
out a flask’ and her dad ‘hiding his infidelity’ they begin to leave and she
becomes frantic alongside the lyrics ‘go back to being plastic.’ This connotes
the idea to the audience that she immediately regrets letting out the secrets
and that it is beginning to split up her family. This consequently helps the
audience to empathise with her and put themselves in her shoes. 
The
final scenes switch, with a black screen signifying this change. Crybaby is now
dominant rather than passive and is looking down on a little girl who has been
brought into the dollhouse. Close-ups aswell as long shots portray how the
little girl is lost, confused and scared, and the family minus crybaby begin to
surround and intimidate her and turn her into a doll. I interpret this scene as
being a representation to show the audience how crybaby became the character
she is; she was forced into the life, pressured by her family and changed to be
someone she isn’t. This leaves the question raised earlier on, is Crybaby a
metaphor for Melanie Martinez herself? And is dollhouse a metaphor for how she
was dragged into the industry and changed to be someone she isn’t? Only you can
decide whether you believe that or not.
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