#WritingReflection 1

       Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep?” beautifully conveyed a slew of messages, some which were easily received by his listeners, whilst others had taken a few more listens to realize. One of the ideas conveyed by Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep?” tells the solemn story of working through the end of a relationship. Within the first lines of the song, Sam Smith sings out that “I’m done hating myself for feeling. I’m done crying myself awake. I’ve got to leave and start the healing.” These three lines make it known to the listener that it’s time that Smith moved on with life, instead of being held back and hurting himself in the process, something that should not happen in a healthy, happy relationship. In the pre-chorus, Sam Smith asks “What have I become now? Looking through your phone now, oh now, love to you is just a game.” One might instantly conclude that the singer’s lover has been cheating on him and is the cause for the break in the relationship. Finally, in the Chorus’s first line, Sam Smith sings “Baby, how do you sleep when you lie to me? All that shame and all that danger…” It becomes clear that Smith’s lover he’s singing about in the song may not be necessarily cheating, but all the same not telling him everything and acting as if nothing is wrong, causing the singer to hurt more as his love lies to his face and is able to sleep soundly. 

        First and foremost, the effect the setting has from Sam Smiths song is this blankness in the very beginning, where he sits on a chair and there is a white background behind him. In these couple of scenes, it almost looks as if representing the realization that one may have when finding out their significant other has been lying straight to their face and acting as if nothing is amiss. The constant contrast between light and dark showcases how Smith has been “left in the dark” by his significant other and how its tearing him apart. The darkness conveys his pain as he’s made to go through the constant lies of his significant other, knowing now that she’s lying to him, but also trying to figure out why. The dark setting usually focuses mainly on Smith and the group of male dancers behind him. The contrast that happens frequently between the light and dark means the light shows that he knows his lover is lying, and the dark may mean he is suffering through the heartbreak of his lover possibly not trusting him enough to tell him what is being hidden from Smith, good or bad. Since it is putting a strain on Smith, he believes it is time to “heal” and recover from the pain caused intentionally or unintentionally from his lover and himself. 

        In particular, the dancing in Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep?” had very drastic movements, close, coordinated, and flowed easily. The background dancers moved in a way that showcased the overall heartbreak and sadness Smith was going through. Long, dragged out movements were combined with other slow yet quick and precise movements. The dancing is carefully thought out and representative of the somber feeling cast from Smiths’ lyrics. The mind consuming battle with his lover and what they might be hiding from him as well as his internal affairs with how much Smith himself is suffering deep inside. The dancing from the background dancers and even Smith himself all band together to show the emotions evoked from the lyrics. Sorrowful tones, and strong emotions make for a revealing meaning when listeners take a closer look at what exactly Smith is trying to say. The camera angles that constantly zoom in to Smith’s half body and/or face show the extreme emotion on his face, as it is wrenched into a feeling of confusion and betrayal amid the concerns, he has for his lover lying to him. At the time stop in the video 2:22, when paused, it shows all the background dancers including Smith leaning on one another. When inspecting their poses more, it almost looks as if it is representing someone going through the struggle of a heart break. The different poses all look like a person laying down and wondering what could be wrong, be it all at the same time or going through the “motions” as Smith comes to realize his lover is lying to his face. 

 

          Furthermore, it can be said that gender is represented in this video as a little less masculine, and a little more feminine. The way the dancers move when acting out the song is smooth and coordinated and comes across as “deep”. Another aspect to look at is all the background dancers have their shirts off and wear special clothing where it stops a little below their chest. The people all range from different skin colors and the femininity and all have confident facial expressions. In Judith Butlers video, “Gender Performance” she states that “the acting or our roleplaying is crucial to the gender that we are and the gender that we present to the world.” For example, a girl might like doing activities a boy likes, and so the world labels her a “tomboy”. Yet, a boy likes doing activities a girl might like and he may be met with backlash, with outburst calling him a “sissy” or “gay”. Judith Butler backs up this reasoning by saying “I was walking down the street in Berkley when I first arrived several years ago and, a young woman who I think was in high school leaned out of her window and she yelled, “Are you a lesbian?”, and she was looking to harass me or maybe she was just freaked out or she thought I looked like I probably was one or wanted to know…We act as if that being of a man or that being of a woman is actually an internal reality or something that is simply true about us, a fact about us, but actually it’s a phenomenon.” This means that just because people are showcased as a certain way doesn’t mean they might actually be the way others assume they are, by label or by design, it is up to the person to choose who and what they are defined as. 

 

        Lastly, the singers in Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep?” are made to seem like stars the way they all have an equal amount of representation as well as lighting. This meaning no single or multiple singers are left out of camera view, and each dancer has a distinct look and pose to match. The camera not only focuses on Smith, but his array of male dancers behind him, and they are never just fully in the background, but rather engaged and shown in the music video. The dancers all have different hairstyles, body types, and body colors and gives the experience that makes the music video seem more inclusive to different body types and backgrounds. All the singers have different poses, which normally, they would not as background dancers commonly have similar movements meant to match each other and the music. While this is the case, all of them showcase their different poses and movements that perfectly resound towards the music. Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep?” did an amazing job of conveying the heartbreak of a significant other that lied straight to Smiths face and how he tries to heal himself from it, as well as giving equal lighting and inclusiveness to the variety of male dancers supporting him from behind.