Last of the American Girls music video

[Maddy.]

Same, I'm usually too busy thinking about how epic the song is. Or not in some cases.

[farley drexel hatcher]

I have this. Sometimes I don't know how you all come up with these interpretations. Do you really sit and think it up like that? I mean, I just listen to it.

A lot of people do, yeah. It doesn't take a lot to think "Wonder what he means by that ..." and have a think about it. It's part of the fun of listening, for people who love lyrics.

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

Oh yes, it sure is fun to think about what things mean, but sometimes it's just too much, too many meanings and possibilities for me to come up with a theory or interpretation that makes sense and covers everything.

I don't really know if that was replying to someone.

[Bastard of 1967]

Sometimes I don't know how you all come up with these interpretations. Do you really sit and think it up like that? I mean, I just listen to it.

Both. Sometimes I sit and listen and just take it in. Sometimes I go digging for details and look for where the songs talk ahead and back to each other. Then I read here, post here, read here some more, adjust my thinking as others share their insights, and on and on. Sometimes I'm just humming one of the songs to myself, hear something differently than I heard it before or some new idea I hadn't thought of yet pops into my head, and it's like a light bulb going off. 21CB in particular is like peeling off the layers of an onion, or (as I think Justcause said in a GDA editorial soon after the album was released) like opening up a Russian matryoshka doll....you wrestle with it for a while, it pops open, and inside it is another doll...and inside is another...and another. And the deeper you go, the more you find.

[gdpony]

I think some of that's hinted at in the video by Gloria nuking the car at the end of the video, and being damn pleased with herself for doing so. There does seem to be a breakaway there from what society (represented by those annoying dancers) is trying to tell her to do since she's toasting the car (in the wonderful words of my two-year-old) "allbyself!" , for the first time in the vid without the dancers either directing her actions or otherwise being in tow with her. On the album, that breakaway would seem to actually occur in H&H, where Gloria just goes ape-shit (if you view H&H from that perspective -- on the surface Christian is the nihlist so wouldn't H&H be his anthem rather than Gloria's? Or is this the end of a plot twist/role reversal between Christian and Gloria from Act I to Act III, with the last three songs of Act II being the climactic turning point where Gloria becomes the destructive force and Christian goes back to her in 21 Guns, trying to rein her back in again?)

Fuck me, I LOVE this album!!

Whichever way you look at the album or the video, there's no doubt that Gloria is a very, very conflicted character and I think that's how Billie intended it. The concept for the Gloria character may have been inspired by Adie, but just like Adie can't possibly be perfect, neither is Gloria. The back-handed compliments in the LOTAG lyrics reinforce this, and the songs that follow -- Murder City, Little Girl, and RHS -- build on it and transform our view of her.

The more I think about it -- and the more I watch the video -- it would seem that Gloria is neither entirely the torchbearer nor entirely the destroyer. Instead, She's a mash-up of both [EDIT: with a (un)healthy dose of "Longview"-esque "talk-a-good-game-but-sit-on-my-ass-and-get-stoned" apathetic, addicted fuckup tossed in], and I think the video gives this good treatment. On that note, I'm upgrading my critique of the video from a B+ to an A-, on the ground that one hallmark of a "good" video IMO is whether it adds something to the song itself -- helps interpret it, helps explain it, or adds some other element that wasn't there (or was less clear) before. To this extent, I think Marc Webb and Billie were both on the same page and very much in tune/in sync with each others' ideas, and it shows.

I totally agree with you!! ... people are just looking at the dancers like dancers .. and not what they represent ..

[Maddy.]

Both. Sometimes I sit and listen and just take it in. Sometimes I go digging for details and look for where the songs talk ahead and back to each other. Then I read here, post here, read here some more, adjust my thinking as others share their insights, and on and on. Sometimes I'm just humming one of the songs to myself, hear something differently than I heard it before or some new idea I hadn't thought of yet pops into my head, and it's like a light bulb going off. 21CB in particular is like peeling off the layers of an onion, or (as I think Justcause said in a GDA editorial soon after the album was released) like opening up a Russian matryoshka doll....you wrestle with it for a while, it pops open, and inside it is another doll...and inside is another...and another. And the deeper you go, the more you find.

Did I mention that I love your posts. I've never really stood still and found all the meanings and stuff and you just seem to go BAM and come up with amazing theories.

[AleKerplunk]

I totally agree with you!! ... people are just looking at the dancers like dancers .. and not what they represent ..

EXACTLY!

[Maddy.]

Tbh, I'm not all that bothered about all the theories around the dancers. They distract me and I find them annoying. No theory is going to make them less annoying.

[Bastard of 1967]

Did I mention that I love your posts. I've never really stood still and found all the meanings and stuff and you just seem to go BAM and come up with amazing theories.

Awwwwww...... Dunno what to say other than that so much of what I've posted here is influenced so much by the posts of everyone else who has contributed to the discussion of the lyrics. I sure don't have all the answers and my take on the album sometimes agrees with what others have said, and sometimes disagrees. Right when I think I have it all figured out someone else takes a thought in a completely different direction or looks at the same thing from a different perspective, and BAM there I go having to rethink it all. I guess that's one big reason why I enjoy hanging out here with y'all so much, and I'm glad I can help make a little sense of some challenging lyrics (or videos)!

[Angie-Marie]

I have this. Sometimes I don't know how you all come up with these interpretations. Do you really sit and think it up like that? I mean, I just listen to it.

I wish I knew how to explain how to do it, but I don't really know how, my mind just kind of works that way. I analyze movies way more than I do music and music videos, but it's kind of like I have to watch something a couple of times in two different mindsets to fully get it. The first time I watch, I just try to take it for what it is on the surface. But after that, I start looking at the details more and my mind just starts making connections like, "OK, so these dancers seem to represent modern society's influence," or, "The way Gloria is watching TV here is really reminding me of the Longview video." Sometimes it's best just to take it as it is, but other times there's a whole lot of great stuff going on beneath the surface. I love reading how other people analyze the videos and the music on here since I don't really analyze music and music videos as much and sometimes other people point out stuff that I didn't notice at first.

[Rosie May]

I really like this video (although it really does remind me of CrushCrushCrush by Paramore, with the desert performance and the bath outside) I love how the dancers are really going crazy and Gloria's just like, "you're blocking the tv!" This has probably been disscused already, but what do you guys think her blowing up the car at the end means?

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

Oh man, I made too many theories about the goldfish and they all really do make sense in the big picture, but I know it's highly probable that no other thought is behind it but that a goldfish in an apartment is normal and it has no link to the 21 Guns goldfish, and it bothers me

[Echo]

I think this one has better quality that the one posted before. I ripped directly from MTV

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5Y36YM1F

Thank yooou :thumbsup:

[-Billiejoezee-]

I like the video.

The dancers got annoying but i feel they were like gloria's evil sides.

[LetItBeHappy]

Oh man, I made too many theories about the goldfish and they all really do make sense in the big picture, but I know it's highly probable that no other thought is behind it but that a goldfish in an apartment is normal and it has no link to the 21 Guns goldfish, and it bothers me

do share!

Thank yooou :thumbsup:

you're welcome

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

do share!

Well, first of all, that the goldfish represents Gloria/Gloria's and Christian's relationship. In LOTAG, it's got just a peaceful, comparatively undisturbed life, like Gloria. Then in 21 Guns, their life gets disturbed (I don't think that one needs explanation), but in the end it works out fine, the fish survives because of the water in the broken jar, and C&G kiss and make up.

However, Gloria watches a part of 21 Guns on the tv, which would mean that has already happened. Now in the album the songs are not in that order, but if you only look at those two songs, it can work. In that case, the kiss in 21 Guns would be more of a "I forgive you, but this is goodbye"-kiss, and Fishy in the jar has, but only barely and things are not exactly perfect now. Then later, Gloria has moved on (she lives in her apartment in the desert, on her own), and Fishy has too (he now has a new bowl). And I'm not exactly sure how the story ends, or why exactly Gloria is watching 21 Guns on tv. And after the first couple shots in the beginning of the video, Fishy isn't in the film anymore, which makes it very unlikely the fish has any more meaning than just a fish in it. And of course he looks different.

Then you have the thing that Fishy kind of stands for hope to survive, hope to live in 21 Guns, and if you put 21 Guns and LOTAG together in that order, it could also stand for hope to move on, that things can get better.

The whole theory thing fits, but only just, and it isn't very strong. So I don't really think any serious metaphorical meaning is behind it in it with it showing up in LOTAG.

man, that took me a little longer to type out than I thought I hope it makes sense, I kind of edited it a million times throughout writing it.

[LetItBeHappy]

Well, first of all, that the goldfish represents Gloria/Gloria's and Christian's relationship. In LOTAG, it's got just a peaceful, comparatively undisturbed life, like Gloria. Then in 21 Guns, their life gets disturbed (I don't think that one needs explanation), but in the end it works out fine, the fish survives because of the water in the broken jar, and C&G kiss and make up.

However, Gloria watches a part of 21 Guns on the tv, which would mean that has already happened. Now in the album the songs are not in that order, but if you only look at those two songs, it can work. In that case, the kiss in 21 Guns would be more of a "I forgive you, but this is goodbye"-kiss, and Fishy in the jar has, but only barely and things are not exactly perfect now. Then later, Gloria has moved on (she lives in her apartment in the desert, on her own), and Fishy has too (he now has a new bowl). And I'm not exactly sure how the story ends, or why exactly Gloria is watching 21 Guns on tv. And after the first couple shots in the beginning of the video, Fishy isn't in the film anymore, which makes it very unlikely the fish has any more meaning than just a fish in it. And of course he looks different.

Then you have the thing that Fishy kind of stands for hope to survive, hope to live in 21 Guns, and if you put 21 Guns and LOTAG together in that order, it could also stand for hope to move on, that things can get better.

The whole theory thing fits, but only just, and it isn't very strong. So I don't really think any serious metaphorical meaning is behind it in it with it showing up in LOTAG.

man, that took me a little longer to type out than I thought I hope it makes sense, I kind of edited it a million times throughout writing it.

I understood (and for some reason, I lol'd with the "she lives in her apartment in the desert" part xD)

my theory is that the fish represents... Well, it represents Gloria's mood. In 21 guns, Gloria is scared and Stuart/Addie/Fishy's enviroment gets disturbed, but then she finds Christian and they make up and all and Stuart/Addie/Fishy is peaceful again, in a broken bowl, but alive. And on LOTAG, Gloria is like "uh.. normal day", and so is Stuart/Addie/Fishy.

Now I wonder... WHY DIDN'T THE FISH APPEAR ON 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN? It would have make it even a better video than it is!

[Salmonator.]

Sanne.....that's deep.

I love how we're analyzing a fish.

[devon!]

i like the message the video gives. its kind of weak, but the message is spectacular. it's supposed to say that theres a small part of society that wants to be the minority, and they ignore all the people that conform and act like everyone else. the blonde twins represent the majority, and the "last of the american girls" is the minority, and not afraid to live life the way SHE wants.

i give it a thumbs up

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

I understood (and for some reason, I lol'd with the "she lives in her apartment in the desert" part xD)

my theory is that the fish represents... Well, it represents Gloria's mood. In 21 guns, Gloria is scared and Stuart/Addie/Fishy's enviroment gets disturbed, but then she finds Christian and they make up and all and Stuart/Addie/Fishy is peaceful again, in a broken bowl, but alive. And on LOTAG, Gloria is like "uh.. normal day", and so is Stuart/Addie/Fishy.

Now I wonder... WHY DIDN'T THE FISH APPEAR ON 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN? It would have make it even a better video than it is!

Yeah, that fits too. (on a side note, why in the world would you name that fish after Billie's wife? It really isn't a logical thing to do )

And even though you're probably not being all too serious with that last line, I don't think the fish would've added anything to it. Where would you imagine it to be? Sitting in his bowl on Billie's box next to his (Billie's) feet in the end or something? Oh, maybe Fishy could've helped Gloria repair the car xD

(man, this is giving me a headache. I should stop trying to do things like this past 2am. I should stop being awake past 2am anyway....)

[Tiffx]

Finally watched it.

It's not my favourite Green Day video but it's good enough. Gloria is hot and I liked the desert setting.

[LetItBeHappy]

Yeah, that fits too. (on a side note, why in the world would you name that fish after Billie's wife? It really isn't a logical thing to do )

And even though you're probably not being all too serious with that last line, I don't think the fish would've added anything to it. Where would you imagine it to be? Sitting in his bowl on Billie's box next to his (Billie's) feet in the end or something? Oh, maybe Fishy could've helped Gloria repair the car xD

(man, this is giving me a headache. I should stop trying to do things like this past 2am. I should stop being awake past 2am anyway....)

((I wanted Addie on the video and she wasn't, so I tried to name the fish Addie in the other thread I obviously failed, but I still call the fish like that)

And Fishy could've been a subliminal message! Or they could have added an scene of Gloria and Christian's kid playing with a fish in the future? or something like that with the class of 13?

(and is 2AM there? go to bed, and dream about fishes and cars! )

[justcause]

I feel like this video doesn't represent Gloria as the subject of this song, but as the voice of this song - it shows up when she's mouthing the words. Nowhere is she doing all the busy stuff of the Last of the American Girls - signing up for causes, self-sacrificing, doing the right-on things - she's out in the wilderness, filing her nails, looking like she's got a hangover. I see the two girls as being the demands of the world - the shouty voices of 'shouldn't you be getting worked up about this, omg, the ice-caps are melting, everything's disastrous, get up and do something!!', and they want her to join in the dance, but Gloria is like they're mosquitoes buzzing round her. She doesn't let them interfere - she's a free spirit, no walls around her, self-sufficient - but she's dissatisfied. Nothing is giving her anything - she sings along with the record for a little, throws another vinyl away, gives some limp applause to band on tv without taking the remote from her hand.

When she detonates the car, it seems like it's pointless, like it's just fucking shit up - but Gloria's face, her smile, is full of peace. She set a fire just to see the flame.

[Jacob.]

[darenmay]

those 2 dancers are trying to make gloria act but gloria seems lazy about it.

it's ironic. gloria is supposed to be the last of the american girls. :eyebrow:

or maybe that's how she is really supposed to be. she'd better be not one of those girls.

make it her own way. she did eventually.