With glowing colors of red, blue and purple, DDR influences and heavy dance beats, the line between the virtual world and the real one becomes unclear.
K.I.D’s new music video for the song “Taker” adopts a simple storyline that adds additional meaning to the relatively straightforward lyrics.
The chorus of the song states: “every minute that I’ve got / every penny I possess / yes, I give it to you / what you giving back?”
But the music video adds another dimension to the lyrics that shift the emphasis to an entirely new scene — one that changes the connotation of the words.
The video as a whole alludes to the dated Dance Dance Revolution phenomenon, and the presentation of the title of the song is consistent with that format, as there is a video-game loading bar below the word “Taker” in block letters.
An elderly woman with a virtual mask is the first image in the music video, followed by the singer entering a basement, where there is a younger girl sitting down wearing a virtual-reality mask, entranced by a digital world. The singer sits down next to a man on the couch, and the two of them also put on virtual-reality masks.
They appear on the television as musical performers, with the female singer at the forefront of the scene and the man in the background.
The theme throughout the video seems to be a contrast between desperation and fantasy. In the real world, drugs, fast food and a dark, messy living space surround the two individuals, who appear lethargic and melancholy. On the screen in the video game, they are energetic and cool, living out an idealistic fictional moment. The artist seems to be conveying the message that the living in a fantasy world compromises one’s experience of reality.
Toward the end of the video, the man sits down on the couch seeming to be exhausted, and the girl says, “Bobby, come on,” to prompt him to continue playing the video game. Then the screen says “Disconnected,” and for a moment the song pauses. The reality of the situation becomes apparent and the illusion is shattered, alluding the fleeting nature of a fantasy.
The intersection of the music video and the song itself may initially seem disjointed, but at a closer glance, the meaning becomes clearer.
It seems that rather than applying to another person, the lyrics “every minute that I’ve got / every penny I possess / yes, I give it to you / what you giving back?” may actually refer to a debilitating experience with drugs, hence the title “Taker.”
While the allure of the reality of drugs, represented by the virtual world, is temporarily fulfilling, it seems to take away from the individual’s reality once the high is over, to the point where they are reliant on them or only happy in the virtual world.
