Connor Kading
ENG 1201
9/24/2020
Analyzing Visual Texts – Down Under Music Videos
The cover of Down Under performed by LVNDSCAPE & Rat City is new twist on an old
song that keeps to the heart of exploration that Men At Work produced originally when the
video for one of their greatest hits was released. The two performances both keep to the heart
of the song with beautiful adventurous tunes and provide the spirit of exploration within their
amazing environments.
The adventurous journey within the original video is that of an Australian man travelling
the globe where he is inquired by all kinds of people from all different cultures about his home.
This happens in all kinds of locations throughout the original video, such as an Opium den, Sand
dunes, and bars, among many other locations. The heart of exploration is well and alive within
the video of the song, and often does it pan to many different locations that aren’t just within
different sand dunes, but also to many other structures layered throughout the music video.
The many locations of the video speak to the heart of not only the unique locations that are
visited, but also the people who the main character encounters along the way.
While the jubilant exploration is a big part of the video, there is a darker side to other
visual significances within the video itself. One of the biggest imageries that is shown is the
coffin that is carried through the dunes at the end of the video, which is signifying the death of
something more than just a person. The death is about an idea, or the national spirit that
Australians would hold so dear as they travel throughout the world, which within the culture of
the country is slowly being lost to the further advancement of overdevelopment. This is shown
through various lyrics within the song, as well as other scenes such as the zombie van. A
prominent line to signify this loss would be: Can’t you hear that thunder? You’d better run;
you’d better take cover.
This modernization is echoed in LVNDSCAPE & Rat City’s music video of the song, as the
woman journies throughout all of nature after leaving the sprawling city behind. Despite being
less folk-like in terms of music style and not holding all the lyrics within the original song, the
heart of exploration is still the key part of the music video. Throughout the forests and the
beaches, the woman prances through them with wonder and awe as she looks around, meeting
each individual environment and basking in its beauty. The escape from modernization allows
the full potential of the wonders of nature to be soaked in by the woman, which in turn allows
for greater emphasis on the dangers of overdevelopment destroying the beautiful world
around us.
While Men at Work and LVNDSCAPE & Rat City have many differences within the video,
the key similarity is the message that both of them work to produce: The Adventure, Culture
and Nature of the world is an escape, and too much overdevelopment will prevent that from
being a reality for us in the future. This is a message that resonates even now, as the remake by
LVNDSCAPE & Rat City was made only a year ago in 2019, almost 39 years after the original
release of the song in 1980. With the development of more land and the construction of more
buildings, both of their warnings – The destruction of culture and nature – brings a kindred
spirit between the two videos, allowing them to work together with seamless ease.
The remake of Down Under by LVNDSCAPE & Rat City is a fresh coat of paint onto an
old, amazing song as it keeps to the core of the original message. While not pertaining to the
overdevelopment of culture, the destruction of nature is just as important to keep preserved as
the warnings echo throughout the music, whether they be tunes from the past or notes from
the present. The message of both of these songs is applicable to our situation today, as the
political strain on our nation threatens to tear the culture we hold dear, as well as the modern
threat to our environment and climate.
The original hit song Down Under by Men at Work, and the subsequent remake by
LVNDSCAPE & Rat City almost 39 years ago still holds a message for us all today. With the
current political and industrial climate, the exploration that keeps us intrigued with life will lose
a vital part of its essence, and our adventure will cease if we do not heed the message that is
brought to us.
Works Cited:
Records, Spinnin', director. LVNDSCAPE & Rat City - Down Under (Official Music Video), 6
Aug. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY39EQD22Jc.
Work, Men At, director. Men At Work - Down Under (Video), 7 Feb. 2013,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s.