1. 1. The music video is Johnny Cash’s 2002 cover of the Nine Inch Nails song: Hurt.
Analyse the sequence commenting on:
• Technical codes
• visual codes
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The music video for Johnny Cash’s ‘Hurt’ is a very sombre and atmospheric piece of work which may be
considered both an autobiographical look back at a long and varied career but also as making a comment
on the nature of fame and idolatry in America. It is a video so emotional in its portrayal of Cash and his
family, that it must also be accepted that individuals will have their own personal reading of the text.
From the very start the visuals are striking and symbolic, the opening shots of the two small statues and the
bowl of fruit are ostentatious and might be linked to wealth and success, or even something valued and
classical. However the first shot of Cash surrounded by these antiques reveals him to be old and slow, we
may now consider the statues to represent his own paralysis, he is an artifact like them. More disturbing
might be the image of the fruit, a reminder that some things do not simply collect dust but which rot and
die.
The themes of death and decay are emphasised by Cash’s traditional all black costume and the use of low
key lighting, a combination of shadows and dim naturalistic lights bathe everything in a jaundiced yellow,
nothing seems vibrant or alive, the light is that which we associate with dusk. We can assume this is
represents the dusk of Cash’s career or even perhaps his life as two close ups in succession, one straight
on, one in profile, reveal his face to be craggy and wrinkled a bald and aging silhouette finally lifts the piano
lid after some hesitation - wondering whether it is still worth playing on.
The use of camera throughout signifies this sad decline of the man, medium shots emphasise his frail
gestures to the camera, big close ups highlight his broken expression and emotion as he stares past the
camera and in one sequence, begins to cry.
The most effective of technical codes is the use of editing. This is used to both give the audience a narrative
of the man’s life told largely in flashback, and also to continue the binary opposition of vibrant youth vs
debilitating old age, through a series of juxtapositions.
Many of the ‘flashback’ shots are old home videos - which portray Cash outdoors in the countryside,
walking, smiling with his his children and wife. The handheld camera shakes and wobbles and positions the
audience as one of the family, giving the sequences added authenticity almost as if they were Cash’s own
memories. In stark contrast, the footage of ‘present day’ Cash is static and are all interior shots further
connoting this paralysis.
Despite this obvious retrospective look at his own career and fading health, particularly as this turned out
to be Cash’s last significant piece of work before he died, the video may alternatively be considered to be a
comment on the nature of the fame and idolisation that Cash lived with throughout his career.
Many of these themes are explored through various visual codes that appear during the montage within the
video that runs concurrently with the crescendo of the song. By the time this sequence arrives the
audience has already been shown various visual metaphors through the mise-en-scene. The sparse broken
down museum with broken records and dusty exhibits introduces the ideology that it is not material
possessions that matter in life (particularly as these shots are often cross cut with images of Cash’s family).
By the time the montage arrives we have also seen more shots of Cash in his ‘hey day’ performing to fans
and on television, the museum itself another obvious signifier of fame and success, however a shot from a
film is inserted and dialogue interrupts the song: “You stay the hell away from me you hear?!” This break
with the conventions of a music video stands out so much that an audience has no choice but to think
about what has been said. In the context of the video it seems like an obvious rejection of the fame and

2. hysteria that accompanies any successful performer. This shot is immediately followed by an extreme close-
up of a piece of fruit covered in caviar - making the fruit look putrid and rotten, again the juxtaposition of
wealth with simplicity signifies how fame can taint purity.
As the final montage increases in pace, it is impossible to ignore the religious images that become more
frequent. Many of them are close ups of representations of Christ some of him being nailed to the cross.
These specific images from this part of the story of Christ may not be an attempt to compare Cash as a
Messiah but more to connote his martyrdom to the public. That like Christ he was idolised by the masses
and eventually gave his life for them. This represents the binary opposition of fame vs privacy and explores
the ideology that once famous your fans ‘own’ you.
These two readings of the text are just two possible explanations of the varied and polysemic nature of this
text - there are many other readings which may take into consideration Cash’s battle with drugs, his unique
patriotism and his own religious beliefs. However one element that can never be escaped is that the images
in the video combined with the performance of the song, will always provoke a deep and personal
emotional response from an audience.