Phosphorescent’s music video entitled Songs For Zula encaptures the experiences of love and heartbreak. They describe this seesaw of a relationship as “cage like;” something that is impossible to escape. The scene holds a meagerly dressed woman hostage in a setting that looks like one out of the stone age. At the same time, you can tell that this scene is filmed from a modern perspective but relates back in time. This relationship is intended to show that these feelings of love and despair relate back to as far as we can imagine in time. “See the cage, it called. I said, come on in. I will not open myself up this way again.” This quote reflects the scene in totality. The woman is bound by chains and is trying to break through in ways a barbarian would only know; to smash them with stones. She is stuck, as if she is caged with no escape.
The second part of this lyric, “I will not open myself up this way again.” Is reflected in the same scene but uses the same activity for a different meaning. The woman is trying to break her shackles, but at a point you realize that she is not determined to completely break free. Once she breaks free she will have to open herself up again, and that is something she is unsure of. Although she feels as if this relationship of love and heartbreak is impossible to escape, she still has to decide. Will I break free or will I remain in this cage? The choice she ultimately makes is to break free. Not escaping this feeling, but starting anew.
