WARNING: If suicide is a touchy subject for you, I would consider you watch a different music video and read a different blog as some of the imagery in this video may be upsetting.
Someone recently told me that in the creation of art, no stroke of the brush is without purpose. It is very rare that an artist will add anything to the work that doesn’t have a meaning behind it, no matter the medium of expression. The music video for Joyner Lucas’s “I’m sorry” is no different. As the main message for his album “508-507-2209”, which is the number for his local suicide hotline, the song speaks on a heavy issue. The artistic choices surrounding the topic of suicide have to be precisely planned, as he has a wide audience, in order to avoid creating misunderstandings on such a touchy subject.
The video goes through a series of events in which a man writes a suicide letter, then takes his own life. In the same scene his friend reads the letter, then later in a flashback finds his body. The song ends with an emotion packed conversation at his friends casket.
The first thing I noticed about the first scene in the opening seconds of the video is the house they’re in. It’s clearly a very upscale house with an amazing view. As I said, no artist does anything without a reason, and this setting is no different. I believe that this was chosen as the setting for this mans suicide to show that depression and all of the other potential factors that can lead to a moment like this can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter how nice of a house you have, how much money you have, what you do with your life, etc… There is absolutely no one that won’t face depression and suicidal thoughts, and knowing that is a step in the direction of getting help.
The second big thing that I noticed was the way the two characters in the first scene seem to be in the same moment, but are not. This first comes clear with the different lighting on their faces, despite being in the same room in the same frame. The next point this comes clear is when the man trying to commit suicide attempts to hang himself, but falls, making a loud sound. When this happens, his friend, sitting on the couch, turns to look in the direction where the sound would have been, but no one is there. I believe that the reason the author chose to portray this moment in this way was to create an understanding of the closeness or the connection between these two friends. Being in the same room and the same frame, despite being at different spaces along time points to a strong connection, so its clear that he isn’t just an acquaintance, but a lifelong friend.
The last thing that really stuck out to me in this video was the fact that they chose to use an open casket for the funeral. With a clearly visible gunshot wound to the head, it seems that a closed casket funeral would be more viable, but this isn’t the case. I believe the artist did this for two reasons. The first I believe was just to make the message to his friend in the final verse more real. The second reason I believe is that I think Joyner wanted the audience to see the wound, not only for its literal damage, but to see the damage it could cause to those who saw it. The people in the funeral as well as the friend, are in anguish. I’m sure that the anguish would have been there had the casket been closed, but given the presence of the wound, it becomes that much more real and raw.
This video and song are deeply saddening in many ways, but the messages portrayed are strong and important. It’s definitely something that a lot of people need to here. Generation Z has some of the highest rates of depression recorded in a long time, but as was pointed out, it’s a message for just about anyone, so it’s a heavily relevant issue to many, many people.