“Talk” – Khalid analysis

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2Ira-Cwxo&list=RDhE2Ira-Cwxo&start_radio=1

Throughout the whole song, it portrays a vast amount of individuals separated in 9 different cells (which can be seen in its entirety at 0:11) with each cell consisting of different amounts of individuals. However, there are 5 cells with a single person within, and since 5 is more than half of the 9 total cells, it may symbolize the song on Khalid feeling the emptiness inside and wanting to talk to some special individual. Another “more than half” is that Khalid is shown in 3 of the cells, however, 2 of the 3 cells consist of just Khalid. That may confirm the statement above, that he has moments of loneliness and wants to interact with someone. 

The first half of the music video, up to 1:55, most of the time shows Khalid in the pink cell adjacent to another red cell with a female individual. That female individual may symbolize the one he wishes to interact with. There are multiple instances that can be proved with. At 0:45, the female turns her back away from him, while he tries to get her attention, with the wall separating them both. That instance can be seen as them having an argument or having some form of conflict, and Khalid attempting to “talk” it out. At 1:00, Khalid still seems to be in distress, but seems to start working things out with the female, who seems to get his attention. At 1:04, Khalid seems to be apologetic, since he raises his hand to his heart to show his guilt, and the female seems to accept his apology. Finally, at 1:12, everything seems equal between them both. To me, although it is seen as Khalid trying to get interaction, it may also portray a lesson for us all, to not hold a grudge against one another and to forgive and move on, for if you forgive, everything would eventually work out again, as portrayed in the music video. 

Now in the video, the female adjacent to Khalid is also seen solo dancing on multiple occasions. Since the beginning, the background of the dance is blue, and the moment she shows sympathy for Khalid, the background turns yellow. The blue color may symbolize the darker side of the story, and since the color is, visually, darker than yellow, the yellow may symbolize hope and a bright future.

After their individual problems get sorted out, Khalid goes on to face a bigger problem, joining the crowd, which is located in the center red cell. At 1:26 and 1:31, Khalid is seen at the left hand side with both his arms on the walls, towards the big group. One can view that and interpret that Khalid wishes to join the crowd. At around 1:44, 1:47, and 1:55 shows him starting to get the “vibes” from the crowd, as he starts nodding his head to the jam in the background, which we don’t see him do before this. Finally, at the second half of the video, Khalid is seen joining everyone else in the dance in the 8th cell (middle vertical column, bottommost one). It ends with everyone happy, which directly relates to the tone of the song, which is mostly on the happy side.