Melanie Martinez Dollhouse Music Video Analysis

This first shot of a dollhouse would suggest innocence and fun, thus creating an illusion that the song and video are going to be reflective of that. It is a good shot to open with because it is linked in with the title of the song, Dollhouse, and I think that because the door is open on the house then it would mean that we are going to be taking a look inside the house.

However in a subsequent shot of, what is supposed to be a doll in the dollhouse, we see that there is a pile of severed doll heads next to her with blacked out eyes, which shows that there is a more sinister meaning to the song. Melanie Martinez’s look is very unique and her image is very recognisable in the video. This is a common trait in pop singers who want to stand out and it is very typical to see quirky aesthetics within pop music videos.

This shot of the mother’s hand clapsing a bottle of red wine would be suggestive of alcoholism and represents the harsher realities of families that outsiders don’t see. This is where it becomes apparent that a dollhouse is a metaphor of a family that is happy and perfect on the outside but behind closed doors have a troubled life. In this

instance the mother has resorted to alcohol because her husbamd is having an affair, this is

indicated by the lyrics, “When you turn your back she pulls out a flask, and forgets his infidelity”.

This shot shows the family acting proper and perfect for a photo or in front of others. They all look unhappy but then smile when the camera flashes for the photo. This seems to have a deeper meaning of only letting people see a certain altered side of you to avoid judgement. I think that any audience could relate to this and it makes the video very interesting.

The kiss on the father’s neck symbolises promiscuity and could possibly be representing men in a negative light as cheats. The shot of the mother washing dishes is to represent her supposed role in the family; this is a traditional stereotype of women and especially mothers, but I think the shot is effective in trying to convey how the dysfunctional family are trying to seem normal.

This final shot of the door to the dollhouse closing is very effective as it seems to be like we are leaving the house and we have seen the ‘real’ family within. It’s apparent by the end of the video that “Dollhouse” is a metaphor for the two sides of a person; the side that is real and complicated, and then the perfected side that you want people to seee