The Cult's film clip for their new single, "For
The Animals," from their forthcoming Choice of
Weapon album, reflects the socially and economically divided
world that we find ourselves facing.
"'For The Animals' is a metaphor for people existing in a realm outside of
structured society and what cultural editors deem to be relevant,"
explains The Cult's lead singer Ian Astbury. "It could be the feral punk
rock kids squatting in abandoned homes or the spirited individual who has
little regard for social conventions. It's for people who choose not to tow the
party line or try to fit in. It's for the free-thinkers who are creative and
dynamic."
With the film clip, The Cult has captured the rising tensions and frustration
of a growing group of disenfranchised youth. The provocative clip, from
visionary director Michelle Peerali and starring hot young actress Hanna
Mosqueda as the lead character, portrays the 19-year-old protagonist
transforming from a lost and abandoned youth, overwhelmed by the state of the
world large and at her own poor economic status and broken family at home, into
an empowered strong woman who finds her inner strength in the end.
In the film clip, we see the lead character navigate a chaotic world looking
for an answer only to realize in the end that what she was looking for all
along was within her the whole time. "She realizes that the only solution
for change is actually within her. It's about her self-awareness, inner
strength, and waking her internal life, realizing she has to take command of
the situation and has the power to break through," says Astbury, who
appears in a cameo role along with band mates Billy Duffy (guitar), John Tempesta
(drums), and Chris Wyse (bass). "In the end, she finds others who feel the
same way. The message being, 'if you feel you don't fit it, it's okay. There
are others out there. The tribe is there.'"
As Astbury sings in "For The Animals," the song and film clip is
"for all the fucked up children staring down the barrel of a gun," a
real and metaphorical image, the social, economic, and environmental cards this
generation of youth has been dealt. It's a theme that is put into sharp focus
by an aware Astbury on the band's new album,Choice of Weapon, due
May 22 on Cooking Vinyl.
"Your choice of weapon can be anything you use to deal with your world.
It could be self-knowledge. I think we're at a crossroads, as individuals
and as a society, to define our intentions in life. What do you choose to do
with your life? What do you need to really flourish? How do I not get stuck
being a slave to convention? And as the character in the film clip writes on
the wall, 'How many more ways will they find to reinvent boredom?'"
These are just some of the observations The Cult shares in "For the
Animals" and on Choice of Weapon.
This is a new world.
A new fight.
A new Cult.
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