FATHER FORGIVE ME FOR THE CHURCH HAS GONE MAD
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, dropped the music video to ‘FATHER’ featuring Travis Scott and directed by architect Bianca Censori, the third track of his 12th studio album ‘BULLY'. The single-take video is set in a church with minimalist design and earth-toned accents with features from aliens, police enforcement and even a Michael Jackson lookalike.
The video starts with a 5-man choir, four of them wearing neutral choir robes and one in a neutral beige suit holding what appears to be a feathered bird; all of them stepping from side-to-side in tune with the rhythm. Ye himself takes front and centre row whilst two elderly women sit to his right. Second row sits a mother with a face with feline features, besides her a ‘son’ who makes this church his own playground. To much of all of our surprise, the one and only Michael Jackson (impersonator) sits behind in the back row, unphased. On the other side of the aisle, sits two nuns, one of which couldn’t make it to their bed, sound asleep resting on others shoulders. In front of them sits a couple, the man in his own magical world and the woman couldn’t be further from him if she tried.
There is so much I could unpack from this video, in the span of nearly 3 minutes, it seems as though everything, everywhere happens all at once. But I’ll pick 3 moments.
1: ALIEN
As mentioned previously, Ye takes a seat front and centre in this church and roughly half way, astronauts storm in and unmask him, revealing that he is not Ye but something foreign, an alien. You could say that Ye feels like one, something that no human can fully comprehend; which is not a new concept when we talk about him or his work throughout his career. Some will argue that Kanye is one of the most controversial artists of the 21st century, always portraying himself through his art as being a misunderstood character. Could this be a symbolism for how he feels about himself in the industry and better yet, the world?
2: TROPHY WIFE
There are two moments where I would suggest, the concept revolves around what I would call the ‘trophy wife’. The first moment, what looks like a pageant model walks in with a sombre shadow that resembles less a woman and more of a man. She stands before in the aisle in awe, then is carried by her leg, positioned as if she was a prize possession. I think she resembled Censori, Ye’s wife, a lot through her style. If she was wearing ‘noscenegirls’, I would not be surprised; known for their cutout bodysuits and monochromatic palette. The second moment is when an alien walks in, revealing that he is Travis Scott underneath it all and walks out with not one, but two brides. Kanye himself has had two brides- coincidence or not?
3: THE LAST WILL BE THE FIRST AND THE FIRST WILL BE THE LAST
The last person we see enter the frame is actually one of the first people we see but he is seen through a window; once all have left, a solemn man holding a large cross takes the same seat Ye was in. It’s obvious that the entire video has heavy religious connotations but I did draw a link from this moment to a verse in the bible- ‘the last will be the first and the first will be in the last’. This verse suggests that those deemed as the ‘last’ in society will be rewarded the first in heaven. It emphasises God's grace and generosity over human merit or longevity of service in this life. Since the end of KimYe (RIP) and his overly public appearances with Censori all over the world, Ye has taken a major step from the public eye, I would go as far to say he went into hiding. This was probably to work on his album, but as a thought daughter I think it goes deeper. Could one suggest that he is taking a step back from his own human merit, living a more simplistic life in order to be rewarded on the other side?
If it's safe to say that there are a million and one subliminals in this video which will all be received differently by his audience and personally, it makes me feel unsettled. Unsettling for me doesn’t necessarily mean that it's a bad thing; it just means that Kanye has once again remembered who he is and successfully done his job.
Shoutout to Cody Fusina, a crazy talented set designer and Bianca Censori, an “iconic muse inspirational talented artist masters degree in architecture 140 IQ”.
