Analysis Of 'Knights Of Cydonia' Video By Muse

This video is set in a western style town and plays out like a western film. There are credits at the beginning and the end which makes the whole thing seem very cinematic. There are three main characters in the video, The Protagonist, The Antagonist and ’The Love Interest’. They go about the video like a typical western film with many fights and card games etc… Yet throughout the video there are holograms of the band performing the song that appear to be projected from a robot. This does not fit with the western style and suggests a sci-fi theme that ties in well with the song title, Knights of Cydonia. Cydonia being a region on mars that conspiracy theorists believe there used to be life and how the pyramids were built to mirror this region. This now suggests that the town in the video is set on mars. The futuristic police car, laser guns and futuristic technology throughout the video also suggest this. The characters in the video also shout out some of the lyrics such as, "No-one's gonna take me alive" and "You and I muse fight for our rights", this could suggest a political theme considering the nature of the lyrics. The costumes on the main characters and extras are stereotypical western outfits. The band themselves are also wearing western outfits and one of the band members wore a fake moustache for the video.