Suki Waterhouse has let us see through window into stardom and the entertainment industry with the music video for the final single release, ‘Model, Actress, Whatever’ before the drop of her album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin last Friday. Previous singles like ‘OMG’ and, ‘My Fun’ showcased a different musical side to Waterhouse that we hadn’t yet uncovered on her last EP, Milk Teeth. Tracks like ‘My Fun’ take on a more Oasis-style approach with various stylings like Britpop and indie rock.
However, the track for this music video returns to Waterhouse’s original sound, something we are never tired of. This indie/alternative sound contrasts with the big, grand, and chaotic music video we’re met with. The setting is established, we meet Waterhouse on a big Hollywood movie set along with a very frustrated director. It’s soon clear the director has dismissed her talent as he shouts, “this isn’t fashion week” when he doesn’t get his desired acting from her. This music video seems to go hand in hand with the lyrics of this song and even the title. Here, Waterhouse addresses the multiple labels that the public and press love to apply to her stating, “Call me a model, an actress, whatever.” For female singers with copious talents that take them down different avenues, the music video pokes fun at the idea that labels are often used to discredit any of their work in another field; rendering them “talentless” in the eyes of “the higher-ups” (a director in this video’s case).
Throughout the video, we are also met with this idea of the Hollywood/pop star world versus the inner thoughts and feelings of Suki Waterhouse as a person. This has been a running concept for some years now with the added pressures of social media and ‘cancel culture’. A close-up shot of Waterhouse looking fatigued and dissatisfied whilst being poked and prodded by a hair and makeup stylist on set depicts that all the glitz and glamour sometimes isn’t as rewarding as it may seem. Artists who are forced into a label/box can live a life that isn’t authentic to themselves, this is a running theme throughout the video. The lyrics “I hoped one day I’d be the girl/ they’d know my name.” play during the close-up shot and soon Waterhouse is knocked off her feet with the line, “all of my dreams came true.” The contrast in shots clearly shows that the big career she had dreamt up seemed to cost her more than she thought it would and, ultimately, had some consequences. Being an artist in the public eye, scrutiny is something you are bound to be faced with, this music video poignantly shows the toll this can take on the person.
By the end of the video, we see Waterhouse almost break the matrix/ mould of this actress facade that she’s been boxed into by the director and production team. She goes onto almost pose and vogue towards the camera, something out of the norm for a movie set/scene. This video sends a clear message, true to herself and her artistic expression. These labels that Hollywood is obsessed with placing her in are frivolous. She makes it abundantly clear that she is just being herself and these passions are a part of who she is. Her personality is not a ‘hat’ she puts on to fit a Hollywood trope, and we couldn’t agree more.
Words by Jessica Sansoa
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