Katherine Schlaerth

Professor Freeland

English Composition II

21 February 2021

Mad World

The song “Mad World” by Tears for Fears explores the artist’s despair over

society, saying “I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take // When people run in circles

it's a very, very // Mad world, mad world” (Tears For Fears). The original music video of

“Mad World” by Tears For Fears came out in 1983 and features a simple, moody

landscape with a young man singing along to pop-y synth and drum beats as he looks

out from behind a window. The 2006 video for the cover by Michael Andrews and Gary

Jules carries a similar message but with the complexity of a grownup musician in a

grown up video industry. Both videos, despite the differences in production quality,

share an observational tone of one person singing about how society is a “mad world.”

Whereas the first video appeals to teen angst by focusing on a young person’s lonely

gaze, the second video appeals to a more intellectually mature audience through it’s

abstract symbolism and adult perspective.

A major difference between the two music videos is their production value, due to

the developments in the music video industry between 1983 and 2006. In the early

days of music videos, musicians didn’t have big budgets for video production and

usually just focused on the band singing the song (Pemberton). This definitely affected

the possibilities for how the original video could tell the story of the singer’s loneliness

and despair from living in a “Mad World.” In the Tears For Fears music video, the main
character (the singer) is staring out from behind a window in a lake house looking over

the gloomy shore, where a man is moodily dancing. The colors are dark, and the

lighting is dim and cold. It continues on like this, with the singer staring out from behind

a window with peeling paint in an old house in the country. Near the end, we can only

see a silhouette dancing in the foggy, dark weather. The only change in scene is a brief

children’s birthday party in a room inside the house. There isn’t much complexity in the

setting or camera work, but yet it still works to convey the message of loneliness and

looking out at a “mad world.”

The video for the remake of “Mad World” by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules

came out in 2006. The song has a more mature, simple sound, and the abstract video

reflects a more mature intended audience. By 2006, the music video industry had

developed to the point where major directors were creating them. The 2006 version of

Mad World had a much bigger budget than the original, and the director, Michael

Gondry, was a major figure in the film world with hits like “Eternal Sunshine of the

Spotless Mind.” The video opens with a school bell ringing and kids pouring out onto the

front walk below as a simple piano tune plays on the roof. A man is looking down on all

of these school kids forming universally known symbols on the pavement below with

their bodies in a group (sort of the way marchings bands do, but more fluidly). They

move as a group and form shapes like a stick person, a bird, a boat, etc. and the singer

on the roof is the only one who is able to see what they are making. People are passing

the kids by without a second glance and don’t see the symbols. The video closes with

the man playing a piano on the roof of the school alone and sitting with hunched over
posture. The video is more artistic and visually compelling than the original, as the

children move around forming different shapes as seen from above.

Despite the limitations of a low budget, the original video by Tears for Fears from

1983 works very well for the intended audience of lonely teenagers listening to this new

genre of moody synth-pop emerging in the early 1980s. The world of music videos was

aimed at young viewers, and this new music emerging was popular with teenagers. The

fact that the low budget of the original meant that they couldn’t rely on a fancy setting or

paid actors actually worked to their advantage because it made the band seem very

relatable to their audience. The singer’s edgy haircut and expressive and handsome

face, combined with his 80’s style of casual, oversized sweater would have appealed to

teenagers. Furthermore, the bulk of the video just has him staring out a window while he

sings, which is a universally relatable feeling for teenagers. According to an interview

with the songwriter from 2013, “Orzabal said of the timeless nature of the song: 'Mad

World' hasn't dated because it's expressive of a period I call the teenage menopause,

where your hormones are going crazy as you're leaving childhood. Your fingers are on

the cliff and you're about to drop off, but somehow you cling on’” (Song Facts). Most of

the teenage audience would be able to relate to going through “the teenage

menopause” and the music video gives them a way to have representation through the

singer. The image of the lonely young boy staring emotionally out a window at a figure

dancing in the moody darkness feels reflective of teens trapped at home and worried if

they’ll ever find a place in the grownup world.

In contrast to the original video, the singer in the cover video is clearly a

grownup and not a teenager. The audience for this video would need to be more mature
to appreciate the feelings of a grown-up looking at children playing and feeling

depressed as well as the irony provided by the simple shapes and symbols of boats and

people being made below. The singer’s voice is more clear than on the original version,

with less overpowering background music. His clothes are blandly grownup, which

makes it seem like he would blend into a crowd easily. The irony of both the simple

melody and plain clothing stand in stark contrast to the original video. The lyrics are the

same, of course, but the way the second video presents the singer reflects the

perspective of someone who is more experienced and able to reflect on their feelings

with some distance, literally, from the childhood schoolyard scene he is gazing on

below.

Both versions of music videos for Mad World hit on the universal theme of

loneliness and alienation. Whereas the first video had a lower production value and only

focused on the singer simply staring out a window on the gloom, this worked for its

teenaged audience. The second video had a famous director and an older singer and

their video conveyed the same loneliness and alienation but in a more complex,

abstract way which possibly reflects the adult experience of alienation and loneliness.

Interestingly, I first heard the second version as a teen, and when I heard the original I

hated it and thought the video seemed like a cheesy fever dream. I wonder if the order a

person watched the song videos can change their perception of the lyrics’ meaning, and

if teenagers today can still relate to the first video.

Andrews, Michael and Jules, Gary. “Mad World.” Trading Snakeoil For

Wolftickets, Sanctuary, 2006.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v52Igdotisk

“Mad World by Tears for Fears - Songfacts.” Song Meanings at Songfacts, Song Facts,

www.songfacts.com/facts/tears-for-fears/mad-world.

Norris, Chris. “This Used to Be His Playground.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 20 June 2004, www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/arts/television-music-video-

this-used-to-be-his-playground.html.

Pemberton, Pat. “The Most Awesomely Eighties 1980s Music Videos.” Rolling Stone,

Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-most-

awesomely-eighties-1980s-music-videos-200241/.
“Tears For Fears: How We Made Mad World.” The Guardian, Guardian News and

Media, 10 Dec. 2013, www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/10/how-we-made-

mad-world-tears-fears.

Tears For Fears. “Mad World.” The Hurting, Phonogram Mercury, 1983.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFsHSHE-iJQ