By Madisson Cameron, Mustang High School
Billie Eilish released her song and music video for What Was I Made For [From the Motion Picture “Barbie”] on July 13. The somber song has a lot of symbolism within the lyrics and the video.
One of the lyrics that sticks out to me is, “Looked so alive, it turns out I’m not real, just something you paid for.”
This line can represent many things. Taking into consideration the movie, it could be the realization that Barbie has about the world around her being fake. However, I believe there is a deeper, real world meaning.
Celebrities are often regarded as public playthings instead of living, breathing human beings. This metaphor of not being real could connect celebrities as dolls used by management to make money. People paying for the idea of someone isn’t an uncommon thing in today’s society and it can be difficult for celebrities to adapt to that ideology.
“Think I forgot how to be happy. Something I’m not, but something I can be.”
I think this line further supports the idea that public figures aren’t viewed as humans and aren’t allowed to publicly share their emotions, which can cause several issues with an individual’s mental health. There is so much storytelling and symbolism in the song, but it’s not the only component of this story.
The self-directed music video may seem simple at first, but there is a deeper meaning behind the screen. The video starts with Eilish sitting at a desk, unpacking doll sized versions of some of her old outfits.
As the video progresses, it starts to get windy, making it more difficult to keep the doll clothes together. When it seems that she’s made everything work, it begins raining. It isn’t until Eilish starts packing everything away that the rain and wind ends.
So what could this mean? I believe that this is a sign that Eilish is going in a new direction with her music. Just as she gets frustrated in the video, she may be frustrated trying to keep the same style after all of this time in the spotlight. The world keeps throwing things her way and instead of struggling to keep something together, she packs away the old and steps away.
Both the song and video represent some form of struggle that is keeping Eilish from moving forward. There are countless ways to interpret both the song and video, but the song is worth a listen. It has great instrumentals and vocals throughout. It is definitely a song that I will be adding to my playlists.
