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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Bound 2

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The music video for Kanye West’s song “Bound 2” was released in 2013 and features Kanye’s now wife Kim Kardashian. Throughout the video, numerous landscapes, such as parts of Monument Valley, are featured alongside Kanye riding on a motorcycle. The song’s subject matter revolves around Kanye’s explicit sexual desire for the female subject of the song, which in the video’s case, refers to Kim. The music video subverts the wilderness story trope of the value of authenticity by distorting the images of nature to create a surreal reality in order to argue that the two subjects share a mystical sexual desire. On the other hand, the music video sincerely utilizes the wilderness story trope of wild animals, such as a bird of prey and a group of horses, …show more content…

For example, at the beginning portion of the video, a bird of prey is shown flying and seems to charge towards the viewer. The wild nature of the bird of prey correlates with the wilderness story template of the depiction of wild animals rather than domesticated animals. This wild nature suggests an untamed feeling that cannot be contained by forms of control. In the case of the video, the bird of prey can be seen as a symbol for the wild and untamed sexual connection the two lovers feel. Seeing that birds are often interpreted as symbols for freedom, the music video employs the use of the bird to signal a sense of freedom and liberation, in this case referring to sexual freedom. Furthermore, the video extends this idea of freedom by depicting a group of wild horses running freely through vast flatlands. The lack of barriers to enclose and constrain the horses allow the creatures to roam wherever they please in the far-reaching landscape presented in the video. This liberty to roam connects to the previous idea of the video suggesting that the sexual connection the two lovers share is one that is based on freedom and liberation from constraints. Had the video placed the horses in an enclosed pen, the video would indicate a feeling of restrictions. However, by featuring these horses freely exploring, the video argues for the lack of restrictions in the lover’s sexual relationship. The music video employs the wilderness story trope of wild animals, such as a bird of prey and a group of horses, in order to argue that the subjects in the video share a sexual connection that is both free and

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