Appreciating the “Summer Nights” animated music video by SIAMES.

Taking a look at the subtleties that makes this music video a masterpiece.

SIAMES is an Argentinian rock band that recently released the animated music video to their new single “Summer Nights”.

This music video like the other two from them so far (The Wolf and Mr. Fear) carries a lot of substance and a deep emotional story. The video is about a young adult girl who is seemingly estranged from her 3 childhood friends reuniting with them. The trio are seen trying to remind her of the memories they shared in an now abandoned building, which appears to be their former school. The three of them rejoice when the girl finally remembers the forgotten times that they had spent together and they all run to their old tree house with childlike triumph.

This video thrives on symbolism to translate the characters feelings and the mood of childhood nostalgia. Here are somethings that make the video translate so much meaning into the story:

The Gold Stars

The opening minute shows the 4 characters approaching an abandoned building.

The pace of the video here is deliberately slow and dramatic to give us some time to observe each character.

Each character has a gold star somewhere on their body except the white haired girl who seem to have forgotten her childhood friends and memories.

The gold starts represent the bond of their friendship and that fact that the white haired girl is missing the gold star represents her disconnect from the rest of her friends. The gang paints the abandoned building and then performs a sort of make-belief knighthood ritual in an attempt to make the girl remember about the memories that they shared in that place.

After the ritual the trio looks at the girl in anticipation as a gold star appears on her right cheek, symbolizing her remembering her childhood memories and again being a part of the bond that all four of them now share.

2. Yellow Spray Paint

The gang starts painting the abandoned room with yellow color spray cans. This seems insignificant in the beginning.

But after the the girl gets her gold star back we realize that the gang was trying to paint the place to it’s original yellow color. They were trying to rekindle the place that they used to play and have fun at just like they are trying to rekindle their friendship by painting the place in it’s former color.

3. Back to being kids

In the beginning of the video we see 4 young adults entering an abandoned building in an attempt to rekindle their bond and friendship with their lost friend. Till the knighthood ritual which symbolizes them taking the girl back into their gang, we see them as adults.

But after the girl obtains the gold star the gang is shown as kids and things change to how they used to be when they were kids. This reflects that the girl now remembers the memories and the fun they had as kids.

The gang turn into their childlike personalities as a result of getting having their friend back. They remain as cheerful and excited as kids till they reach their abandoned tree house, where they turn back to being adults and dwell in the memories of their childhood days.

There are some more nuanced references and symbolism in the video which are listed below:

Several references to Mr Fear and The Wolf in posters and writings on the walls.