Yesterday, Burlington ON band Walk Off the Earth released a new video celebrating trans youth and the importance of accepting ourselves and others. The video, ‘Alright,’ features a young girl named Ellie who is forced to wear boy’s clothes and just wants to be herself.
The video also features Walk Off the Earth wearing giant paper mache heads while they play, a fashion choice that may seem a little familiar to many Canadians. Similar giant heads made their national debut a few years ago when Canadian icons Arcade Fire started wearing them on stage and even donned them for their wildly successful – and mysterious – ‘Reflektor’ video.
In ‘Alright’ the masks seem to represent the fake people we hide behind, the personas that keep Ellie’s parents from understanding who she is. Arcade Fire has been much more tight-lipped about the meaning behind their masks, although frontman Win Butler has gone on record talking about how uncomfortable they are on stage. Most of Arcade Fire’s masks were made by Haitian artists, and were likely inspired by Haitian Carnival Masks (Arcade Fire co-founder Régine Chassagne has Haitian roots).
With two huge Canadian bands donning giant heads for their videos, it may only be a matter of time before we see a trend emerge. Here’s hoping Drake is next.
The only question remaining is, between the ‘Reflektor’ and ‘Alright’ masks, who wore them better? Arcade Fire or WOTE? You can watch both videos below and send us a message or tweet at us to cast your vote.
