Category: Comedy, Drama, Serious.
Anime: Jin-Roh
Song: Pirates of Penzance - When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment
Artist: D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
Creator: kapparomeo
You may be wondering how exactly a "Serious Comedy Drama" is supposed to actually work, and it's actually that very juxtaposition of different features which is key to appreciating what I hope is an AMV with a message.
The comedy in this AMV is more black and ironic. The audio is a light-hearted, innocent number from Pirates of Penzance, a classic Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera; if this was the theatre we'd be laughing at the antics of the policemen as they capered across the stage, but here the darker undertone and implications of those words is brought to the fore by setting them against the violent riot.
It might seem to be mordant at best and nihilistic at worst to spoil the genial fun of feelgood theatre with these associations, but Glibert & Sullivan are making an important point, and the video helps to make it more on-the-nose and bring it to the fore. Whenever there's a big protest/riot, inevitably the issue of "police brutality" is dragged out and beaten with sticks. Inevitably abuses do occur, I can't deny that, but this is a severe case of "mote in my eye, log in your own". To take for example the G8 riots in Rome in 2001, a protestor shot dead by police was immediately raised up as a heroic and blemishless martyr on the altar of the International... but what was conveniently forgot is that they'd been actually mobbing on and violently assaulting the police, and that the protestor in question had been charging the shooting policeman with a fire extinguisher to smash his skull in!
I find it offensive that rioters, vandals, and would-be revolutionaries are so wrapped up in their thick blanket of self-absorbed moral sanctity that any degree of violence and destruction is justified to advance their own position - but the moment a policeman puts a tonfa against his wrist he is transformed into an agent of oppression. It's naked hypocrisy, and should not be indulged. When the police finally act at the end of this AMV, I hope that you'll see it as a rightful response for all of the abuse that they stoically and thanklessly shouldered beforehand.
Another motif seen at the beginning and towards the end of this AMV are seeing eyes behind the helmets and masks - "the pigs" are people too.
This is an AMV composed out sympathy for beleaguered authority.
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Comments and criticism are, as always, much appreciated - although I'm aware of the problems with the poor reslution.
After this AMV I'm promoting myself off of Windows Movie Maker and getting involved in more sophisticate editing, so I'm taking all advice on board for clearing out the kinks in future videos.
Me gusto... but seeing people die... I not like 
