[2002] Analysis oF 'Free&Easy'

[mrAznnizeguy]

hey.. i came across this Ayumi Forum and found an analysis discussion of the PV 'Free&Easy'.. and I thought that we can discuzz it.. cuz I really want to knoe the meaning behind this 'deep' video! well.. this is wat theyve comed up so far..

""Hey there, Ayu freaks. Today we want to talk about the meaning of Ayu's PVs, and since Free & Easy gave us the most questions, we'll start with that one. For all who haven't seen the Free & Easy PV yet, here's a summary of the events in the video. Note that all actors other than Ayu in the PV are European-looking:


Blackness fades out. (Music starts) The grey and cloudy sky is shown. An elderly western man, wearing a white robe and a white scarf, looks at the sky in dreary anticipation. A skillful hand is painting some unidentified object. A man and a woman are cavorting with their son out in a park or garden, all three of them wearing white clothes. Again the unidentified object, obviously an ornamental metal flower, is painted by the hand. Three young women, wearing white robes and white headscarves covering their faces with only their eyes and noses visible, are standing in a circle, facing each other, looking at the ground. Again the beautiful metal ornaments, flowers and other filigree objects, are being painted by the hand. A young girl wearing white clothes steps towards a flower, sniffing at the blossom, surrounded by butterflies.

A white corridor is shown. The walls, ceiling and doors are white, the floor is black. Each door is next to the other in a line - just like in a hotel, except for that in a hotel, there are no bars in front of the room doors. A near-empty and sterile room is shown, the walls, ceiling and the only piece of furniture - a bed - are white, the floor and blanket on the bed are black. (Ayu starts to hum) A lone woman - Ayumi Hamasaki -, dressed in white clothes (including a silver necklace with a torus pendant), with blond hair, is sitting behind the bed in a corner, her bare feet on the floor. She is singing quietly to herself. (Ayu starts singing, verse 1) Again the corridor is shown. A man, wearing a white uniform and white gloves, carrying a silver plate with black grapes. The man opens a small hatch at the lower part of the door to the room in which Ayu sits and shoves the plate into the room. Two men with fine brushes are painting ornaments. (Chorus 1) Ayu raises the whole grape with one hand to her mouth and eats a single grape. The young girl is sniffing at flowers again, surrounded by butterflies. Ayu crushes the whole grape with her hand in front of her face. The man and woman are hugging their son. (Verse 2) Ayu crushes the grape in her hand, still having one single grape between her teeth like a predatory animal, and suddenly looks at the right. Her room door opens, a dignified elderly woman with a stern look on her face enters. Ayu cringes forward. Wiping her mouth with her hands, Ayu stands up and slowly walks toward the woman and the two uniformed glove-wearing men accompanying her, flattening the grape with her bare feet. (Chorus 2) The three young women take off their cowls, revealing beautiful yet emotionless faces with stern haircuts. The two uniformed men take Ayu into custody, followed by the elderly woman. The old robed man from the beginning is staring at something in the distance, a sorrowful look on his face. Ayu, the two men and the old woman are walking down the corridor. The man and woman with their son are staring at something in the distance, with sorrowful and serious expressions on their faces.

(Bridge 1) Ayu, now wearing black clothes (a tank top and leather pants, leather arm bracers and a silver necklace with a crescent pendant), is tied to a black wooden pole, shadows and reddish cloths dancing around her. Crying in agony, she is looking around in fear, but nobody's there. (Bells begin to chime, trumpets and quiet flutes are heard) Ayu and the guards, lead by the old woman, walk down the corridor very slowly. Ayu tied to the pole. The skillful hand places a light blue gem into the ornament. Ayu in corridor. Ornament. Ayu on black pole. Ornament. (Chorus 3) The corridor shown from the side, old woman slowly walking by. The three young women, looking as they would start to cry any moment. Ayu, walking by with a serious expression on her face. Family of three, looking seriously. Corridor from the side, Ayu and guards pass... then the camera zooms at one of the long and narrow windows of the corridor, zooming through the window, showing the pigtailed girl outside, looking at Ayu through the window. (Bridge 1) Black clothed Ayu at the pole, crying. Corridor. Pigtail girl. (Bridge 2) The four stop, the old woman and guards standing behind Ayu. Ayu takes a step forward, not being followed by the others, then another one, and another. She stops, turning her head, looking at the sunlight. Ayu at the pole, shaking her head in madness. Ayu looking at the sun. (Verse 1) The greyness and clouds slowly fade, showing the sun shining through, bathing Ayu's face in light. Now sincere, she takes the last step forward alone. The empty corridor with the door to Ayu's room. The squished grapes, slowly bleeding out grape juice next to the silver plate lying on the dark floor.

The last scene shows the beautiful flowering garden in which the girl played. Walking from the right to the left, six men in white uniforms, wearing white cowls but no gloves, carry a black coffin with beautiful metal ornaments. They disappear in the left side of the screen. (Music fades) Fade to black.


For your better understanding, I have posted the translated lyrics (taken from Wataru's Japanese Translations) here, too:

Free & Easy

(Verse 1)
Sometimes I ask myself,
how much farther will I have to go?

(Chorus 1)
I hear your voice.
I hear a voice saying "don't give up"
I remember the words
"Your happiness is my happiness"

(Verse 2)
If you're tired of denying things
and seem as if you're not yourself...

(Chorus 2)
Believe in me.
I'll always be here.
The proof that you're alive
exists inside of me.

(Bridge 1)
In this, this dirty city,
you're the person who
gathers up and shows me
something beautiful.

(Chorus 3)
I hear your voice.
I hear a voice saying "don't give up"
Believe in me.
I'll always be standing here.

(Bridge 1)
In this, this dirty city,
you're the person who
gathers up and shows me
something beautiful.

(Bridge 2)
I'll always protect you,
so you never ever lose
that which you have clutched
close to your heart.

(Verse 1)
Sometimes I ask myself,
how much farther will I have to go?



Now... what does Ayu want to tell us with this PV? I want to hear your interpretation. Some ideas:

- Who are the elderly man and the three young women? Maybe they are some kind of priests?
- Why is Ayu locked up in a cell? Is she in a prison, or even a sanatorium?
- Why have the white people locked her up in the first place? Maybe they are racists, being all of the same race and wearing the same colors? Do they regard her as a criminal? She IS locked in a cell, anyway.
- But why would they bother making such an expensive and beautiful coffin for a criminal? Is she some kind of martyr? The presence of the "priests" would verify that idea.
- Or is the coffin really for someone else? Was Ayu REALLY burnt at the stake? Why is she wearing black in only this scene? Could it be symbolic, having two differently dressed Ayus as two sides of her personality?""

and this other person put this analysis..

""hrm.. about the PV.. to me, it seems that ayu existed in an institutionalised society that she didn't fit into, thus the smile on her face - a smile of relief perhaps? when she reaches the end of her road..

what about the people in the white? To me, they are the reformed people who live in society within the rules which have been binded.. ayu is one who refuses to reform as shown in her blackish outfit..

the grapes symbolise something in particular though.. most definitely but i'm not too sure as to what.. in the olden days.. grapes were only for the nobility.. ayu totally disregards the grapes by virtually ripping into them and stepping on them.. defying the norms of society???????""

so i thought it was really koo.. maybe we kan discuss it?

[mimika]

to me i've a totally different intereptation:

1) u saw those ppl takin their scarfs etc off and reveal theirselves when the coffin is made...this symbolize to me that there can be kinda of dictorship of some sort..some great authoritative power that exist before..that take awayfreedom from them..and the coffin symbolizes that dictator is dead...so now freedom is restored

2) the coffin is very beautiful and seems made with precious stone since itz a coffin for the dictor

3) the children and family etc all becomes happy 'cuz the dictor died...hence the song name free and easy

4) ayu dressed in black when being tied up..that to me is wat happened in the past...ayu maybe some fighter for freedom (like the free and easy single cover) many years ago..then she got caught and locked up for very very long...hence she looked tired and slow at the beginning of the pv

5) since the dictator is dead..they decided to free ayu...but since she has been locked up for so long..doesn't really fit in with society..people look at her differently

6) finally ayu leaves behind the prison...

[fantaisie.sign]

Originally posted by mimika
3) the children and family etc all becomes happy 'cuz the dictor died...hence the song name free and easy

I interpreted the children as having "free and easy" lives and that was the life that Ayu couldn't have.

Plus, you have to remember that F&E has the Joan of Arc theme. It's based on how Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and basically Ayu took that theme and created another story out of it. It's one of those videos where you know the story, but you're still left to interpret it your own way. For this video there is no right or wrong interpretation. There can be hundreds of ways to look at the video and draw your own conclusion. Chances are this was the director's intention.

[LiddoKun]

i still have yet to see the PV...

[chsf]

hmmmm...I would have honestly thought the coffin was for Ayu...because the cover reminds me of Joan of Arc/Jeanne d'Arc.

And also the Lionheart Brothers/Brödrerna Lejonhjärta by Astrid Lindgren
Because in that story when the brothers die they go to medieval-like place and become some sort of knights. And then they have to die again and go to an even more beautiful place...it's a very sad but beautiful and somewhat uplifting story

[AyuRlz]

i thought the coffin was for ayu too,

Like Chibi said, Free & Easy is about Joan of Arc. Ayu is playing Joan of Arc after she has been captured and just before she is to be burned at the stake. The whole European people thing prob relates to that, since Jeanne de Arc was French. The dark and almost colorless setting reflects the sadness that Joan has been captured. But the free people are trying to go on with their daily lives. Ayu squashes the grapes because that exhibits the irony that the people holding her captive would give her food, when she's about to die anyway. At the end, I do believe that she died, because JOA died, and you don't see Ayu escape. But the whole point is that JOA gave her life for good and for her people, like what the song is saying:

"I'll always protect you,
so you never ever lose
that which you have clutched
close to your heart."

It's a dark video, but the song is darkish. Wouldn't make sense to have been happy and vibrant.

[EdenZone]

its still a mystery to me......hehehe

[nmskalmn]

ayu'zlil}{anabi: could you say where that quote came from and who posted it? So we can give credit to the original author.

I never saw the "Free & Easy" PV, so I can't comment on it's meaning myself.

[chsf]

It's rather disturbing, I was quite shocked!!!

[fantaisie.sign]

I agree with biscuitgirl. The PV only makes sense if you know the Joan of Arc story. If not, then you would be completely confused about the video.

Here is the Joan of Arc story from the Joan of Arc Archive:

Partial Biography
"St. Joan of Arc was born at Domrémy circa January 6, 1412. Citing a mandate from God to drive the English out of France, she was eventually given an escort to bring her before Charles of Ponthieu (later known as King Charles VII). After gaining the approval of the Church scholars at Poitiers in March of 1429, she was granted titular command of an army which quickly lifted the siege of Orléans on May 8, 1429, captured Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency in mid-June, and defeated an English army at Patay on June 18. After accepting the surrender of the city of Troyes and other towns, the army escorted Charles to the city of Rheims for his coronation on July 17. [. . .] As a reward for her service, Charles VII granted her noble status along with her family on December 29, 1429. [. . .] Captured at Compiègne on May 23, 1430 and transferred to the English, she was placed on trial in Rouen by a selected group of pro-English clergy, many of whom nevertheless had to be coerced into voting for a guilty verdict. Convicted and executed on May 30, 1431, she was subsequently declared innocent by the Inquisition on July 7, 1456. After the usual lengthy delay associated with the sluggish process of canonization, she was beatified on April 11, 1909 and canonized as a saint on May 16, 1920. "

Biography Relating to the Free & Easy PV
"Early in the trial they tried to link her to witchcraft by claiming her banner had been endowed with "magical" powers, or that she allegedly poured wax on the heads of small children, etc, but these charges were dropped before the final articles of accusation were drawn up on April 5th. [. . .]Her guards finally took away her dress entirely and threw her the old male clothing which she was forbidden to wear, sparking a bitter argument between she and the guards that "went on until noon", according to Jean Massieu. She had no choice but to put on the clothing left to her, after which Cauchon promptly pronounced her a "relapsed heretic" and condemned her to death. [. . .]The scene of her execution is vividly described by a number of those who were present that day. She listened calmly to the sermon read to her, but then broke down weeping during her own address, in which she forgave her accusers for what they were doing and asked them to pray for her. The accounts say that most of the judges and assessors themselves, and a few of the English soldiers and officials, were openly sobbing by the end of it. But a few of the English soldiers were becoming impatient, and one sarcastically shouted to the bailiff Jean Massieu, "What, priest, are you going to make us wait here until dinner?" The executioner was ordered to "do your duty".
They tied her to a tall pillar well above the crowd. Several eyewitnesses recalled that she repeatedly screamed "...in a loud voice the holy name of Jesus, and implored and invoked without ceasing the aid of the saints of Paradise". Then her head drooped, and it was over."

Here is a painting of Joan similar to the Free & Easy cover:



Picture source: http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdW..._of_Arc_03.jpg

[Grantith]

The Free & Easy PV is dark, but it's extremely meaningfull. It has so much depth and character. It's definitely one of my favorites ever!

[Unimatrix Prime™]

I think Free & Easy is one of Ayu's more symbolic PVs, since it can be interpreted in many ways. I'd say what I think of it, but I'd just be repeating myself, but I agree what you've all said, but this looks like a vid that has no real answer to it

[chsf]

I think it can be interpreted in quite different ways depending on one's cultural background

[shizukesa]

I agree, I think it's Joan of Arc re-visited! XD
Such a beautiful song and PV!

[ayu_ayu301]

to me, somehow, that PV always give me the thought that Ayu's family (especially his dad is involved in this).

there were a family of three, which could symbolize Ayu, her mom and her dad. But since her dad is missing, they're burning her or something and the coffin in the last scene is for her.

over-simplification but lol .. just my opinions

[ddr trent]

this is one of my least favorite song its slow and ayu dies

[mrAznnizeguy]

this post was from two years ago.. wow..

[ddr trent]

didnt notice that. I guess shizukesa did some diggin

[kournikova]

in myopinion free & easy PV shows some scene from Joan of arc... ^^ its scene are from 1 day before the execution of joan of arc