The deadline to nominate for this year’s Hugo Awards is today, so this editorial is probably too late to have any effect on this year’s ballot, although honestly, it probably won’t have much effect on any year’s ballot. Nevertheless, as a writer of very short fiction, and admirer of the short form in several media, I want to comment on the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Hugo Award.
Since the category was created to give works other than movies a chance at the award, it has become almost entirely the “Best Television Episode” award. But there are other, shorter forms of dramatic presentation that I think are deserving of your consideration. In this instance, I’m talking about music videos.
What started, in the late 1970s, as just excuses to play songs on television (and which were, at the time, dominated by recordings of live performances) has evolved into an entire art form of exceedingly short films, complete with stories, actors, and all the other trappings of their longer cousins.
As I was thinking about this topic, several leaped immediately to mind, and regardless of your taste in music, whether you like or can’t stand the singer/group upon whose song the video is based, check them out as mini-movies.
Most of these are ineligible for your consideration this year, since they came out earlier than 2013, but I’m hoping they’ll open your eyes to the possibilities of recommending something other than five television episodes from one or two series.
My random selection, in chronological order, of music videos you might consider to be very short genre films (feel free to add your own favorites in the comments below):
“She Blinded Me with Science” by Thomas Dolby (1982). Thomas Dolby is committed to the Home for Deranged Scientists. (I can’t find an online copy of this video.)
“Shadows of the Night” by Pat Benatar (1982): Rosie the Riveter daydreams herself into a flying/spying lover affair during World War II. This copy of the video has major problems with the soundtrack.
“Major Tom” by Peter Schilling (1983): this is a case of the song being more science fictional than the video. The video makes extensive use of actual space flight and astronaut footage.
“Don’t Answer Me” by the Alan Parsons Project (1984): more of a pulp/noir video than speculative fiction, the animated film placed second at the 1985 MTV music video awards.
“Land of Confusion” by Genesis (1986): President Reagan accidentally starts a nuclear war [puppet animation].
“I’d Do Anything for Love” by Meatloaf (1993): Michael Bay directed this combination of Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera.
“Toxic” by Britney Spears (2003): a futuristic, female James Bond.
“Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz (2005): takes place in a fantastical animated world of floating islands powered by windmills.
“Til the World Ends” by Britney Spears (2011): what happens when the world ends?
“Wide Awake” by Katy Perry (2012): a journey through a fantasy world.
“Rock n Roll” by Avril Lavigne (2013): a post-apocalyptic Mad Max feeling with hints of steampunk mixed in.
“With Ur Love” by Cher Lloyd (2013): the queen uses her magical powers to bewitch her male dinner guests.
“Popular Song” by Mika featuring Ariana Grande (2013): two unpopular kids in an Addames Family-esque high school seek their revenge at a gothic dinner party.
“Dark Horse” by Katy Perry (2014): fantastical events in ancient Egypt.