John Legend - P.D.A (We Just Don't Care)

The music video of John Legend’s ‘P.D.A’ is mainly a concept but also slightly narrative one and is about two couples of both younger and older generations who may seem very different but happen to be ultimately alike as they are both madly in love with their partner.


The music video starts off with a montage of establishing shots through scenery of Brazil, however it does not completely show all the beautiful resorts that the country has to offer. Instead it shows a compilation of both the gorgeous settings that the country provides and the more realistic settings of Brazil that residents may normally come across, such as old, torn down wall posters to great landscapes, to kids playing on the streets.






It is not just implying that Brazil has grim sides to it as well as its exquisiteness; it is also perhaps conveying the different customs and sides to Brazil there are and that is being represented by the two different couples. The collage of scenery illustrates the journeys the couples undertake. They go everywhere through the city of Brazil yet never really take their eyes off each other regardless of being in richer or poorer areas of the city. It shows the magnificence of the country is behind them, and not visa-versa. The splendours of the country furthermore exemplify upon the joys of each couple’s journey, as they are accompanied by one another with great devotion. The opening shots are in black and white, symbolising a classic Brazil and therefore the true light of it. Points out both the beauties and realities of the nation. The fact that these opening shots are taken through a camcorder also is effective because it immerses you into the city, and also into the lives of John Legend and his partner since they take the camcorder everywhere they go.


The video has a slight theme of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ present through it, as we see the couples (particularly the younger couple) are isolated from the world around them and they seem to be unfazed by everything apart from each other. It shows the romanticism of the duo as although they are mischievous and alone, they still have each other and that’s all that really matters to keep their smiles always on their faces. The title of the song, ‘P.D.A’ meaning Public Displays of Affection and the sub-title ‘We just don’t care’ are also strongly connoted by this and we can observe that their attitudes and mind-sets show a direct link to P.D.A and ‘not caring’, due to the amore and attachment they have to each other, and also their negligence and disregard they have for what’s around them. The age difference between the couples shows the great difference between the generations as we can see the older couple being far more mature and sophisticated. The mise-en-scene in the video such as attire portray them as dressing smart and elegantly and their characteristics seem joyful but also much more hushed and quiet, whereas on the other hand with the younger couple they seem to run amok wherever they go and have a much noisier presence, plus are also suited up more casually and pale in comparison to the older couple’s classiness. This video proves however that no matter the age and no matter the persona of people, there is no difference in the behaviour of love as at the end of it all, both couples are only genially dedicated to each other and only care to show each other affection.






Whereas on the other hand with the younger couple they seem to run amok wherever they go and have a much noisier presence, plus are also suited up more casually and pale in comparison to the older couple’s classiness.






The older couple happen to carry the prop, a video camera, with them at all times and this could express the sense of personal connection they have to one another, as the couple will keep the footage for sentimental value. It can also suggest that although their love is wild for each other, they themselves are not as such and therefore the camera brings an intangible curtain over their romantic life and leaves things personal as it is only for them to see and only they have access to seeing it.








However the younger couple don’t need a camera and are happy living up to the name of the title and expressing their romance despite of whatever audience may be around. This does not go to mean that the older couple are lacking cheekiness and excitement though, as in a short scene we see John Legend whisper into the ear of his spouse accordingly to the music saying “lets sneak and do it when your boss is gone”. This suggests that although the older couple do indeed have their maturity and mellowness to them, they do still possess a rebellious, impulsive side to them leaving their romance to be far from lacklustre. It proposes for thought that no matter what the age, the romance is made the way the couple makes it to be and so doesn’t ever have to ‘lose its fire’ or ‘spark’.





There are also some forms of continuity editing at hand within the video. Many eye-line match shots are used in order to see the different perspectives from the characters and what they are looking at. We see this often through John Legend and his spouse as she is looking at him through the camera lenses in many shots, which supposedly can represent the intimacy between the couple as how they both glare at each other continuously and putting the audience’s eyes through the lens also immerses us into their companionship.




This technique also occurs with the younger couple as well however with the lack of a camera, perhaps suggesting the romanticism of younger people to be more straightforward and less confusing or clouded by unnecessary problems, symbolising their typically audacious, spontaneous and spur-of-the-moment lifestyle.






Other editing techniques are also existent such as parallel editing as we see the journey of two couples both unfolding at the same time. And events such as when a child takes a photograph of the younger couple and a jump shot to John Legend happens at the very moment where he focuses the camcorder on his own lover; make this more apparent.






Also as the older woman grabs John Legend into a more secluded place, so does the young girl to the young boy.







Moments like these happen through different scenes with crosscutting, and eventually at the end of the video the parallelism has both couples coincidentally meet; where they are both engaging in kissing their partner. (A pull-in focus shot is used here to suggest how both couples are just as equally important as each other).





This also illustrating at how though the couples may be of different ages and even cultures perhaps, they are still more similar and related than they may seem. This also provides for a cyclical structure due to a short clip by the beginning of the video where John Legend’s camera captures the younger couple riding together in a bike, while they were in their cab and then it is evident that they happen to cross roads again.




Again, right by the very end of the video the camera is brought into more significance as John Legend asks the young boy take a photo of him and his spouse. Perhaps this signifying how important it is to capture the precious moments you get with your loved one, both figuratively or literally.




In conclusion I thought this was a great video that had a strong meaning and connotations to it. The contrast between the different age cultures is clear, however the similarities and affinities the couples share between each other are just as clear, perhaps even more vivid. The video subtly uses various of devices and techniques to great degree; and although lacking much of a story the journey that the couples undertake together is more than enough to express the personalities and relationships between the characters, along with whats happening.