Synopsis

Paul Simon performs in a stark white space as the video unfolds through a surreal collage of live action, still photography, cutout animation, and visual effects. Drummers, dancers, mechanical figures, an elephant, and a strikingly styled young man appear in rapid, dreamlike combinations. The imagery shifts between playful spectacle and darker references to violence, technology, and mass media, reflecting the song's uneasy balance between wonder and dread. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the video creates a moving picture of a strange, accelerated modern world.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video uses a collage-based visual style built from photographs, painted elements, live-action footage, and stop-motion cutouts. It was created in Portland rather than through a conventional Los Angeles production setup.

• Portland percussionist Obo Addy appears walking through the frame while playing an African drum. The sequence was designed to match the distinctive opening rhythm of the recording.

• The young man with the dramatic Mohawk was a local street kid encountered through filmmaker Gus Van Sant. His appearance was chosen to accompany the lyric about every generation producing a new pop-chart hero.

• The elephant is not an original live-action prop or newly filmed animal. Its image came from a photograph taken from a 1950s movie.

• Some of the video's darker imagery draws on news-film associations, including footage connected with the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.

• The title's "boy" was inspired by medical cases involving David Vetter and Ted DeVita, two children who lived with severe immune-system disorders and spent much of their lives in protective isolation.

• "The Boy in the Bubble" was the opening track on Simon's 1986 album "Graceland" and was later issued as a single in 1987.

• The song was co-written with Forere Motloheloa, whose accordion playing helped give the track its distinctive Southern African and zydeco-like character.

• The video received several MTV Video Music Award nominations for its visual design, including categories recognizing special effects, art direction, experimental work, and overall video achievement.