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MGMT - The Youth

Music Video
ArtistMGMT

Wiki

Synopsis

A group of children in brightly colored, retro-futurist outfits performs a rigid, synchronized routine in a surreal schoolroom setting. Their deadpan presentation gives the song a strange, artificial polish, like a warped children's television program. When one boy breaks from the choreography and introduces a more flamboyant dance style, the others initially reject him and demand conformity. He tries again, however, and the group eventually embraces his movement, turning the performance into a playful parable about individuality, influence, and generational change.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The video was released in October 2008, during the promotional campaign for MGMT's debut album, "Oracular Spectacular."
  • Its visual style combines deliberately awkward child performers, stiff choreography, flamboyant costumes, and straight-faced comic timing. The result resembles a bizarre, low-budget version of a polished school musical.
  • The video's central dance conflict reflects the song's recurring idea that youth is in the process of changing, while avoiding a conventional narrative or literal storyline.
  • Ben Berman handled the editing, with Clark Reinking credited as producer.
  • The video became one of the more distinctive early visual pieces associated with MGMT's breakout period, helping establish the band's taste for surreal, offbeat imagery rather than standard performance clips.
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