Synopsis

Set in the atmosphere of an elementary school pageant, the video turns "Phantom Limb" into a series of deliberately rough historical tableaux. Children and members of The Shins act out Joan of Arc's martyrdom, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and the Donner Party disaster. The handmade costumes, painted scenery, and uneven stage performances create a striking contrast between childhood innocence and the violence of the stories being reenacted. The result is playful, macabre, and intentionally theatrical.

Factoids & Trivia

• James Mercer described the song as a fictional account of two young women in high school who fall in love while feeling alienated in a small town. The video's school-play setting provides an indirect visual connection to that adolescent isolation, without illustrating the song's storyline literally.

• The video uses children and the band members together, making the performers appear like participants in the same amateur production rather than separating the musicians from the narrative.

• Production designer Meghan Rogers lists the project among her music-video work and identifies Karen Lin as producer and Black Dog Films as the production company.

• Its deliberately low-tech pageant style was noted at the time as a continuation of The Shins' distinctive run of unconventional videos, following concepts such as Communist penguins in "So Says I" and origami animals in "Pink Bullets."