Ever wonder if Andrew Garfield would make a pretty girl? Neither did we. However, in Arcade Fire‘s new video, you find out. (Answer: He looks just OK.)
www.youtube.com/embed/hRXc_-c_9Xc?feature=player_detailpage
Music fans at Coachella might have been thought they were the only people privy to seeing Andrew Garfield in drag at the Arcade Fire show (assuming they realized it was him), but now the whole world is getting a peek at the festival look and more. That’s right: Garfield goes drag for Arcade Fire’s new video, “We Exist.” It’s… fabulous?
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The video starts with a sad-looking Garfield standing in front of the mirror, shaving off his gorgeous floppy locks. Of course we immediately wondered, “Oh, God! This isn’t a cancer video is it? We can’t handle that today.” We quickly realized that probably wasn’t the case, though, when Garfield shimmied into a pretty black bra, blond wig and went through multiple clothing options.
Despite his thin frame and sweet British accent, we’ve never looked at Andrew Garfield and thought, “Huh. I bet he’d make a pretty girl.” In fact, he’s not a very pretty girl at all, but we love him just the same. He is, however, still gorgeous as a blond. And, yeah, that gentleman can seriously rock the cutoffs. Like, we’re jealous.
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After settling on a cowboy shirt to go with his cut-off shorts, Garfield hits a honky-tonk bar and we know what’s coming. Despite the two burly dudes dancing closely on the dance floor, nothing about this place seems like a good idea for a skinny man in a long blond wig. Sure enough, one man’s advances turn into a handful of men pushing around the cross-dressing Garfield (from here on out known as Andrea).
Somehow, though, Andrea makes it past the taunting rednecks and onto a dance floor of her own. When he/she gets a little Footloose on us, it’s actually surprisingly good. She really shows us that proper English gentlewomen still know how to get down. Her set of choreography is answered back by moves from a few more manly dudes in tied-up shirts and cutoffs. It’s humorous but a little weird: That one guy definitely looks like our dad. Then, as they walk around Andrea, we’re convinced she didn’t pass their dance test and will be kicked out of their secret gay lumberjack alliance. It turns out, though, they’re just going to pull back a curtain. So, her dance moves were like a secret password into a world of acceptance?
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It turns out those burly bouncers were more like roadies and that “world of acceptance” was an Arcade Fire show. After making her way onto the stage with Win Butler and the gang, everything changes for Andrea. Not only is she accepted by the band, but an entire crowd cheers her on as she dances to the music.
We get it. “We Exist” is for all the people on the fringe of “normal” life that people ignore or chastise for not accepting a miserable life in the middle. Arcade Fire did a fantastic job of taking a message that could have preachy and been-there-done-that and turned it into something fresh and new. People are, of course, talking about Garfield in drag. But, you can’t talk about the how and why of his dressing up without also discussing the message. And it’s a good message.
We exist. And we know you exist. And we love you… even if you look worse than Andrew Garfield in drag. (We’re convinced it’s just his eyebrows, though.)
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