This notion is actually one of persistent debate among the public. As with many concepts of todays absurd world, we have the very concept of self-love, mistakenly demystified into a gross oversimplification, and an expectation of a dichotomy that fails to lend respect to just how abstracted away any self-love concept truly deserves to be held. We see an influx of autism in society, and the subsequent breakdown of certainty, self-awareness etc, to the point of personal identity being hard for an observer to differentiate contentment from a self-deceiving coping mechanism. That is also what I believe is behind the growing trend conflating or mischaracterizing cluster-B narcissism with autism/identity struggles, due to the small overlap that exists in the behavior of both, yet does not exist in the awareness, the intention or idealized outcome (one is of genuine confusion/misunderstanding while the other is in selfishness, malice or manipulation.). So we then find ourself asking, is self-love able to take multiple genuine forms? Or rather is it always either a true sentiment or a self-deceiving overcompensation coping method? Or have the more nuanced variant simply been lost in the passage of time? Personally, I see many factors to be relevant in assessing love of the self. For example, does it take the form of selfishness? Does it align with not just the ideal, but also the reacting behavior? If one loves themself, yet sabotages their own well-being, then it doesn't seem like genuine self-love. Ideally, you can ensure you are treating yourself in an optimally loving way, only by comparing it to how you treat other people you genuinely love. You should be treating yourself the way you might treat a separate individual, such as if you imagined yourself as not you, but a friend whom you know very well, or like w child whom you love unconditionally. Just as a parent often takes on a fully self-less, self-sacrificial attitude when it comes to how they treat their children, so should you find it an effortless endeavor to remove yourself from harms way when needed. You must love others to love the self, and the result is the altruistic and empathetic positive feedback loop that fuels social progress of society.
Ngl this shit littlerally made me break down in tears considering how much relatable I feel to this girl... I feel like her rn, suffering from depression and existential crisis, wanting to desperately find a way to escape reality. Thanks Porter Robinson for this song. This really makes me feel recognised for who I am :,)...
@@Nik-md4to this is genuine. Idk what the hell your on about but this song litterally gave meaning to me then any other person who ever talked to me... so stop saying degenerate shit like that and kindly piss off
@@gusmusicau i managed to get off the things that were holding me back...i posted a music cover. Would really appreciate if you checked it out Thank you again !
I'm already grown, almost 40. And the message in this song has touched me so deeply. How many times did I think life wasn't worth living? How many times did I feel useless and hopeless. But I'm still alive. We're all still alive. And that alone means so much. I can keep going a little longer 😭
man,,, the symbolism of the balloon often being associated with fun and parties when blown up while also being very fragile is such good imagery for this. and i guess also the feeling of being "deflated" and how it sort of brought her back down to earth? in a way? there's so much to process in this video, im really interested to be a part of the conversation around this
My full interpretation: Balloon Kingdom was where she grew up, where she and her parents are from. She was already different from her people, being less cartoonish. Her parents provided her the opportunity to escape to Japan by hot air balloon, where she now lives feeling very alone. The one remaining connection to her first culture is 🐕. She is balloon by ethnicity but also very human, able to fit in by dyeing her hair blue and wearing glasses. On the roadside she cries alone at night, and imagines grasping onto cluster of giant balloons that will bring her back home. Floating balloons represent her hopes and dreams, which she desperately wants to uplift herself with. Yet her true home is gone and the giant cluster would only bring her to a fatal height. Instead, she lays about her apartment and floats her thoughts into the ether by commenting on videos that clickbait her war-ravaged homeland. As a distraction, she envisions a persona for herself by combining balloon and Jirai Kei culture. This creative identity is damaging to herself/balloons but has beauty, and she internalizes it by consuming the thorny rose. She posts this version of herself online, highlighting the differences between balloon people and humans in a cute, quirky way. Creating the content allow her to let off some steam, enjoy life, and send more of her hopes into the world. The video goes viral, bringing attention to herself/balloons. Masked strangers gawk at her; in person, and likely online as well. When she finds out, she ruminates in a dark place, crosses out her childhood drawings of Balloon Kingdom, and sees her hopes and dreams dashed against her bedroom wall. Overnight, she posts about a clearly implied 'event' on her account that receives plenty of support. She goes live with a bouquet of roses - a display of ultimate self harm. She envisions that this event will fully inflate her, bringing her back to her untarnished childhood home to reunite with her parents. When she is about to finish it all by popping herself with the rose, best balloon 🐶 brings her back to reality. She is at her lowest point, and the parts of her online identity are strewn around her true self. Eventually her depression consumes her again and she impulsively decides to end it all at the train tracks with 🦮 in hand. The bystanders around her are of diverse species and perhaps also troubled, but nobody takes action as she walks forward. When best balloon points out the 🎈 in the sky from her younger self representing the 'Dear Future Me' letter, she remembers her naive but enthusiastic ambitions to take care of 'both of them'. All her previous hopes and dreams remain, piercing through the clouds to create a guiding light.
@@Tonaribeautiful analysis thank you for the insight. I tend to sometimes struggle to find the meaning behind images and miss a lot of references during music videos so this helped a whole lot
@@Tonari i interpreted the "i am alive" balloon to be a message to her parents, though she saw their air-balloon pop during the flight to escape the fires, at the end of the video we see different-decorated balloons, one saying "we are alive"- as in a way for her parents to respond and communicate back to her? She finally feels not alone and that balloon kingdom lives through its survivors/her family.
Yeah, this could honestly be in the nurture album and I wouldn't bat an eye. I hope his future releases are a mixture between the Nurture and Smile styles, as much as I really like this album the more I listen to it, I hope he doesn't just abandon his previous style :D
I just realized, aside from the metaphorical meaning of the "I am alive" balloon that is more frequently discussed by fans... I think after seeing the "We Are Alive" balloon at the end, this probably means that aside from transportation, the Balloon Kingdom people use balloons in this world in a similar manner as flare guns during real life situations, when an individual is stranded or far apart from other members of their party in a very wide area that's hard to navigate. Her popping the "I am alive" balloon while she was deep in her fantasy meant that she likely gave up on the hope of ever seeing her people again after probably several attempts, hence her being okay with popping it. After deciding to not off herself with the rose thorn, she is then thematically rewarded for picking the harder choice of continuing to live by letting her know that her people were still alive after all. The ending is giving me so much Godzilla Minus One vibes, which resonated with me a lot
This was what confused me the most in the mv, and I feel like you nailed it! This makes a lot of sense to me, and this analysis really makes this mv even more beautiful :) thank you for sharing!
As a person battling with dep, i can say it feels like that most times. Whenever someone asks me, "how are you?", my reply is always "I'm still alive." Porter's music has always struck me in ways I can't explain to those who are willing to understand me. I notice some of his songs have that recurring theme of being alive, esp. literally in the lyrics. Thank you, Porter.
I'm going through this myself... Ive been struggling heavily with the idea that I am worthy of love and I deserve it. You aren't alone. This song hits the spot and reminds myself that I am worthy of love and I am still alive.
It's the ignorance of the poor helpless dog who don't understand anything and only live to love and be loved that makes me in tears. We never trully realise how important we are to others and never trully appreciate that love, until we lose it.
I reacted a lot more to the crying balloon dog than I expected. It reminds me of my late cat that was bonded with me and comforted me during my darkest times and kept me motivated to live. Now I live for him keeping memories of him alive as long as I can.
Absolutely the same - the lyrics hit home a lot for me, but my cat is what got me to start taking depression meds so I could be the best version of myself for ber. I'm sorry that I didn't start sooner and that I couldn't save her, and for the same reason as you I stay alive to keep her memory alive.
I bought my mom a ticket to come with me to see porter in October and I’m so grateful I can introduce her to my favorite artist of all time. I was shocked when she said she was down to go too! I was fully planning on going by myself. I hope she, like you, will be grateful I introduced her to the legend that is porter Robinson!
Hi Porter! Sorry for writing you an awkward message. Me and my partner just managed to finish watching your new music video. I’m pretty sure this is mere coincidence but I’m from Venezuela, without getting too political I just want to say that due to recent presidential elections people are dying on the streets of the country that used to be filled with joy. As an immigrant, it’s very limited the things I can do to help other than keep myself informed and bear the weight of it. This past few days have been really tough on us and I want to say Thank you. For Blessing us with your music, with your thoughts, with your art. I can’t put into words what this new song means to me. I know one day I will be able to see the place i grew up and see the rainbow after the storm. I hope you have a blessed evening. “We are alive” Ricardo
“I can’t help shaking the feeling I’ll be happier by the time I’m him” Happy/sad/desparate/hopeful achieved. I’ve never sobbed alone in my car before I heard this
I remember reading somewhere (maybe a youtube comment or reddit post or something) that even if you believe no one in the world loves, not a single other human, that you should remember that your dog loves you, and that you should stay, even if it's just for them. I didn't expect this of all things to paint that picture so clearly
“I think you lost all interest in this world. You were disappointed and discouraged, and lost interest in everything. So you abandoned your physical body. You went to a world apart and you're living a different kind of life there. In a world inside you.” Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
To me it looks like the main character keeps getting lost and saddened in memories of a younger self in the past when things looked so bright (before the terrible things happened to this balloon/dream world). The dog is the loved one in the present time that still needs her, and loves her unconditionally, and relies on her and brings her back to earth.
thank you Portable Lenovo ThinkPad T440 Laptop Robinson, for this truly beautiful song. this and all the other songs on Smile :D, specifically Russian Roulette and Is There Really No Happiness are quickly becoming some of my favorites in your discography. :)
I see many people commenting about their experiences dealing with depression and how some of them are still dealing with it. Please keep on going, it ALWAYS gets better, even if you can't see it right now. Do not be afraid to ask for help, we all need it sometimes, and it's ok.
Just one thing: Never give up before giving it a good fight, sometimes life is shit and will be, but as long as you keep fighting, it will get easier, there is so much in this world to do, see and feel before death.
On my hardest times, my dog was my main motivation to wake up, go outside and do things, so this video hit me so hard. She was resting by my side while I was watching it and when it ended I hugged her and cried ❤
In 2023 I had a long, agonizing heartbreak. I looked ahead to 2024, rebuilt myself. So much hope of new things, new love. I put myself out there. I found someone I really adored, who seemed to adore me. But I was just love bombed and discarded. My heartbreak now is much, much worse than my lowest in 2023. I hear this song and I weep. I’m so sorry, past me. I know you were full of hope. I know you wanted to believe you could restart and find something good. I’m so sorry I’m not where you dreamed I would be. I’m so sorry I can’t report the good things that happened.
I love how much Galileo Galilei has inspired Porter. Even the director of the MV is the same one from Galileo Galilei's "Circle Game" MV. As a fan of both artists, I am so happy to see this
I think helium in this music video represents "joy" or "artistic creativity". The balloon kingdom under attack was probably some form of trauma that took all the magic and joy out of her life. Before, everyone around them was made of balloons, now all that's left is her dog. Her dog is one of the few things left in her life that makes her happy. Where she previously was releasing her work because she wanted to reclaim that joy she once had, her love for art has turned into posters on the wall. To reclaim her love for creating things, she creates a delusional version of herself online for the attention. She even gets noticed for this creativity, but it only drives her to continue the fantasy she's created. As she pours more creativity into herself and this fictional online image, she's sucking the life out of the only real joy she still has in reality, her dog. Near the end as she inflates herself with "helium", she becomes this fictional image she dreamed of, as her dog is deflating because she's basically forgotten about the real world. In the end, the dog is inflated again and she can't continue that fantasy. She has to return to reality or else it will fall apart without her. When she cries at the end, I think she's happy to see that others are releasing their messages into the air. She's not truly alone. I think the balloons are the work of others that inspire us and we temporarily get to enjoy them as they are released. Our creativity is not meant for us to selfishly cherish and hold onto. It's meant to be shared with others to bring them joy as well. The baloons going from "I'm Alive" to "We Are Alive" could represent a shift from an individualistic mindset to a community-focused view on life.
Just one thing to note, at the end i think when she went back to reality, she was about to suicide with the train, but the "we are alive" message was likely a response from her family after all the "i am alive" balloons she was sending out. So it just shows that if she did kill herself, she wouldnt have known her family was alive
@@powuhh The minor iv chord always hits. The chorus first repeats I - iii - vi - IV (Bb - Dm - Gm - Eb) twice, then for the other half it changes the last IV chord to be minor instead, so Bb - Dm - Gm - Ebm.
The balloon dog is your inner child. Take care of him/her, and take care of yourself you all, and don’t let your dreams (balloons city) fade away. It isn’t easy, but you’re not alone. ❤️ After 2 years of therapy, this song perfectly describe how I feel and felt. What a masterpiece.
my dog just died and i miss her so much. if i was ever down i would think "no, she would wonder where you were" and now I don't have that. the little dog crying and broke me. i feel exactly like that. i just want her back so bad
Somehow being on the other side of finally being able to see myself and feel that relief and comfort and happiness, this song and mv reminded me of how exhausting and painful it was to get here and how I've not even begun to deal with that yet. I need hydration.. too many tears over paradise.
For people fighting this mental battle. Stay strong. I know its hard. I've attempted twice. Trust me when i say this. It wont make anyone elses life better. There are people who care for you. And they will definitely notice when you are gone. Dont leave them. Reach out. Trust me it helps a lot. We are in this together. As the message on the balloon says "We are still alive". Lets do our best to keep it that way.
Fell in love with the layering of the guitar melody over the melancholy synths/vocals that appear at the beginning and throughout the song. It sounds like the parts of life where there is the busy-ness of the day-to-day while sad and painful thoughts follow us around acting as kind of an undertone. I also appreciate the ups and downs in the character’s life shown in the MV. Each day brings a different low and high, all the while tracking the days of being alive with those red balloons. Sometimes it’s easy to live, while others not so much. But being here will allow us to see good things happen if we are patient enough.
watching this the second time, i couldn't help but remember my pets that have passed away with the scene where the balloon dog cried out to our protag in the music video. i want to see arthur one last time i want to see rusty one last time i want to see piper one last time i want to see georgie one last time... i miss my little family so much.... life is so much lonelier without them... they were such a happy bundle of joy that grounded me back to reality when things were dark damnit porter now im crying
This clip is just so emotive, the part wher they are to cut theyselves and then we have the chords and the dog running just make me want to watch and rewatch again and again.
this was probably my favorite song from the album out of the new ones that weren't already released as singles!! I'm eatin good today (crying my eyes out)!!!
This is probably the song that hits me the hardest in your album. Always self-reflecting of my past self and just facing comparisons on where I was before inspired making music but always hitting roadblocks of self doubt and wasting too much time in my head about it. To current day where I am now working on projects getting them done feeling that spark, insperation and actually posting up this year and hopefully getting as consistant as I was once was back around 2017/early 2020, but always still reflecting to my past self who was inspired wondering what they would think of my current progress. Which I sometimes feel disappointment in a way but its to late to change the past and time to move on into the present with what I currently have.
Hoy puedo dedicarme esa canción. Ya no soy el chico que se criticaba y se sentía inferior a los demás. Ahora y gracias a mis ex-compañeros de la universidad que me regañaban por minimizarme con bromas de mal gusto y la chica que me gustaba que me enseño a ser mejor y dejar mis inseguridades atrás. Soy mas seguro de mismo, además que en 2 semanas, cumplo el sueño de mi yo niño. Puedo decir que me conozco a mi mismo y soy feliz por quien soy. Tarde pero al fin me libere
I'm not very good at analyzing the lore but I can give some context as to why her alternate self looks like that. Her "inflated" self looks to be based on the jirai kei subculture/fashion from Japan. From my understanding, so CMIIW, Jirai Kei means something like "landmine style". The "jirai" part is taken from a somewhat derogatory term used to refer to emotionally unstable people in relationships, commonly women, where it's described as "triggering a landmine". The fashion itself is very cutesy, associated with pinks and bows, but also has a lot of dark elements. It's associated with self-harming, rebellious and abusive behaviors (this is just a stereotype that people have with the style, doesn't mean that people who dress like this have the behaviors above!) The character's alter ego seems to have a lot of those cutesy bows and dark elements like chains and blacks in her design. At 1:25, the name on the screen says 'Shi Bomb-Chan", roughly translated it means 'Miss Death Bomb". Her Balloon TikTok username is "Shi_Bomb***" which seems to be reflecting this fact. I hope this helps your theories!
Thank you, this really helped me understand the video more. I wonder how it ties into the implications of her being an immigrant from a war torn country filled with balloon people, and why she herself left the country despite not being a balloon person at the time, or if maybe she was simply imagining herself as suffering that way through an addiction to social media.
@@marcmaderarivera3450 prolly because it got privated/unlisted, I wasn't able to watch it tho, when I saw it I was like "Wait, why there's a blue Porter Robinson thumbnail, I've never seen that before?"
to everyone else who relates to this way too much. keep sending up the 'we're alive' balloons, no matter how pointless it seems. if not for you, for that person who needs to see it.
The art & animation for this is phenomenal, might be a new personal favorite among the other MVs. Most heart-wrenching song out of this whole album & somehow you made it even sadder, AUGH!! Just amazing 💙💙
so i've been trying to find words to say about this song and this video since yesterday tbh.. and yeah i still have none i guess, or maybe just too many. love you Porter
I resonate with this so hard. I’m struggling a lot growing as person in my adulthood, struggled with a traumatic and sad childhood. I just got my first puppy. Im so excited to see who we become together.
This is my favorite song on the album, what a masterpiece. The ending synths sound like reality is being erased but everyone is smiling at each other and and content as everything disappears from existence. I don't know why but that's what it feels like to me. Then Mona Lisa right after this song is just peak. God I love this album.
This song is a tangible form of when I tell my partner, "I want to be the person that loves you second-most. Number one has to be you."
Wow what a beautiful thing to say this is so true self love is so important 🥺🤍
That is soo true. ❤
gay ?
This notion is actually one of persistent debate among the public. As with many concepts of todays absurd world, we have the very concept of self-love, mistakenly demystified into a gross oversimplification, and an expectation of a dichotomy that fails to lend respect to just how abstracted away any self-love concept truly deserves to be held. We see an influx of autism in society, and the subsequent breakdown of certainty, self-awareness etc, to the point of personal identity being hard for an observer to differentiate contentment from a self-deceiving coping mechanism. That is also what I believe is behind the growing trend conflating or mischaracterizing cluster-B narcissism with autism/identity struggles, due to the small overlap that exists in the behavior of both, yet does not exist in the awareness, the intention or idealized outcome (one is of genuine confusion/misunderstanding while the other is in selfishness, malice or manipulation.). So we then find ourself asking, is self-love able to take multiple genuine forms? Or rather is it always either a true sentiment or a self-deceiving overcompensation coping method? Or have the more nuanced variant simply been lost in the passage of time? Personally, I see many factors to be relevant in assessing love of the self. For example, does it take the form of selfishness? Does it align with not just the ideal, but also the reacting behavior? If one loves themself, yet sabotages their own well-being, then it doesn't seem like genuine self-love. Ideally, you can ensure you are treating yourself in an optimally loving way, only by comparing it to how you treat other people you genuinely love. You should be treating yourself the way you might treat a separate individual, such as if you imagined yourself as not you, but a friend whom you know very well, or like w child whom you love unconditionally. Just as a parent often takes on a fully self-less, self-sacrificial attitude when it comes to how they treat their children, so should you find it an effortless endeavor to remove yourself from harms way when needed. You must love others to love the self, and the result is the altruistic and empathetic positive feedback loop that fuels social progress of society.
Every reply to this comment is so insanely different in tone and execution. It's like a microcosm of the internet.
"I'm alive" to "We are alive"
Jesus, keep those onions away from me
THE BALLOON DOG MADE ME BAWL MY EYES OUTTTT 😭😭😭
I had to hug my dog for a lil bit because of this video
you and me both
^Same!!!
bubblegum doooog
tell me what the truth isss
Same TUT
That balloon dog crying for them to come down broke me
*her
@celsius1359 you are ideologically captured
was NOT expecting this one to get an MV omg???
Wdym?!?!?!?! It's the best song from the album!
me too LOL
Exactly😭 I cried listening to the song and now I’m gonna ball out watching the video
I was, it’s the most emotional song from all songs haha
Same thing for Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-di-to ans Dullscyth.
Ngl this shit littlerally made me break down in tears considering how much relatable I feel to this girl... I feel like her rn, suffering from depression and existential crisis, wanting to desperately find a way to escape reality. Thanks Porter Robinson for this song. This really makes me feel recognised for who I am :,)...
you're nearly there
keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going
it will all be ok in the end
Lmao so pretentious
It be okay u get thru this stay strong i feel same
@@Nik-md4to this is genuine. Idk what the hell your on about but this song litterally gave meaning to me then any other person who ever talked to me... so stop saying degenerate shit like that and kindly piss off
@@Nik-md4to ??? Expressing your feelings is pretentious?
Growing up is hard, but your dreams don't have to die. We are alive.
This song is pure catharsis. It's a reminder you can go out and be what you want. Even if potential has been lost. Potential remains
@gusmusicau , thank you for your kind words. This is so inspiring to me giving my current situation !
@@gusmusicau i managed to get off the things that were holding me back...i posted a music cover. Would really appreciate if you checked it out
Thank you again !
I'm already grown, almost 40. And the message in this song has touched me so deeply. How many times did I think life wasn't worth living? How many times did I feel useless and hopeless. But I'm still alive. We're all still alive. And that alone means so much. I can keep going a little longer 😭
man,,, the symbolism of the balloon often being associated with fun and parties when blown up while also being very fragile is such good imagery for this. and i guess also the feeling of being "deflated" and how it sort of brought her back down to earth? in a way? there's so much to process in this video, im really interested to be a part of the conversation around this
same leaving a comment for if one happens
And her taking the gas canister when she flew, leaving her last REAL connection to her old home and family (the dog) deflated and crying
My full interpretation: Balloon Kingdom was where she grew up, where she and her parents are from. She was already different from her people, being less cartoonish. Her parents provided her the opportunity to escape to Japan by hot air balloon, where she now lives feeling very alone. The one remaining connection to her first culture is 🐕. She is balloon by ethnicity but also very human, able to fit in by dyeing her hair blue and wearing glasses.
On the roadside she cries alone at night, and imagines grasping onto cluster of giant balloons that will bring her back home. Floating balloons represent her hopes and dreams, which she desperately wants to uplift herself with. Yet her true home is gone and the giant cluster would only bring her to a fatal height. Instead, she lays about her apartment and floats her thoughts into the ether by commenting on videos that clickbait her war-ravaged homeland.
As a distraction, she envisions a persona for herself by combining balloon and Jirai Kei culture. This creative identity is damaging to herself/balloons but has beauty, and she internalizes it by consuming the thorny rose. She posts this version of herself online, highlighting the differences between balloon people and humans in a cute, quirky way. Creating the content allow her to let off some steam, enjoy life, and send more of her hopes into the world.
The video goes viral, bringing attention to herself/balloons. Masked strangers gawk at her; in person, and likely online as well. When she finds out, she ruminates in a dark place, crosses out her childhood drawings of Balloon Kingdom, and sees her hopes and dreams dashed against her bedroom wall. Overnight, she posts about a clearly implied 'event' on her account that receives plenty of support.
She goes live with a bouquet of roses - a display of ultimate self harm. She envisions that this event will fully inflate her, bringing her back to her untarnished childhood home to reunite with her parents. When she is about to finish it all by popping herself with the rose, best balloon 🐶 brings her back to reality. She is at her lowest point, and the parts of her online identity are strewn around her true self.
Eventually her depression consumes her again and she impulsively decides to end it all at the train tracks with 🦮 in hand. The bystanders around her are of diverse species and perhaps also troubled, but nobody takes action as she walks forward. When best balloon points out the 🎈 in the sky from her younger self representing the 'Dear Future Me' letter, she remembers her naive but enthusiastic ambitions to take care of 'both of them'. All her previous hopes and dreams remain, piercing through the clouds to create a guiding light.
@@Tonaribeautiful analysis thank you for the insight. I tend to sometimes struggle to find the meaning behind images and miss a lot of references during music videos so this helped a whole lot
@@Tonari i interpreted the "i am alive" balloon to be a message to her parents, though she saw their air-balloon pop during the flight to escape the fires, at the end of the video we see different-decorated balloons, one saying "we are alive"- as in a way for her parents to respond and communicate back to her? She finally feels not alone and that balloon kingdom lives through its survivors/her family.
welcome back nurture voice
Yes ❤
We’re so back 【=◈︿◈=】
@@KiddKoalaz let's fucking GOOO (⚬⃔⚬ℕ⚬⃔⚬)
Ah yeah, familiar to hear that
Yeah, this could honestly be in the nurture album and I wouldn't bat an eye. I hope his future releases are a mixture between the Nurture and Smile styles, as much as I really like this album the more I listen to it, I hope he doesn't just abandon his previous style :D
I just realized, aside from the metaphorical meaning of the "I am alive" balloon that is more frequently discussed by fans... I think after seeing the "We Are Alive" balloon at the end, this probably means that aside from transportation, the Balloon Kingdom people use balloons in this world in a similar manner as flare guns during real life situations, when an individual is stranded or far apart from other members of their party in a very wide area that's hard to navigate.
Her popping the "I am alive" balloon while she was deep in her fantasy meant that she likely gave up on the hope of ever seeing her people again after probably several attempts, hence her being okay with popping it. After deciding to not off herself with the rose thorn, she is then thematically rewarded for picking the harder choice of continuing to live by letting her know that her people were still alive after all. The ending is giving me so much Godzilla Minus One vibes, which resonated with me a lot
Good analysis bro
This was what confused me the most in the mv, and I feel like you nailed it! This makes a lot of sense to me, and this analysis really makes this mv even more beautiful :) thank you for sharing!
As a person battling with dep, i can say it feels like that most times. Whenever someone asks me, "how are you?", my reply is always "I'm still alive." Porter's music has always struck me in ways I can't explain to those who are willing to understand me. I notice some of his songs have that recurring theme of being alive, esp. literally in the lyrics. Thank you, Porter.
I'm going through this myself... Ive been struggling heavily with the idea that I am worthy of love and I deserve it. You aren't alone. This song hits the spot and reminds myself that I am worthy of love and I am still alive.
Im glad we’re all still alive. Both of you are so strong. We are alive ❤
we are both still alive, there is still hope.
I feel the same, we'll both get through this ❤️
im glad we're alive
It's the ignorance of the poor helpless dog who don't understand anything and only live to love and be loved that makes me in tears. We never trully realise how important we are to others and never trully appreciate that love, until we lose it.
Porter is a gift to the world. Protect yourself Porter and keep being you.
The dog crying and then the synth in the finale of the song broke me, that synth at the end just hits
Haven't we cried enough already??? 😭😭
The fucking "hyperpop" in question.
Love getting blindsided
@@DingleFlop we came for the pop, we got tears instead
Such a good song to walk around the neighbourhood.
I didn't expect to see you here
Hello there. 8)
So you are a fellow cultured man, I see.
@@Axenide Cultured?...
That I am. >:]
omg hai
omg its ADC
I reacted a lot more to the crying balloon dog than I expected. It reminds me of my late cat that was bonded with me and comforted me during my darkest times and kept me motivated to live. Now I live for him keeping memories of him alive as long as I can.
Absolutely the same - the lyrics hit home a lot for me, but my cat is what got me to start taking depression meds so I could be the best version of myself for ber. I'm sorry that I didn't start sooner and that I couldn't save her, and for the same reason as you I stay alive to keep her memory alive.
My kids just introduced me to Mr. Robinson. I’m grateful
this is epic
Hello! Glad to have you aboard, might I suggest Porter Robinson's song, "Mother."
@@paranorpir8 In fact, if you like this, just listen to the whole Nurture album, because at least 50% of the tracks are just awesome and beautiful.
smart kids
I bought my mom a ticket to come with me to see porter in October and I’m so grateful I can introduce her to my favorite artist of all time. I was shocked when she said she was down to go too! I was fully planning on going by myself. I hope she, like you, will be grateful I introduced her to the legend that is porter Robinson!
Hi Porter! Sorry for writing you an awkward message. Me and my partner just managed to finish watching your new music video. I’m pretty sure this is mere coincidence but I’m from Venezuela, without getting too political I just want to say that due to recent presidential elections people are dying on the streets of the country that used to be filled with joy. As an immigrant, it’s very limited the things I can do to help other than keep myself informed and bear the weight of it. This past few days have been really tough on us and I want to say Thank you. For Blessing us with your music, with your thoughts, with your art. I can’t put into words what this new song means to me. I know one day I will be able to see the place i grew up and see the rainbow after the storm. I hope you have a blessed evening.
“We are alive”
Ricardo
Stay strong man. Hugs. I'm on the other side of the globe but I understand your pain.
@@anastasialipatova4798 100% from North Carolina!!!
mis mejores deseos para todos ustedes. un abrazo, amigo.
fuerza❤
stay strong
“I can’t help shaking the feeling I’ll be happier by the time I’m him”
Happy/sad/desparate/hopeful achieved. I’ve never sobbed alone in my car before I heard this
I remember reading somewhere (maybe a youtube comment or reddit post or something) that even if you believe no one in the world loves, not a single other human, that you should remember that your dog loves you, and that you should stay, even if it's just for them. I didn't expect this of all things to paint that picture so clearly
“I think you lost all interest in this world. You were disappointed and discouraged, and lost interest in everything. So you abandoned your physical body. You went to a world apart and you're living a different kind of life there. In a world inside you.”
Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
To me it looks like the main character keeps getting lost and saddened in memories of a younger self in the past when things looked so bright (before the terrible things happened to this balloon/dream world). The dog is the loved one in the present time that still needs her, and loves her unconditionally, and relies on her and brings her back to earth.
i just found this guy like yesterday because worlds was wikipedia's featured article AND I LOVE HIM
Welcome bud!!
can’t wait to sit in the back room at work and cry to this on my break
Not even kidding, me rn
Doing this rn as well
After I put the kids to sleep time to sob my eyes out 😌👌
HE FOUND ME CRYING😭😭😭😭HE CREW😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭WE BOTH CRODE😭😭😭😭😭😭
LETS GOOO MY FAV SONG ON THE ALBUM
it's sooooo good
SAMEEEE
same
Same
自己肯定感に悩む全ての人に聴いてほしい名曲と名MVだ
泣いた
thats deep
thank you Portable Lenovo ThinkPad T440 Laptop Robinson, for this truly beautiful song. this and all the other songs on Smile :D, specifically Russian Roulette and Is There Really No Happiness are quickly becoming some of my favorites in your discography. :)
not the lenovo thinkpad omg hahah
THIS HAD NO BUSINESS IN BEING THIS SPECIFIC BC I HAVE THE SAME THINKPAD
I see many people commenting about their experiences dealing with depression and how some of them are still dealing with it. Please keep on going, it ALWAYS gets better, even if you can't see it right now. Do not be afraid to ask for help, we all need it sometimes, and it's ok.
3:29 this part gave me goosebumps and i loved it
i think this saved my life
“Don’t kill yourself you idiot” - Porter Robinson ❤
Everything's going to be okay, I promise.
Just one thing:
Never give up before giving it a good fight, sometimes life is shit and will be, but as long as you keep fighting, it will get easier, there is so much in this world to do, see and feel before death.
Dude, I was already emotional at the start, but the dog made me cry.
I'm always amazed by how different the style of porter's music videos are
you never know what to expect and I love it
I can already tell this is gonna make me cry
On my hardest times, my dog was my main motivation to wake up, go outside and do things, so this video hit me so hard. She was resting by my side while I was watching it and when it ended I hugged her and cried ❤
This video is already gonna make me nostalgic for artistic mvs from way back when
In 2023 I had a long, agonizing heartbreak. I looked ahead to 2024, rebuilt myself. So much hope of new things, new love. I put myself out there. I found someone I really adored, who seemed to adore me. But I was just love bombed and discarded. My heartbreak now is much, much worse than my lowest in 2023. I hear this song and I weep. I’m so sorry, past me. I know you were full of hope. I know you wanted to believe you could restart and find something good. I’m so sorry I’m not where you dreamed I would be. I’m so sorry I can’t report the good things that happened.
I love how much Galileo Galilei has inspired Porter. Even the director of the MV is the same one from Galileo Galilei's "Circle Game" MV. As a fan of both artists, I am so happy to see this
I think helium in this music video represents "joy" or "artistic creativity".
The balloon kingdom under attack was probably some form of trauma that took all the magic and joy out of her life.
Before, everyone around them was made of balloons, now all that's left is her dog. Her dog is one of the few things left in her life that makes her happy.
Where she previously was releasing her work because she wanted to reclaim that joy she once had, her love for art has turned into posters on the wall.
To reclaim her love for creating things, she creates a delusional version of herself online for the attention.
She even gets noticed for this creativity, but it only drives her to continue the fantasy she's created.
As she pours more creativity into herself and this fictional online image, she's sucking the life out of the only real joy she still has in reality, her dog.
Near the end as she inflates herself with "helium", she becomes this fictional image she dreamed of, as her dog is deflating because she's basically forgotten about the real world.
In the end, the dog is inflated again and she can't continue that fantasy. She has to return to reality or else it will fall apart without her.
When she cries at the end, I think she's happy to see that others are releasing their messages into the air. She's not truly alone.
I think the balloons are the work of others that inspire us and we temporarily get to enjoy them as they are released.
Our creativity is not meant for us to selfishly cherish and hold onto. It's meant to be shared with others to bring them joy as well.
The baloons going from "I'm Alive" to "We Are Alive" could represent a shift from an individualistic mindset to a community-focused view on life.
love this analysis
This analysis made me cry 😔
Bro I needed this analysis! Thank you!
I watched the video twice through and I didn’t quite get it, but this makes so much sense. Thank you for this beautiful analysis.
Just one thing to note, at the end i think when she went back to reality, she was about to suicide with the train, but the "we are alive" message was likely a response from her family after all the "i am alive" balloons she was sending out. So it just shows that if she did kill herself, she wouldnt have known her family was alive
you always manage to make me sob, you crazy man
Ayo nshvll!!
the end chord is always the final nail to the coffin for me to cry bruh, love the mv so much too 😭😭😭
The outro synth hits hard
THIS IS LITERALLY MY FAVOURITE SONG ON THE ALBUM PLEASE
The chord progression on “if you could only see” give me chills every time I hear it
You know what chords he’s playing? I’ve been trying by ear but I can’t get it right lol
@@powuhh The minor iv chord always hits. The chorus first repeats I - iii - vi - IV (Bb - Dm - Gm - Eb) twice, then for the other half it changes the last IV chord to be minor instead, so Bb - Dm - Gm - Ebm.
日本人ですがポーターロビンソンさんの曲が大好きです！！
ポーターロビンソンさんは国境がない曲を作ることができますね😌
日本公演が楽しみですね❤
自分もPorter大好きです！！
ナカーマ(=´∀｀)人(´∀｀=)
The balloon dog is your inner child. Take care of him/her, and take care of yourself you all, and don’t let your dreams (balloons city) fade away. It isn’t easy, but you’re not alone. ❤️
After 2 years of therapy, this song perfectly describe how I feel and felt. What a masterpiece.
my dog just died and i miss her so much. if i was ever down i would think "no, she would wonder where you were" and now I don't have that. the little dog crying and broke me. i feel exactly like that. i just want her back so bad
The “we’re alive” balloon frame…hits hard! The whole mv was such a piece of art❤
It was "smile" now it's "tears"
never expected to see doom scrolling in a porter music video
its not doom scrolling shes an asylum seeker, its about her life
Porter is love, love is porter
I don’t like how relatable it is and knowing so many people feel the same way. It’s such a beautiful song :’(
This MV gives me the strongest "The Girl Who Could Leap Through Time" vibes. Especially that scene of her waiting at the train rails.
I don't know why, but this music gets me shredding tears every single time
Drop the drop, drop dropper
Droper dropinson
Somehow being on the other side of finally being able to see myself and feel that relief and comfort and happiness, this song and mv reminded me of how exhausting and painful it was to get here and how I've not even begun to deal with that yet. I need hydration.. too many tears over paradise.
優しい音楽、大好きです・・・。
stop motion? for a porter robinson video? sign me the fuck up, the vibes are perfect
For people fighting this mental battle. Stay strong. I know its hard. I've attempted twice. Trust me when i say this. It wont make anyone elses life better. There are people who care for you. And they will definitely notice when you are gone. Dont leave them. Reach out. Trust me it helps a lot. We are in this together. As the message on the balloon says "We are still alive". Lets do our best to keep it that way.
1:35 "i found a letter" and damn he switch that to his old nurture voice effect damn
Fell in love with the layering of the guitar melody over the melancholy synths/vocals that appear at the beginning and throughout the song. It sounds like the parts of life where there is the busy-ness of the day-to-day while sad and painful thoughts follow us around acting as kind of an undertone.
I also appreciate the ups and downs in the character’s life shown in the MV. Each day brings a different low and high, all the while tracking the days of being alive with those red balloons. Sometimes it’s easy to live, while others not so much. But being here will allow us to see good things happen if we are patient enough.
HOW HAS HE MADE THE MOST EMOTIONAL VIDEO EVER YET AGAIN MY HEART CANNOT I CRIED SO HARD
MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE
watching this the second time, i couldn't help but remember my pets that have passed away with the scene where the balloon dog cried out to our protag in the music video.
i want to see arthur one last time
i want to see rusty one last time
i want to see piper one last time
i want to see georgie one last time...
i miss my little family so much.... life is so much lonelier without them...
they were such a happy bundle of joy that grounded me back to reality when things were dark
damnit porter now im crying
This clip is just so emotive, the part wher they are to cut theyselves and then we have the chords and the dog running just make me want to watch and rewatch again and again.
I'm glad this song got the video treatment. Such a touching song
"Just trying to feel alive"
-Porter Robinson: Nurture
this mv concept is so beautiful and touching, my heart feels so tender
I've never felt that I love myself in my life, and listening to this song, it's like plucking the strings of my heart, and slowly I want to cry.
bawling my eyes out rn
im really glad im here. i'm not where i wanna be, but im glad im still here
Porter u gotta stop making me cryyyy
This song has grown on me exponentially since release. Saw Porter live last night for the first time and it's now my #1 off SMILE
this song has a little bit of all three album porter's made combined
The art style, the visuals, the story, everything abut this song was beautiful
I need a behind the scenes of this video on how it was made 😭😭🙏
this was probably my favorite song from the album out of the new ones that weren't already released as singles!! I'm eatin good today (crying my eyes out)!!!
This is probably the song that hits me the hardest in your album. Always self-reflecting of my past self and just facing comparisons on where I was before inspired making music but always hitting roadblocks of self doubt and wasting too much time in my head about it. To current day where I am now working on projects getting them done feeling that spark, insperation and actually posting up this year and hopefully getting as consistant as I was once was back around 2017/early 2020, but always still reflecting to my past self who was inspired wondering what they would think of my current progress. Which I sometimes feel disappointment in a way but its to late to change the past and time to move on into the present with what I currently have.
thank you, porter, for an amazing message to all of us. it really helps.
MY FAV SONG ON THE ALBUM
Thank you Porter for creating such a beautiful moment for us all-I can't describe how it felt realizing that this song is about *me*
'I'll pick up painting. Oh! Oh - and i'll join the gym'
No matter how simple it is but this creativity is just different😶
i'm actually so obsessed with this line and its delivery, i literally think about it at least once a day
@@polinasapetto7160 i couldn’t agree more!
@@polinasapetto7160same!!!
On my Porter withdrawal since seeing him a few days ago at his concert 😩🩵
YEAR OF THE CUP ALSO HAS THE MV ONG???
@@schernein1871 YEAH BUT IT GOT PRIVATED RQ
Hoy puedo dedicarme esa canción. Ya no soy el chico que se criticaba y se sentía inferior a los demás. Ahora y gracias a mis ex-compañeros de la universidad que me regañaban por minimizarme con bromas de mal gusto y la chica que me gustaba que me enseño a ser mejor y dejar mis inseguridades atrás. Soy mas seguro de mismo, además que en 2 semanas, cumplo el sueño de mi yo niño. Puedo decir que me conozco a mi mismo y soy feliz por quien soy. Tarde pero al fin me libere
I'm not very good at analyzing the lore but I can give some context as to why her alternate self looks like that.
Her "inflated" self looks to be based on the jirai kei subculture/fashion from Japan. From my understanding, so CMIIW, Jirai Kei means something like "landmine style". The "jirai" part is taken from a somewhat derogatory term used to refer to emotionally unstable people in relationships, commonly women, where it's described as "triggering a landmine". The fashion itself is very cutesy, associated with pinks and bows, but also has a lot of dark elements. It's associated with self-harming, rebellious and abusive behaviors (this is just a stereotype that people have with the style, doesn't mean that people who dress like this have the behaviors above!)
The character's alter ego seems to have a lot of those cutesy bows and dark elements like chains and blacks in her design. At 1:25, the name on the screen says 'Shi Bomb-Chan", roughly translated it means 'Miss Death Bomb". Her Balloon TikTok username is "Shi_Bomb***" which seems to be reflecting this fact. I hope this helps your theories!
Thank you, this really helped me understand the video more. I wonder how it ties into the implications of her being an immigrant from a war torn country filled with balloon people, and why she herself left the country despite not being a balloon person at the time, or if maybe she was simply imagining herself as suffering that way through an addiction to social media.
Chronologically speaking, I have no idea what is going on in the video but the style, imagery and symbolism is very nice.
“EVERYTHING WE NEED IS ALREADY HERE”
this is wonderful, as a non english speaker, I finally understood the lyrics while watching the video. WOA :D Its so sad :D
Wer ist in Köln dabei, wo sind die Kölner :D
@@lourio6437Haha bin in Berlin dabei
@@Luwanah Wie nice, viel Spaß endlich mal jemand der Deutsch spricht
That jumpscare of "Year Of The Cup" MV at the end of the song lmao
LOL
I thought I was crazy, I played it and for some reason its not on my History 😮
I was wondering about that! I saw it, it said it was published 2 days ago 😮 I looked it up on history and it does not show anymore.
@@marcmaderarivera3450 prolly because it got privated/unlisted, I wasn't able to watch it tho, when I saw it I was like "Wait, why there's a blue Porter Robinson thumbnail, I've never seen that before?"
This album is so far the best thing that has happened in 2024
to everyone else who relates to this way too much. keep sending up the 'we're alive' balloons, no matter how pointless it seems. if not for you, for that person who needs to see it.
This new release by Porter is my feelings today but I’m finally learning how to love myself again after all the trauma and pain
The art & animation for this is phenomenal, might be a new personal favorite among the other MVs. Most heart-wrenching song out of this whole album & somehow you made it even sadder, AUGH!! Just amazing 💙💙
Once again. Porter Robinson made me cry.
forever underated song and mv
so i've been trying to find words to say about this song and this video since yesterday tbh.. and yeah i still have none i guess, or maybe just too many. love you Porter
Deserves millions of views
That was ridiculously beautiful
Pure emotion. Thank you Porter.
I resonate with this so hard. I’m struggling a lot growing as person in my adulthood, struggled with a traumatic and sad childhood. I just got my first puppy. Im so excited to see who we become together.
This is my favorite song on the album, what a masterpiece. The ending synths sound like reality is being erased but everyone is smiling at each other and and content as everything disappears from existence. I don't know why but that's what it feels like to me. Then Mona Lisa right after this song is just peak. God I love this album.