Shark (Haifisch) Music Video Analysis

Haifisch - 2009

This is the music video for Haifisch (Shark) by Rammstein. The song itself is about people that fight for power and in the process, forget any human values. Power for everything, even if you have to kill your own friends/family. The shark could be a metaphor used to display the inhumane behaviour and evilness that lurks beneath the surface of every man. The shark weeps but nobody notices the tears because the are in a sea of tears. In short: if everybody is sad/angry about the same thing, nobody will notice it because they do not wish that anybody notices it and therefore, they feel alone.

The music video is the funeral for the vocalist. The rest of the band, and some others, attend to pay their respects. However, there is a twist. None of the members know how Till (vocalist) died, therefore a sense of distrust and conspiracy is within the air. The camera will span to a close up to each member through out the video as they look at another member and think of how that other member could have killed him. Eye-line editing is prominent. Each scene of a member murdering Till is from another music video. Quite an original and creative idea.
One of the shots of Till's possible murder is from the Du Hast video, Till kneels on the ground, his face covered in blood looking pleadingy at Schneider, who has an open petrol can in his hand, he douses Till in the liquid before lighting a match. He also seems to have no reason to want Till dead. This also is a direct reference to Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs when Michael Madsen douses Tim Roth in petrol and sets him on fire.

At the beginning of the video, the band are looking at a group photo and using pictures of other vocalists to replace Till's missing face. This is completely unlike the band, as many times they have said that if one person leaves then the group will no longer progress. However, this imagery suggests that the band saw him as expendable. Perhaps, one of the members wanted to get rid of and replace him. 

During the video, there is a fight scene that is caused by the distrust in the air. It is all shot using a variation of close ups, mid shots and long shots. It is also all filmed in slow motion. This is done because it fits in with the music as it is a slow paced (for them) song. Also, scenes edited into slow motion help to emphasise the drama and actions of the scene.

The dark colours throughout the video imply a sense of sadness, distrust and conspiracy. This is because, as it is a very dark scene, the audience can't see everything. It makes them wonder what actually is there. Also, the whole video is very dark because everyone is wearing dark clothes as they are at a funeral, in a dark and gloomy place. 
One of the final shots in the video is of Till alive and well in Hawaii with a woman. He is writing a postcard. This is written on the post card: “Viele Grüße vom Arsch der Welt” (Greetings from the butt of the world). Where is the postcard being sent from is hidden, the postcard is probably bought in Hawaii, however the stamp is from Easter Island.