"Miserable" is a single by Alternative Rock group Lit. The song is from their album A Place in The Sun.
The song charted #3 on the US Modern Rock Tracks and is one of the band's biggest hits, along with "My Own Worst Enemy".
The videos features a giant woman, played by special guest star Pamela Anderson, while climbing on and exploring different parts of her body.
The video first premiered on Pamela Anderson's show V.I.P. in the episode "Hard Val's Night". It also became a staple on MTV during the early 2000's.
The video helped keep the song holding onto its number three spot just as it seemed like its run was about to peter out, and for many, the video is far more well known than the song itself. It might even be the most well known thing they've ever done.
The video itself can be viewed on YouTube here
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"Miserable" contains examples of:
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Tropes A-E
- Addiction Song: The band's singer has stated that, if not interpreted as an anti-love song, it could also be about addiction. The fact that the "woman" (represented by Pamela Anderson/Vallery Irons) is described as using up his friends and plans, yet she still "means everything (to him)", and the fact that in the end she shows no care towards them support this alternative interpretation.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Two of the band members (Allen and Jeremy) resort to begging.
- All Men Are Perverts: Almost all the places the guys choose to perform on are parts of the giant woman/Val's body that invoke “Male Gaze” such as her hip, her legs, one of her platform heels, and her chest. Notably they stand on her butt multiple times, and only twice in the whole video play in front of her rather than on top of some part of her body.
- All There in the Script: In promotional materials for the video the giant woman's name is listed as Val (after Vallery Irons, Pam Anderson's character from VIP, where the video premiered).
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Attack of the 50 ft. woman in a bikini. Though it's less "attack" and more "Lounge around while a band uses her body as a performance area." At least until the end.
- Anti-Love Song: The relationship A.J. is singing about isn't a very positive one. The chorus even says "You make me completely miserable."
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Done not once, but twice in the chorus. At first it seems like they're saying "You make me cum", then it sounds like they're saying "You make me complete", and finally, they finish the sentence as "You make me completely miserable".
- Between My Legs: There's a couple of shots of the band framed between the woman's really long legs. This served multiple purposes. One was of course fanservice, since it gives us a great view of Pam's toned legs and her platform heel stripper shoes. Another was to further emphasize her gargantuan stature (since she is a giantess and most of the video is the band using her scantily clad body as a performance stage ). The third is to show how much power she wields over all the all-male band members and why she was able to so easily catch them.
- Big Rock Ending: While most of the song is played at a largely relaxed pace, it ends with a guitar solo that gradually builds up the tempo before launching into a fast-paced refrain of the chorus.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The video fools the viewers in the beginning into thinking the giant woman was kind and sweet, considering she allowed the band members to stand on her body.
- Clung on Tight: The members of Lit are on a Giant Woman (Vallery Irons/Pam Anderson) and are performing on different parts of her body. While they are performing on one of her shoes note , she shakes her foot, and the guys have to desperately try to keep their footing. When they fail to fall off, she simply looks away and rolls her eyes, seemingly annoyed. So instead of trying to force them off her, she waits until they are playing on her face. While one guy is standing on her lips. Which is when she abruptly opens her mouth, causing him to fall inside and get eaten right in front of his friends, who proceed to get off her and run for their lives.
- Colossus Climb: The giantess lets the band members climb her body.
- Cue Card Pause: The three choruses go: "You make me come...", "You make me complete...", and finally "You make me completely miserable".
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Epic Riff: As the song nears the final chorus, there's a prominent electric guitar solo that slowly starts to build up in pace towards the Big Rock Ending. In the video, this is accompanied by shots of Pam/Vallery writhing slowly to the music and the band framed between her legs before cutting to the band lined up on her face, with the bassist standing on her lips. The riff ends right as the bassist falls into her mouth, alerting the others.
Tropes F-W
- Fanservice: Pamela Anderson, Ms. Fanservice herself, lounges around in a skimpy bikini and platform heels.
- Fearsome Foot: Perhaps the only time this trope was used both for a sense of dread and some fanservice. While A.Jay is by himself, being the Sole Survivor among his bandmates, we see one of Val's platform stripper pumps stomp down behind him. This signals his doom since as soon as he turns around, she picks him up and eats him.
- Feminine Leg Swish: Val the giantess (played by famous sex-symbol Pamela Anderson) poses this way off and on throughout the video, lying on her stomach with either one or both her legs thrust into the air. She's portrayed as very feminine in both appearance and mannerisms and is a Lust Object for the (notably all-male) band members who are standing on top of her reclining body. Her legs are subjected to a lot of Male Gaze throughout the video via the camera panning over them or treating them to extreme close-ups. At one point, while her leg is in the air and the band is standing on top of her platform heels she rather playfully shakes her foot causing the guys to almost fall off. This may have actually been an Invoked Trope on the Val's part since she plans on eating the guys at the end of the video and likely used her femininity to make them lower their guard.
- Giant Woman: The most common interpretation of what Pamela's character is. She's huge, simply said.
- Hot Paint Job: Jeremy's signature shoes have white flames decorting the tops.
- High-Heel Power: The Giant Woman is rocking a pair of 8-inch black platform stripper pumps. And despite spending much of the video as a Neutral Female and the Lust Object of the guys who are climbing all over her body it becomes clear that she was in control the whole time. In fact one instance is in fact demonstrated with her shoe. She has one of her pumps poised in the air while she lies down, and the guys are perched on top of it. Then without warning she casually shakes her foot, and the guys start to lose their balance and nearly fall off.
- Leg Focus: Incredibly long legs. Fifty feet long at least.
- Light Is Not Good: Pam/Vallery has golden blonde hair, wears a bikini that is almost entirely white, and even has white nail polish, despite her cruel intentions.
- Male Gaze: The video opens with close-ups of the woman's body, and that's before we get to the scenes of the band climbing on her. The video also uses it as a tool to trick the audience. Aside from the Giant Woman wearing nothing but a bikini and high-heeled shoes, the band also specifically plays on places like her butt, her thighs, and her breasts. Combined with her occasional flirtatious smiles and giggles directed towards the band, makes it seem like she's just there to be eye candy.
- Ms. Fanservice: Pamela Anderson's character wears little more than a white bikini with black trim, and black platform high heels, and the camera pans across her legs, butt, and other such body parts as the band climbs on her. Making her an example of this trope.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: Poor bassist Kevin Baldes is the first band member to get eaten. And in a manner that makes him look stupid.
- Rule of Sexy: A giant Pamela Anderson struts around in little more than a white bikini and high heels, and flirts with the four guys climbing all over her curves, with little to no explanation as to why.
- Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: All the members of Lit are fully clothed, with the only real skin showing coming from Allen (the drummer) in his blood red shorts. Meanwhile, Pam/Vallery, the woman making them miserable, is only wearing a bikini and platform stripper pumps.
- Sibling Team: Lead vocalist A. J. Popoff, and lead guitarist Jeremy Popoff are brothers.
- Side Boob: Despite the slightly sports bra like nature of the bikini top, the video still features a couple shots of side boob while Pam is swaying to the band's music. Which adds to the Fanservice-y and Male Gaze-y nature of the video.
- Strange Stage: The band often performs on top of the giant woman, like on her butt, her knee, her hip, her platform shoe, etc.
- Stripperiffic: You expect Pamela Anderson to wear anything more sensible than an itty-bitty bikini and platform pumps in a music video?
- Title Drop: The chorus builds up to a title drop with the phrase, "You make me completely Miserable."
- Undignified Death: The video ends with three in a row for Baldes (the bassist), Allen (the drummer), and Jeremy (lead guitar). They're all Swallowed Whole by a giant woman. Each of the three guys deaths are undignified in different ways. Baldes chose to stand on Vallery's lips, which makes it easy for her to eat him and makes him look stupid. After that the surviving members are running run for their lives, but Allen is easily caught by the woman and starts pathetically putting up his hands hands, pleading not to be eaten, only for her to ignore him and callously eat him anyway. Then Jeremy spends his last moments cowering behind a speaker while Vallery sneaks up on him. And after he tries to plead for his life life, she slurps him up and casually spits out one of his shoes.]]
- Walking Swimsuit Scene: The woman is wearing nothing but a white bikini and platform heels.
- White Void Room: The video takes place in a blue featureless expanse.
- Women Are Delicate: Played with. The giant woman is very attractive and her mannerisms are still very feminine despite her enormous size. She's also, at first glance, somewhat passive. Letting the band members walk all over her body pretty freely.
