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Depeche Mode: Strange Too

Depeche Mode: Strange Too

1990

Director

Anton Corbijn

Runtime

30 minutes

Average Rating

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Synopsis

Strange Too - Another Violation by Anton Corbijn is the third music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring more videos directed by Anton Corbijn, released in 1990. Unlike the previous video, Strange, all the videos are fully in color. There are six videos, all songs from the album Violator, released in the same year. There is one for each of the four singles, plus two bonus videos, for "Halo" and "Clean", exclusive to "Strange Too". As with its predecessor, Corbijn shot all six videos in Super-8. The tallest woman in the "Halo" video is a young Jenna Elfman. The Drive-In featured in the introduction to the compilation is the "Motor Vu Drive-In", located in Erda, Utah, west of Salt Lake City, near the town of Tooele, this part of the video being shot the day after the band's concert in Salt Lake City in July, 1990.

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Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

3.8/10

Limited


Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The compilation focuses on the band's aesthetic identity rather than explicit social themes. While the music often evokes themes of longing, there is no documented depiction of same-sex intimacy or non-cisnormative identities.

Gender Representation

Fair

Narrative focus remains heavily centered on the male members of Depeche Mode. While Jenna Elfman appears in the 'Halo' video, the work largely bypasses gendered social dynamics in favor of stylized emotional landscapes.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Limited

The visual palette is relatively homogeneous, focusing on the band and specific American landscapes. There is no evidence of a diverse or non-Anglo-Saxon majority cast within the videos.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Fair

The work adopts a postmodern, melancholic aesthetic that prioritizes subjective emotional truth. It moves away from traditionalist storytelling through surrealism, though it lacks explicit systemic or political critiques.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There are no discernible depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities. Subjects are presented within a standard aesthetic framework without utilizing disability as a central theme.

Strengths

  • The use of Super-8 film creates a raw, postmodern visual language that disrupts conventional commercial aesthetics.
  • The surrealist approach prioritizes subjective emotional truth over traditional, didactic storytelling structures.

Areas for Improvement

  • The visual focus is heavily centered on male subjects, limiting gender diversity.
  • The casting lacks racial and ethnic breadth, adhering to the homogeneous norms of the era.
  • There is a lack of explicit representation regarding LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisnormative subjects.

AI Analysis

Anton Corbijn’s compilation is a work of aesthetic preoccupation rather than social commentary. It prioritizes a gritty, deconstructed Super-8 visual style that challenges commercial polish, yet this focus comes at the expense of demographic breadth. The collection is constrained by its narrow lens, centering almost exclusively on the band's persona and internal emotional states. This results in a lack of intentional representation across racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ spectrums. Ultimately, the film's value lies in its postmodern disruption of the music video format rather than its engagement with progressive social narratives.

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