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Book: The Rosary and the Microphone

Chapter: Beautiful Day: Technological Optimism, Gesture and Intimacy

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.31264

Blurb:

This chapter explores the promotional video for “Beautiful Day,” and explores how the band nurtures a sense of the intimate with its audience while attempting to foster a sense of optimism in the face of the dehumanizing contemporary world. Horace Newcomb’s discussion of television aesthetics is useful in order to understand U2’s televisual presentation. Finally, a pair of music videos are analyzed in order to demonstrate how the band fosters an awareness of the need for empathy and outward concern.

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