TWICE’s “Talk That Talk” References This Iconic “1984” Commercial, And It Sends A Powerful Message
TWICE‘s new music video, “Talk that Talk,” is chockful of references, whether it be to their own songs like “YES or YES” or to movies from the 2000s like Resident Evil. But there’s one reference that not many may notice: Apple‘s “1984” commercial.
In “Talk that Talk,” Chaeyoung and Nayeon are seen with a sledgehammer, with Chaeyoung running before spinning and then Nayeon spinning and letting the hammer fly into a screen.
This is an exact reference to Apple’s “1984” commercial, where the unnamed heroine flings a sledgehammer into the screen representing “Big Brother” from George Orwell‘s 1984.
For those who may not know, Orwell’s 1984 is a dystopian classic that warns against totalitarian governments that force censorship and conformity on the masses. The phrase most people know from the book is “Big Brother is watching you,” referring to the constant surveillance the people are under from the government in 1984.
Apple’s “1984” ad used the setting of Orwell’s world to advertise the first Macintosh computer. The creators intended to send a message of empowerment, using the Mac as a tool for fighting conformity and asserting the power that comes with originality. This commercial is considered one of the top 50 greatest commercials of all time and was the catalyst for the U.S.A.’s Super Bowl commercial frenzy at half-time.
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with TWICE, especially if the concept for this music video was Y2K. 1984 is too far in the past, so why would this commercial be referenced in “Talk that Talk?” The answer becomes clear when we look at Apple’s remastered version of “1984” in 2004, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the commercial and Apple’s iconic product in the early 2000s, the iPod.
Everything clicks into place, especially with a side-by-side comparison. Like the original message of the commercial, TWICE is sending a message of breaking free from the trends and staying true to your unique color. TWICE has always been experimental with their concepts while consistently incorporating a retro sound. No matter what kind of music they produce, they always have the TWICE sparkle that makes the song theirs.
