Potentially Cruel Optimism

There were two music videos for New York indie band Cults' "Go Outside" - the indie breakout single that made Cults an internet sensation and secured them a recording deal with Columbia. The one with Dave Franco and Emma Roberts worked well enough, serving as a literal enactment of the track's expressed desire to head outdoors (instead of being cooped up indoors), bask in sunlight, and explore new possibilities: 'I, I really want to go out/ I really want to go outside and make it light all day'. 

Naturally, its the Isaiah Seret version, which has Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin inserted into home video footage from the Peoples Temple (the religious cult led by Revered Jim Jones, which culminated in the 1978 Jonestown mass murder-suicide), which attracted more media attention and some criticism. This version of the video foregrounds the possibly sinister ramifications of believing that the grass is greener outside, layering the track's leisurely bassline and Follin's cherubic, sing-along vocals with an ominous subtext:

'Well, I know what's goodExactly cause I have been there beforeYeah, I know what's goodExactly those things night cannot behold'

Lyrics: Genius.com

Why would you believe that someone else knows 'what's good' for you? As Oblivion stated in a NPR interview, a preoccupation with being "cautionary and romantic" inspired the track and their choice of band name - and underscores their seemingly simple songs with complex psychological insight:

"We have ambivalent, fascinating feelings with the concept. There's a beauty and romanticism with someone living such a violently different life. Just deciding, 'Well, I'm going to pack up my bags and go believe in something that nobody else is going to understand.' If that's peaceful and progressive, then it's kind of an amazing concept, but usually it doesn't end up being those two things. It ends up being just a greater system of control for weak people."