Radiohead "Burn the Witch" Video Inspired by European Refugee Crisis, Animator Says

Yesterday, Radiohead released their new song “Burn the Witch,” along with a video in which a seemingly idyllic village of adorable stop-motion animated characters do terrible things to each other in the name of the law. In a new interview with Billboard, animator Virpi Kettu said that the “Burn the Witch,” video is meant to bring attention to Europe’s refugee crisis and the “blaming of different people… the blaming of Muslims and the negativity.” According to Billboard, Kettu “alluded to the mysterious postcard some Radiohead fans received recently that read ‘we know where you live,’ a suggestion, she thought, of the current insecurity and blame game spawned by anti-immigration politicians.”

Kettu also confirmed that the video was, in fact, inspired by both The Wicker Man as well as the British children’s TV series the “Trumptonshire Trilogy.”  In addition, Kettu told Billboard that the entire creation of “Burn the Witch” took 14 days, which director Chris Hopewell had indicated on Instagram. “That’s physically impossible. I had not slept for two weeks,” she said of the experience.

Read “Decoding the Politics in Radiohead’s ‘Burn the Witch’ Video” on the Pitch.

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