In one way, the video provides an alternate interpretation of the poem. When I read the last poem, I thought the fictional suicide note was telling the reader that the person committed suicide by drowning himself or herself. In the video, the character jumps off of a cliff to his death. Although these are both suicides by water, I only thought "kissing" the water would mean drowning, by simply walking into water or falling into a river.
The video also uses visuals to further enhance the meaning of the poem. In Hughes's three-line poem, there is very little imagery. In the video, however, the interpreted setting is made clear. The character is standing on a cliff's edge, with clear skies above and clam water below. Also, the character in the game has a helmet on to hide his face. Naturally, it would be hard to convey one's emotions with something blocking his or he face. The creator of the video has the character look down slowly at the water, signifying the character is depressed, weighing his options, and eventually choosing to end his own life.
Another way the video adds to the meaning of the poem is the background music. "Mad World" by Gary Jules is a very sad song in nature, obviously in minor key. The song is about ending one's own life and supplements the meaning of the poem. Truthfully, even after watching the video, I felt no emotional feelings while reading the poem. While watching the video, on the other hand, I feel somewhat depressed, which is, for the most part, due to the lyrics and tone of the background music.
I feel that through another person's interpretation, visuals, and background music, the machinima video greatly adds to the meaning of Langston Hughes's poem.
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