Originally premiering in March 2023 on YouTube, the music video for Chappell Roan’s song “Casual” acts as one of 19 music videos in the South by Southwest 2024 music video lineup. The music video follows Roan’s “casual” relationship with a siren. The Daily Texan sat down with the director, Hadley Hillel, to chat about the music video’s symbolism.

DT: Where did the idea of using a siren to characterize a “casual” relationship come from?

Hadley Hillel: It was like, ‘How can we bring in an unexpected element here to really embody the sort of danger and intrigue of a casual relationship and how it can feel so good but be so empty and dark underneath all that?’ We worked from (the idea of a) siren and then built the character and the story around the idea that (Roan) was being lured into (something) that was not quite what it looked like on the surface.

DT: Chappell appears eating a red popsicle when she first spots the siren in the water and also a few times more throughout the video. What does the popsicle symbolize?

HH: At its core, the idea was like, ‘What is something childlike and innocent? (What would) draw this creature from the water?’ (It was also) something to show the possible naivete and innocence of (Roan) who is about to step into this very complex relationship. That was why we picked (something) normally associated with childhood. (The popsicle) was all red so that it would intermingle with the blood on the siren from eating a man. That would be like, ‘Is that blood or is that from the popsicle,’ playing with how the character is able to overlook the obvious character flaw of eating men and go along with (someone) that pretty much from the get go (has) a lot of red flags.

DT: There were many changes to Roan’s appearance and environment as the video progressed. What was the motivation and meaning behind these decisions?

HH: A lot of conversations were (about) how her wardrobe changes throughout. The basic idea of all of that work was to convey that as the relationship progresses, (Roan) is slowly losing herself in it and slowly morphing herself to be more like this siren, more appealing to the siren. At first, she has these more quilted, brighter, or more Chappell color palette items. As the music video progresses, you see that they get to more teal, more aqua … You can see at the end of the arc as (Roan) walks away after seeing the siren in the waves, she’s wearing a pink shirt again.  It’s like she’s coming back to herself. She’s finding herself again, and she will come away from this having grown and changed.

DT: What is the significance of the ending when the siren leaves Roan for a man?

HH: I want to leave it a bit open to interpretation. It’s not really a commentary on any specific thing as much as (it is) this character going back to what she knows and her innate nature in the story, which is eating men … (It’s about) running from the part of herself that she’s just discovered with (Roan), the beautiful possibility there, and going back to what’s safe.