The year was 1994. Alicia Silverstone, age 17, and Liv Tyler, age 16, were both in the early stages of successful careers. Yes, Liv is daughter of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, but no, he didn’t pick her for the video (or so the story goes). Instead, she was cast by the video creators based on her performance in a Pantene commercial. At first glance the video is about two teenage friends who skip school and go for a joyride in a Mustang convertible. Sure, that’s all good and 90’s, but upon a second viewing we become aware of deeper themes. Neither Alicia or Liv connect with a man (apart from the playful you-can’t-have-this-because-I’m-into-her taunting) and in the final shot, leave a male hitchhiker in their dust. I can’t believe I missed this when I saw it as a child. In more detail we have:

0:14 Alicia enters girls bathroom. Her character is established as a female who is trapped.

0:29 Alicia runs to a Ford Mustang convertible. Not only does she run from the constraints of the institution, but the car carries meaning. The mustang is a feral horse that roams freely, and the convertible further enhances Alicia’s openness.

0:51 Liv and Alicia remove school uniform tops. Togetherness and rebellion are established.

0:55 Alicia is shown in the foreground with upper body showing and Liv is in the background with hands cupped in the air in front of her. If Liv were transposed, her hands would cup Alicia’s breasts. Alicia’s role as the woman is now clear and Liv is portrayed as the man in the relationship. Vocals: ‘That kinda lovin’

1:05 Alicia and Liv mouth the vocals ‘That kinda lovin’ to each others faces.

1:19 The car rolls up to a gas station with pumps visible. Not the phallic nature of the pumps. The gas station is traditionally a male-dominated setting and the two girls are about to tear this notion down.

1:39 Liv handles the gas pump while Alicia goes into the store. Little attention is paid to the attendant. Indeed, Liv lives up to her role as the male in the relationship through more phallic imagery.

1:56 Liv is visibly startled by the old attendant. Simply a natural reaction for a teenager.

1:59 Alicia looks longingly outside. She longs to be with Liv.

2:05 Alicia puts on sunglasses and teases the young cashier. As you will find later, the sunglasses symbolize masculinity and provide an escape from societal norms. In manipulating the cashier, Alicia is simply cognizant of her seemingly heterosexual image toward men.

2:16 Liv enters and discovers the game Alicia is playing. She gets a kick out of acting completely heterosexual toward the cashier.

2:36 The girls enter a photobooth and are seen moving around inside as the flash goes off.

2:43 The girls exit and have each removed a layer of clothing. We infer that Alicia removed Liv’s layer, and vice versa.

2:54 Cashier is shocked by photos. No surprise here. I would be too.

2:55 Car drives in reverse and runs over three cones. Basically, this is a sign that the girls’ sexuality is actually the opposite from what we first thought. Furthermore, the three (phallic) cones represent the three men in the video – the gas attendant, the cashier, and the farmer. The girls manipulate these men simply for the pleasure that comes from their inside knowledge of their sexuality.

3:11 Alicia applies lipstick. Again, the woman.

3:13 Alicia stares at Liv who is in her underwear. Note the mirror. At this point, the girls switch gender roles as male qualities reflect onto Alicia and Liv inherits more feminine traits.

3:20 Alicia is suddenly dressed in male business attire. Her role has temporarily changed.

3:42 Liv, now the woman in the relationship, is asked to dance at the contest, Alicia approves and seems content to sit back and watch.

3:52 A very Alicia lookfollowed by a shot of Liv mouthing to vocals ‘I need your love’ and clearly looking toward Alicia. Now that Liv is a woman she is able to better express her emotions and can speak to her lover.

3:59 Liv gives a Steven Tyler-esque spit and leg kick followed by messing up her hair. Apart from being an ode to her father, these moves show that she still is not a typical teenage girl.

4:09 Liv mouths vocals “I need your love’, as Liv crawls toward Alicia. Obvious.

4:15 Liv puts hand on Alicia’s face. Vocals ‘Crazy for you baby’. Self-explanitory.

4:19 Liv mouths vocals ‘I’m losing my mind’ from to Alicia. Liv has been torn about expressing her feelings toward Alicia.

4:28 Alicia loosens tie with a smirk after already tossing her hair.

4:37 Liv removes shirt, Alicia is clearly pleased.

4:45 More Alicia/Liv contact through the dance.

4:48 A very sensual Alicia look. Perhaps strongest emotion in the entire video.

5:04 Both girls celebrate Liv’s dance contest victory on a motel bed.

5:12 The girls exit the motel the following morning. Liv now is wearing sunglasses as Alicia puts hers on. Girls are in doorway with tree next to them. The sunglasses will be used to hide the girls’ lesbian tendencies from the young male farmer in the coming scene. Alicia and Liv are also at the same level now (previously only Alicia had tried on sunglasses in the gas station). The girls are independent of men and therefore stand beside the phallic tree.

5:23 The car drives in reverse again.

5:34 The young male farmer gets in back of the car. His presence and sexuality comes second to that of the two girls.

5:39 The tractor is missing its male driver. The parallel here would be how Alicia and Liv lack men in their lives.

5:40 The girls run holding hands toward the water. Green grass. Alicia and Liv are lighthearted and carefree

5:44 The young farmer doesn’t want to interfere by skinny dipping. He has picked up on the romance between the young ladies, and doesn’t feel he belongs between them.

5:51 The girls and farmer cavort in the water. Note how Alicia and Liv are still together, even after the farmer jumps between them.

5:58 The farmer picks his nose. He’s just not interested, which would seem surprising if the girls were straight.

6:01 The rear view mirror partially obscures the farmer’s face. Again, he is unimportant.

6:28 Alicia and Liv fail to pick up a male hitchhiker who happens to be wearing sunglasses. Based on the previous uses for sunglasses, we should infer that this man is gay. He, too, is hiding his sexuality from the rest of the world.

6:35 Manic laughter from Liv. The role of sunglasses in the video is confirmed. The female characters are more than just friends.