Paul McCartney
is Dr. Lorenz, Emma Stone’s “behavior hypnotist meteorologist,” in the Apple Music-exclusive music video for his Egypt Station single “Who Cares.”
The short film opens as Stone’s character arrives at Dr. Lorenz’s office soaked from the rain. He starts in on some rant about “order” and “disorder,” and it’s difficult to discern what he’s getting at here. But he’s in this amiable cardigan, and it’s Paul McCartney, and who doesn’t want to be hypnotized by Paul McCartney?
Dr. Lorenz opens a door revealing a spinning black-and-white spiral, and Stone’s character is immediately put into a trance. She finds herself in a hand-drawn, black-and-white world featuring bursts of colorful detail, with dancing mimes all over the place. McCartney reappears, Stone’s spiritual leader in this alternative reality. It’s not Grease’s “Beauty School Dropout,” but it’s not not that.
The short film kicks off #WhoCaresIDo, an anti-bullying social media campaign.
“My hope is that if there are kids being bullied—and there are—maybe by listening to this song and watching this video, they might just think it’s not as bad,” McCartney explains in a statement, “that it’s the kind of thing you can just stand up to and laugh off and get through.”
The #WhoCaresIDo campaign hopes to reach millions of people, first raising awareness of the issues addressed by the song and video, and then providing them with tools to take action and empowering them to treat others kindly.
The nonprofit organization Creative Visions is in the process of building a global coalition of partners under the umbrella of #WhoCaresIDo, with the shared goal of bringing compassion to homes, communities and workplaces.
“Millions of people around the world feel silenced, subjugated—bullied—and believe that no one cares,” says Creative Visions Founder Kathy Eldon. “Our intention with this campaign is to put the power of the song to work and inspire us to show up and care—and let others know that we do care.”
“Who Cares” comes off McCartney’s new album, Egypt Station, released in September. The video is available exclusively on Apple Music.
Listen to a 1990 McCartney performance from the Paste archives below.