"'Human Behaviour' is an animal's point of view on humans.
And the animals are definitely supposed to win in the end."

Written by Nellee Hooper and Björk. Released in the summer of 1993 (June), one month before the album 'Debut'. This single launched Björk her international solo career after some years with the Sugarcubes. The video, directed by Michel Gondry, became an instant classic and was rewarded by MTV as 'Best Breakthrough Video'. "Human Behaviour" was the birth of a lyrical imagery collaboration, his unique perceptions of Björk’s music and his art of storytelling are unique to the music video world, which resulted in 6 videos.

→ Michel Gondry videography

QUOTE

After The Sugarcubes, I guess I had a mixture of liberation and fear. It had been obvious for a while in the band that I had different tastes than the rest. That's fair enough - there's no such thing as correct taste. I wrote the melody for Human Behaviour as a kid. A lot of the melodies on Debut I wrote as a teenager and put aside because I was in punk bands and they weren't punk. The lyric is almost like a child's point of view and the video that I did with Michel Gondry was based on childhood memories.Have I worked out Human Behaviour? I guess not.

QUOTE

'Human Behaviour' is an animal's point of view on humans. And the animals are definitely supposed to win in the end. So why, one might ask, is the conquering bear presented as a man-made toy?  I don't know. I guess I just didn't think it would be fair to force an animal to act in a video. I mean, that would be an extension of what I'm against.  I told him (Michel gondry), 'I want a bear and textures like handmade wood and leaves and earth, and I want it to seem like animation.' Then I backed out.

REVIEW

The world according to Björk: “There’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic to human behaviour,” she sings into a bowl as a large moth clings to the window of her lit log cabin. Human behaviour is adventurous, wild, primitive, you begin to believe. The wilderness of human behaviour is a deep forest of possibilities: fear, adventure, love, death. Timpanis resound like the footsteps of a wild bear. Floating in a rushing river, Björk looks out subtly at you and intones, “Human behaviour.” The first token of Björk and Michel Gondry’s treasure was released in the summer of 1993. “Human Behaviour” is the birth of the forest of lyrical imagery that the two artists nourished through six music-videos. It also blew up. Gondry’s imagery, design, and film techniques warranted the video countless accolades, including MTV Breakthrough Video status, as well as heavy rotation on that and other networks. The imagery of “Human Behaviour” is a web of various physical, in-camera effects that Gondry uses throughout his film career. Models, composites, screen projections (all featured in image eight), and lighting (see image two) abound in Björk’s emotional woodlands. Colors are deep and saturated. In addition to his unique perceptions of Björk’s music, Gondry’s art of storytelling are unique to the music video world. “Human Behaviour” is a story of predator and prey. In search of food, a bear clomps through a forest in the evening. A rugged hunter stalks the woods in pursuit of his game. Björk, as narrator and character(s) of her own story, flees from the bear. Numerous times the bear almost succeeds: in one attempt he drives a car, and almost hits Björk. In the end, Björk flies down the throat of the bear, and rests in his stomach. The hunter also meets his demise. The video is a classic; a vivid story rendered in Gondry and Björk’s surreal playground.