For whatever the reason, Mel Gibson’s 1981 film The Road Warrior influenced metal video-making in a major way. Videos from two high-profile releases from ’83 (Shout at the Devil and Lick It Up) constructed fantasy worlds that appeared to be set in postnuclear wastelands where it’s always very windy and all the women wear ripped clothes.
Mötley Crüe’s “Looks That Kill” stars a Xena-esque female character who emancipates a corral of strippers, much to the chagrin of the Crüe (who were thereby forced to call on the power of Satan by joining fists and creating a fiery pentagram). Mötley’s “Too Young to Fall in Love” was more of an Asian kung-fu thriller (best remembered for Tommy Lee spitting out a mouthful of rice), but its Escape from New York vibe was very much the same. Meanwhile, KISS sold themselves as warriors who walked the earth for no reason in particular. “Lick It Up,” the first video that showed KISS without makeup, suggests that futuristic women will live underground and eat navy rations— but only KISS can help them rock! Its artistic companion, “All Hell’s Breaking Loose,” evidently takes place at the same time and place but also includes a lot of women fencing.
Klosterman, Chuck. Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota