Toby Keith - Love Me If You Can

What this video is

Released in June 2007 amid ongoing Iraq War debate and a deeply polarized American cultural climate, 'Love Me If You Can' served as Toby Keith's artistic rebuttal to critics of his 2002 anthem 'Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American).' The video operates within the post-9/11 country music tradition of unapologetic values assertion, visually reinforcing themes of personal conviction, faith, gun…

Why it matters

Represents the apex of mid-2000s mainstream country's 'conviction anthem' subgenre — a form pioneered and popularized by Keith himself. The video's documentary-inflected realism and Salomon's fast-cut visual grammar helped establish the aesthetic template for politically candid country music…

The director

American music video and film director born in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Launched his directing career with Metallica's 'One,' nominated for Best Heavy Metal Video at the MTV Awards and later named one of Rolling Stone's Top 75 Videos of All Time. Won CMT…