The real reason Adele used a flip phone in her “Hello” music video

If you’re anything like me, you may be wondering why there is a flip phone in Adele’s new video for “Hello.” In a world where flip phones are few and far between, this is a totally fair thing to wonder (after you’ve stopped crying, because OH MY GOD, why is “Hello” so devastating?). Released late last week after a long, long hiatus, we Adele fans honestly had many questions about the song and music video. Why did it take so long, Adele? Why must you tug at our heartstrings the way you tug at our heartstrings? Who or what is “Hello” about? But MOST IMPORTANTLY, why the flip phone, Adele?

There were so many theories about why the flip phone happened. Was it a statement about celebrity security in the age of phone hacks? Was it a sign, along with the sepia tone, that this video was set in the past? A political statement about labor practices that go into making Apple products? Is Adele a technophobe?

Turns out the answer is none of those. The “Hello” director, Xavier Dolan, explained to People that the flip phone was, in fact, chosen with a purpose. Just not for any of the purposes we were guessing.

The answer? Dolan simply doesn’t like seeing iPhones (or cars) in videos or films. He finds them distracting and too representative of reality, and thus taking the viewer out of the moment they’re watching.

“Those things: iPhones, laptops, all those elements, to me, they bring me back to reality: That’s not what you want,” Dolan told People. “You want to get out of your own life; you want to enter someone else’s; you want to travel somewhere; you want to be told a story. I’m realizing maybe I’ve been more distracting than anything else with that flip phone, but it wasn’t intentional!”

One thing that was intentional: Dolan wanted you to tear up watching the video. He said he hopes people were “touched” watching it, as if Adele’s soulful voice didn’t do it to you all by itself. Now that we’ve solved the flip phone mystery, let’s get a scientific study going on why Adele always makes us bawl.

Let’s listen to “Hello” for the millionth time, shall we?

(Image via YouTube)