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Old 01-17-2003, 12:19 PM   #1
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Different Theory

I have watched this video for a few months before something hit me and I understood it a little better. I don't think I have seen anyone discuss this yet.
For starters I feel that this song is about the abuse of religion. Parents forcing their believes on their children who don't share the same views. The first shoot of the "child" on the ground and the "parent" hanging up his legs symbolizes that the parent is not letting the child explore the world around him. The parent took his legs so the child can only see and explore the one little room he is in. To me the book means just simply another page out of the book, or the passing down from generation to generation of these religious ideas. The child starts to explore the room by opening up the closets (I feel that symbolzis him trying to explore life and religion) and each time he does the parent walks in. And the parent starts to paint his believes on the child. I think the bee is the same as the child. There is a whole entire world for a bee to explore but this one is convined to a jar with nowhere to go. The parent paints the child and at first I don't belive that the child agrees (you can see the legs that are hung up are trying to run away). And eventually the child paints himself where he accepts his parents believes without ever being able to question them(an example of blind faith). The "white child" turns into the "black parent" and the cycle starts over when the child has a child.
Well that is my little interpretation. Let me know what you guys think.
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Old 01-17-2003, 03:59 PM   #2
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I really like your idea of what the legs hung up on the wall meant. I've seen this video so many times, and I always wonder what those legs are supposed to mean...
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Old 02-07-2003, 12:46 PM   #3
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The legs thing does make a lot of sense, but as for this being specifically about religion probably has little merit. I think a lot of people on here quickly chalks things up to religion and faith in something more as what Tool's talking about (typically in a negative way) in whatever song. It seems more to me that Tool is trying to get us to relook at what we believe and reinterpret it with more open-mindedness than we may have before, but not so much to reject whatever we're believing.

So this parent figure could well be trying to convince the child of anything, or change it into anything, we don't know. The parent seems, to me, to have good intentions with bad results. What it typically does to "help" the child it does not see as wrong, rarely does it resort to what even it feels is extreme or bad.

I think the best word for what's "being applied" with his paint brush is the word "values." Whatever the parent figure holds dear he's trying to get the child to as well. Religion falls in here, but that doesn't mean that's the specific message. Could be how the parent feels about the child wearing short skirts... (or conservativism, you get my point). Prison Sex paints a graphic picture in your mind but the whole point is "circle of pain, of ignorance," and whatever causes the pain or the ignorance is probably the subject, Prison Sex. And it could just as easily be taken literally.

What I see in the doll child and the bee in its jar is that the child may have stored it away (notice he checks to make sure he's alone before getting it out), as something for it to control, as it begins to be further impressioned by the parent figure (notice the scene occurs about midway into video). The parent sees this, and perhaps is horrified with the results of what's going on, removing the jar. Yet knowing not what else to do, the parent returns to raising the child as it would have before. And once again, in this sudden and extreme horror, the child tries to run, but is immobile.

The doll is being confronted by other horrific results of his environment (segmented doll). And the parent comes to realize what's going on and confronts itself as to what to do. It remembers how it has hurt the child in the past and how it failed to repair the damage, sorrowfully. It briefly dissects some of the child's face, around the eyes, and tries to do something, but we see nothing happen, and the doll child wakes up where he left off, with the caterpillar doll appearing.

Realizing and confronted by the horror of the environment, coming around FULL CIRCLE, the child has become the parent figure (the two legs step in to the shadows, embarassed, afraid). It remembers the horrors it went throught (the head opens from the back). It remembers things it grew up with, around, like the now-introduced meat child, and quickly decides to weed these "bad memories" out (stepping on it, killing it). Another product of environment, the segmented doll, comes to see what's happened, and ponder its own fate.

The doll has died; it has painted itself black, and realizes this. It now controls the environment it was once controlled in. Now it has a doll to control... "responsibilities" to impose its
"values" upon. And at the end of it all there is another responsible for the chain, the circle, of pain.

Some of this video even reminds me of the book of Ecclesiates...
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Old 02-28-2003, 09:58 PM   #4
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Notice: the doll is in the alien creature's prison so to speak. It is like a child. It doesn't know what the alien is doing to him is wrong. The leglessness may symbolize the "I can't get away from this" feeling. The alien aso seems to tear pages out of a book which may be something simialr to the bible. you know that whole "my bible doesn't mention sodomy" type thing. Only at the end does the doll know that these actions are wrong and that is why he taints himself with the brush and he actally tries to defend himself by raising his hand up at the end. The whole 'being pushed back into the wall' action may symbolize the coming full circle lyric. Meaning that later in life, this doll will secumb to the what he was raised with, beoming a tormentor himself. I am done. I probaby didn't list all that I could thing of, but I am not watching the vid right now, so you know...
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Old 03-06-2003, 05:45 AM   #5
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acceptance of the parents religion?

at the end when the child tries to paint itself black, and the parent intervenes and paints it white again, wouldnt the parent want the child to embrace the religion, where in the video as soon as it does, the parent "fixes" the child again? but then again... im probably wrong

just a thought while i was reading slash's post, which i think is an excellent reply to the clip, and satisfied most of the questions i had.. and also i reckon this IS one of the best tool video clips, and i reckon once you sit down and take a good hard think about parabola... its definately one of the best clips, not to mention the pretty effects with the third eye at the end... :)
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Old 03-11-2004, 06:00 PM   #6
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Re: Different Theory

This is one of the most grammatically incorrect threads I've seen :P. Not like it matters. Anyways, I know I'm being a douche, but it'd be pretty fucking funny if Tool really meant for the parent to just be a parent who didn't want the child to do anything wrong, and the bee could represent porn or something. The parent finds it, takes the fucked up part of its mind and replaces that part with a piece of its own (the walls = the parent's mental barriers, the child was reaching past it secretly with the compartment). Then the child becomes a product of the environment, etc. What if Tool was just fucking with us? Sorry for everyone I offended, including myself, I was just a little bored and felt like lightening it up...
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Old 03-25-2004, 03:06 PM   #7
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Re: Different Theory

Great!!
thats pretty good.
after watching the video for the hundredth time i understand how you could have come with that idea. GREAT!
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Old 08-07-2004, 06:27 AM   #8
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Re: Different Theory

i like it!! i agree with kostia that it probably isnt about religion specifically and i thought that the legs resembled the freedoms being taken away (as is said ealier in this thread by slash and kostia) and also that a part of the 'doll' has been taken by the 'parent' and it is kinda symbolising abuse and when the doll looks at the legs its as though it is longing for freedom or is trying to reach it but is being watched by the adult to make sure he doen't get it. the adult figure thinks what it is doing is right and good for the doll. the legs are up on the wall out of reach as though freedom is out of reach. i thought it meant this but was not sure and some of it has been cleared up so thanks guys for your thoughts.

Last edited by forth eye; 08-07-2004 at 06:30 AM..
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Old 08-12-2004, 12:44 AM   #9
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Re: Different Theory

I have the same idea about how the legs being hung up and taken away, which means to me that the black creature is stopping any way of escape for the white "child" creature. The white child creature has no way out and cannot escape from it's "Prison". Also, (this is just something I noticed) when the black creature is tearing out pages in the book, there are already pages torn out in the front of the book. And, if you notice, everytime the black creature comes around, the white creature seems to act like it's asleep, and the black creaure paints it. Which makes it seem like the idea of a parent or older person coming into a childs room while they're asleep, or while they're pretending to be asleep, and molesting them. The white creature finds another creature in the same prediciment as itself, the caterpillar, and realizes what is happening to itself. In the end, when the black creature is painting the white one white, it tries to intervene, but the black one stops it from doing so. But the paintbrush connection is kind of weird. Does it mean it as a paintbrush makes "strokes" so the black creature is in essence "stroking" the white, child one? I'm not meaning that as a joke, but as a thought.
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Old 08-14-2004, 03:36 PM   #10
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Re: Different Theory

this all makes sence, but i still dont get what the guy with the spinning head and hands means, mayby some kind of psychiatrist. ill watch the video again with this new point of view you guys have given me...
its just a shame the ppl that are not fans dont look deeper than the obviouse and all they see is the title and are turned off to tool by it. lol i showed the salival tape to my dads gfs son (hes 14) and he was constantly saying "turn this off its retarded" and i said " why is that, is it because there arent a bunch of idiots jumping around wearing huge necklaces and shit." hes like "no , its just stupid" so i said " oh i get it, you arent being spoon fed , and your too much of a sheep to think for yourself" he continued watching for a while and then just left the room. its kinda sad how brainwashed some ppl are
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