A lot of people see this song as a celebration of the body, which can be an obvious meaning, but I was watching the video and started thinking what if this is about how the body is holding him back?
Maynard says
"This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality."
Lateralus as an album seems to be about recognizing your divinity, not your mortality.
"Embrace this moment. Remember. We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion."
Eternal and mortal aren't synonyms, so the body/pain it feels seems more like a distraction.
Now to the video. This video seems to be made completely of metaphors. The floating things in the beginning seem to be atoms to me, because they make up everything, as it's showed.
There are three ugly fat guys, dressed exactly alike. So whatever they represent go hand in hand with each other. I think that aspect is emphasized when they form an equilateral triangle as they puke.
One of them has the means to bisect the blue apple. Inside the blue apple is revealed a 5, 6, and 7 pointed star. While they have varying meanings, a 5 pointed star (in the position it was facing) usually represents Man through our 5 extremities: 2 legs, 2 arms and a head. A 6-pointed star is commonly known as the Star of David by the jews, but it represents so much more including the flower of life and much in that direction. But here I think its used to represent the nature of all things. And finally, the 7-pointed star represents God.
So within the blue apple can be found man, nature, and god, basically everything. Then the circle they make is formed into another 7-pointed star, therefore they created something divine.
I'd guess that the little blue guy is a representation of Trickys body, ego, or his physical aspects, perhaps why the face "stands out" on him. Notice he is with Tricky where ever he goes.
I have a few different views on the roots. This part could be seen for what it is, which is Tricky examining his roots, but I noticed an odd looking face in the roots, which resembles a demon or something similar. At one point Tricky is reaching his arm in the demons ear...
The glass thing stumps me, but I'd say whatever it is allows him to see things differently, (drugs, meditation, magick, something mind-expanding) which is why the orb appears to him right after.
I think the orb represents his knowledge? or something of that sort. Well whatever it is begins to grow pretty rapidly, and then Tricky is distracted by the black and white forest. The little blue guys tries for his attention, but he is ignored. Then the orbs kill him. It seems like a disater in the video, because Tricky is pissed, but it works out for the best, because in the end he either becomes illuminated or he dies. At the end when the eyes are swirling up his body, they are actually pointing out the chakra points. When they get to the heart, that plant with endless petals appears (I forget what its called) and the weird bottle cap thing in the back of the linear notes also shows, which gives me an idea of what that means now. The eyes are male and female, each taking their correct side on the body. Once all his chakra points are intact, the crown is connected and he is one with All that Is. End.
This is my slack interpretation, most of which I could explain further, but its better if you draw your own conclusions. There are many more little details that have significance, but I'll leave those alone for now.
PS- Notice that once the leaf turns into an eye, the "frames" or the "box" is lifted from the screen, signifying that this part is viewed outside the "box" without any kind of limitations. So everything before this point is viewed within the "box".
Last edited by MORNING_GLORY; 08-08-2004 at 05:28 PM..
I think that Tricky being pissed is what is holding him back. The word "rage" appears at the beginning of the video, the same time that the box, or frame is placed around the screen. Tricky displays rage three times: when he breaks the stone, when he yells at the orb, and just before finding the leaf, he looks scornfully over his shoulder. These displays grow less severe as Tricky gains more understandng. I think he has accrued knowledge throughout the video, from the tree, from the box - which I think might be representative of Hindu cleansing and the opening of tantric channels - from his meditation, from his biscecting of the blue guy, but finding the leaf seems to be the release for him. Once he gets over the shock of the leaf beginning to glow before him - and it almost seems to wait for him to get over this initial surprise - then the frame fades away. Also of note: the seven pointed star, or septagram, is representative of unity amongst Kabbalists, and the hexagram, or star of David, is often thought to represent man's desire to attain divinity, and the divine's descent into matter - the two juxtaposed triangles. Kabbalism considers the pentagram to represent man, or the microcosm, while they consider the hexagram to be indicative of the macrocosm, or divinity.
Kabbalism also teaches its followers about the "Tree of Life," which contains ten sefirah. Each of these sefirah are like bits of knowledge but are impossible to understand outside of the context of their whole. Kabbalists consider the balance between these sefirah to be their most important quality, going so far as to say that the only evil is imbalance. But the point I was getting to is that Kabbalists look at these sefirah by breaking them into what they call the pillars of severity. These are severity, equilibrium, and mercy. To me, the video is largely about balance. Tricky's rage seems to follow this balance, and the recurrance of the number three is uncanny. The three figures in the ritual, the three stars in the fruit, the three faces within the tree facade. Possibly, this balance is shown with the fruit, the tree, and the leaf, as well.
the seven pointed star, or septagram, is representative of unity amongst Kabbalists, and the hexagram, or star of David, is often thought to represent man's desire to attain divinity, and the divine's descent into matter - the two juxtaposed triangles. Kabbalism considers the pentagram to represent man, or the microcosm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 93kings
Tricky's rage seems to follow this balance, and the recurrance of the number three is uncanny. The three figures in the ritual, the three stars in the fruit, the three faces within the tree facade.
I watched the video again with this in mind, and I have some new ideas.
I'm starting to the that the whole scene in the beginning foreshadows the rest of the video by the stars in the apple, through Trickys adventures.
At first Tricky observes the stone, which could be the 10 commandments, but he rejects it, and it shatters. Thats him being a man (pentagram)
He observes the roots, then he goes to the glass thing, which makes him see the orbs. Thats him attempting to attain divinity (hexagram).
Finally, when he picks up the leaf hes attaining the unity (septagram)
Well yeah, if most people actuially listened to the lyrics. Its not about the body. Its about the soul, mind, spirit.In the song he is talking not from his shells perspective.
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