![]() Two of his most compelling novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, take a good hard look at the importance of childhood in order to offer a fresh perspective on adult society. He was always ready to lampoon the conventions of society with a quick (and almost always hilarious) barb. ![]() Mark Twain, meanwhile, liked to question just about everything. Central to his philosophy is the idea of 'life-affirmation,' which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life's energies, however socially prevalent those views might be." ( Source) What could it be? Perhaps, examining Nietzsche and Twain will give us a hint.įriedrich Nietzsche as a German philosopher of the late 19th century who, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. ![]() Their lyrics are generally intelligent and insightful, so there's a good chance the misquote is for a particular reason. Ben and Andrew attended Wesleyan College in Connecticut, a top-ranked liberal arts school. It's hard to believe that this misquote was an accident. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. The video begins with a quote that is attributed to Mark Twain, but we know that it is actually a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: Maybe it will provide some better clues into the deeper meanings of the song. So, let's take a second to check out the official video. ![]() Overall, though, the video seems to only skate on the surface of the song's meaning. It's weird nonsensical nature also seems to match the song's deliberate obtuseness. It definitely captures the cartoonish playfulness of the song. The video is fun, upbeat, and visually entertaining. It's not surprising that the real MGMT took notice and gave Jon some kudos for a job well done. Our favorite clips come from "Call on Me" by Eric Prydz, a terrible/awesome, more-than-slightly-erotic workout video from the '90s.Īnd of course, through it all, you've got Jon's friends, Raf and Abby, dancing around with their faces painted like weird mimes. Both Charlie Chaplin and Bob Saget somehow make the cut. This fan-made video splices clips from different movies, shows, and other pop culture bric-a-brac. May 2008: We go to New York and have a great time on the set with the band and all their friends. April 2008: Ray Tintori, who has directed 3 official videos for MGMT, finds my fan video online and invites myself and my two actors to come to New York to appear in MGMTs next official video for Electric Feel. January 2008: On a whim one night while visiting home in Austin, Texas, I throw the video on YouTube just for kicks. We shot in one night, I cut overnight, turn it in and call it the worst thing I've done so far. Raf didn't want to shave so I didn't push him. I like the way they bounce off of each other despite completely different personality types, and think they both have interesting faces. December 2007: Rushing to make a due date for a USC Music Video class, I ask my friends Raf and Abby to appear in my video. MGMT was not involved in the making of this video, however, they became involved down the line. Just to set the story straight: the facepainted kids in the video are a boy and girl from Los Angeles, two friends of mine, names Raf and Abby. This was two years before the band put out their official video. He put it together for a music video class he was taking at USC. Ironically, the most popular music video for "Kids" on YouTube was not made by MGMT. Left to our own devices to figure out what the heck they're singing about, we at Shmoop naturally turned to the music video for ideas. We think the founding duo of MGMT, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, want it this way. However, in the case of "Kids," MGMT has been playing it close to the vest, so the song remains a mystery wrapped in an enigma. When it comes to deciphering song meanings, we normally check in with the band itself for clues.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |