So, I don't normally discuss my musical tastes on here as this is a political blog, but anyone who knows me off of here knows I have an unhealthy obsession with German metal, ESPECIALLY Rammstein. And today they released a new album. So why I am I discussing them on a political blog? because they also released a single called Angst, which is political in nature. And while they have discussed politics in the past, nothing they wrote was particularly relevant to topics I felt like discussing. But given my current train of thought on topics like politics post 1968 in the US, party alignments and realignments, and discussion regarding books from people like Robert Putnam and Thomas Frank, it only felt right to discuss this video.
So, I linked it above, but the overall summary is that the song is about "angst" or "fear" in English. It seems to discuss authoritarian tendencies, stuff like fake news, polarization, racism, etc. Essentially, the video starts off with the band members all sitting around a Tranquility Lane type square where they're all neighborly. It has an old schools 1950s American suburbia vibe. Wearing sweater vests, reading newspapers, mowing their lawn, grilling. You know, the good old American past time. Strange to see from a German band, but it fits. But, all of them have a computer. And a disfigured guy is tied down and brought up to a podium, and he is essentially hooked up to the internet. This disfigured man is the "schwarzen man" or "boogeyman" discussed in the song (although it also translates to "black man", more on this later). The song is about how uneducated men can be prone to authoritarianism and fear of the other. As the respective band members start listening to the "boogeyman" through their computers, they start becoming increasingly paranoid. This causes them to surround themselves with walls and barbed wire, and ultimately get access to weapons to defend themselves. They really are lampooning America hard here as one band member even starts kissing his rifle like the guy from the Cyanide and Happiness video on guns. Ultimately, they become so paranoid that they start shooting their computers, causing the walls to crumble around them. By the end of the song, they're all sitting around and watching TV while eating a specific kind of snack I'll discuss a bit later to discuss a certain alternative meaning of the song. But, even though they're more united, they're still susceptible to propaganda, and are watching refugees alone on TV. Realizing what is happening one band member destroys the TV and the color returns to their world.
So, now discussing meaning. The most obvious interpretation is taking a swipe at Trumpers and their equivalents in Europe like Brexiters in the UK, Front National in France, AFD in Germany, etc. Essentially, while the song starts out with everyone acting neighborly, they all start listening to the boogeyman talking to them through their computers, causing them to become more polarized and distrustful of each other. This has a lot of different forms of symbolism. The most blatant is one of literal fascism, good, normal people becoming susceptible to extreme propaganda and becoming more authoritarian and outwardly fascist. But it also has a lot of interesting meaning here in US politics, since it's taking swipes at us. I mean, both in Robert Putnam's Upswing and Thomas Frank's listen liberal, we've seen the fall of the collective in America since the literal 1950s, and the rise of the individual. Starting in the 1960s, we went from being relatively collectivist and being all on the same page, to being more individualist and on different pages. While people will blame social media for this, and that seems to be a clear theme I picked up on in the song, I'd argue the roots of this are deeper than just social media. They go all the way back to the 1960s, and the internet has just accelerated this. For me, the internet isn't the inherent problem. It's just making it worse. As people start going online they fall into their own echo chambers, listening to people who largely or only agree with them. And this causes them to become more distrustful of their neighbors. And while this song has a right wing theme to it, I have a warning for the left, YOU'RE DOING IT TOO. All of this social justice culture is a form of this. People put their sanctimony above comradery with their fellow man. Wanting to censor others? Even physically assault them like some leftists want to do? They're falling into their own forms of authoritarian tendencies. Hence one of the reasons I dislike cancel culture, and why I'm taking potshots at the extreme left and their extreme purity testing. Even I'm somewhat guilty of this, but I've kind of gone in a different direction, which has made me feel relatively politically homeless lately. But yeah, we basically are in that boogeyman stage. And both sides are doing it. obviously the right is chasing ghosts like immigrants, critical race theory, etc., but the left is also doing its own versions of this, and it's dangerous too.
But, let's go back to the song. Is the solution to go back to a time before social media? No. And I think Rammstein demonstrated this as well. Sure, we can get rid of social media and be more "united" like some "moderates" want. I always see moderates lamenting the past where they miss a time where we could be more civil and on the same page. but that past was still authoritarian. And we see that at the end. They're all sitting around watching TV at the end, having gotten rid of their computers, and all agreeing again...but you notice anything off? Well, they're all white. And they're watching refugees on TV. And it kind of has a point. This mythical past where we were all on the same page was never that great. First of all, TV has been a source of propaganda since long before the internet. You think fox news and rush limbaugh didn't help create the problems with modern america? Before 2016 and the focus on social media TV was seen as dividing and misleading people, with accusations of right wing media being propaganda. And of course, MSNBC and CNN are propaganda too. They're just democratic party aligned propaganda. but as someone who is more left wing, it doesn't mean that they don't shut out those they dont like either. Heck, I blame some of the social media induced polarization on the fact that traditional media has alienated a lot of people, causing them to lose their trust in it. And honestly? I'd argue traditional media deserves some of that. The image of togetherness was always a farce, and it was always held together by propaganda. it just used to be we all listened to the same propaganda and all agreed, whereas now we listen to our own propaganda sources and are more atomized as a result. So, in the Rammstein song, getting rid of the TV was what it took to free people of all propaganda. Not that that actually would work in practice, but it really does make you think...who or what are you listening to? Where do you get your information from? Is it reliable? I mean, you honestly should question everything if you ask me. Even me. I can sometimes be wrong, and I don't hold a monopoly on truth. if you don't like what I say, I can respect that to a large extent. As long as you can justify your views with reliable evidence of course.
Now, to discuss another theme in the video. That of racism. The Schwarzen Man wasn't JUST the boogeyman. It was also "the black man"....and I think this double meaning is intentional. Because a lot of polarization in America and Europe is driven by racism. The seeds of our own modern situation came in the 1960s, and beyond shifting from collectivism to individualism, we also had a backlash to the civil rights movement in the 1960s, which led to the rise of modern conservatism. And a lot of modern conservatism is based on racism and dog whistle politics. But for a generation, it was on the down low. But Trump made it more overt, and now the right is trending toward more outright fascism. This phenomenon is happening in Europe to with the rise of far right parties looking to keep refugees from the Middle East and Africa out of Europe. So in some ways, people literally are fearing "the black man" and it's driving them to nationalism.
Which gives an alternative meaning to the end of the song. Again, that old consensus was great on paper, but it was always exclusionary. it primarily benefitted whites. In America, the 1950s unity was always white driven and came at the expense of people of other races. And going back to that just reinforces those old boundaries. So Rammstein is kind of critiquing that too. Also, that snack they're eating? According to people on Rammstein forums from Germany, that snack actually has a pretty infamous racist nickname, translating to something like "N word kiss". That seemed to be pretty intentional and is something that would go over an American's head, but I did appreciate that detail. But yeah. A lot of enlightened centrists talk such a big game about how great the old days of unity were, but they really just want unity with white people, they don't want to welcome POC and the like in their ranks. So Rammstein is calling this out and basically telling people to be better and less racist and exclusionary. I know a lot of non Germans always love to joke around and be like HURR DURR ANGRY GERMANS, MUST BE NAZI, but no, Rammstein is actually lib left as fudge. They grew up under the GDR (communist), and while not as authoritarian, they're actually quite left wing politically. While they don't discuss politics often, often times their songs do cover topics like being anti war, addiction to oil, tolerance and openness to whatever sexuality you have, and in recent years anti fascism.
Anyway, being a huge fan of the band, I just wanted to discuss this video, since it does intersect with this blog. Not an orthodox post, but yeah. Fun nevertheless.
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