Rammstein's music video "Sonne" begins with the 'dwarfs' working in a dark mine. They work and one day Snow White comes into their house. From watching the music video, one can gather that the dwarfs slave away in the mine to bring gold back to Snow White, which she uses as a drug (which she later overdoses on). If they fail to bring back gold for her, Snow White will punish them (i.e. in the form of spanking). However, if they bring back gold they are rewarded in a form of pleasure; this is not sexual, but one can see the dwarfs taking pleasure from the things Snow White allows them to do for her like brushing her hair or hugging her. As they hug her, one can see the need the dwarfs have for her. Even though she causes them pain; they need her. Like the sun, it nurtures and gives life but also has the ability to cause pain and kill.
From the stories we read in class we know that Snow White (or the character that resembles her) is kind and far from cruel. She was never demanding of the dwarfs. They wanted to please her on their own whim and were not punished for displeasing her. The music video by Rammstein gives Snow White a more sexual appeal. One could see in the stories that the dwarfs believed Snow White to be the most beautiful of all but never viewed her in a sexual way because she was waiting for her prince. But you can clearly see that the dwarfs in the music video want to please Snow White for sexual gratification (or to please a fetish). At the end of the music video, the dwarfs place the "dead" Snow White in a glass coffin and place it on top of the hill. All of the dwarfs are upset/sad due to the death of their "sun". A single apple falls from the tree over top of the coffin and cracks the glass. Snow White catches the apple and wakes up from her slumber. The dwarfs are then seen working in the mine once more.
I always find Rammstein videos to be a work of imagination and rather amusing. This one fits that as well. Although I did find it enjoyable and interesting to watch I actually found it disturbing. I know Rammstein well and understand that they are not your typical metal group; they're strange and break many boundaries. I'm very used to the traditional tales of Snow White (much like the Disney version) and the stories that we read in class that are from different cultures didn't bother me too much. But this music video made me rather uncomfortable. I did not like the way Snow White was portrayed. She looked extremely provocative and although she nurtured the dwarfs as their "sun" she also punishes them if they displease her. I'm used to Snow White being nothing but caring and sweet, so seeing this extremely opposite side to her character was jarring to me.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
A Jungian View of Fairy Tales
From the Jungian perspective, Fairy Tales all have a set pattern or archetype that make it a fairy tale. Major archetypes include: persona, ego, shadow, self and anima/animus. The most common are: the wise old man (Dumbledore, Gandalf- this character usually meets a horrible fate and is not there to help the hero finish his quest), primeval forest, evil stepmother, eternal child (like Peter Pan), trickster (Norse God, Loki), the shadow, anima/animus ( found in the unconscious of a male with feminine personality traits, found in the unconscious of a female with masculine personality traits) and self. In every single fairy tale you read, you can find at least one, if not more, of these archetypes. According to Jung these archetypes are apropos. These Jungian viewpoints are a mapping system (structure/skeleton) as to what a tale contains, every tale. Also outlined is the journey of the hero. The hero must go through a certain number of stages to complete his journey. First the hero is seen to be withdrawn and detached. Because of his/her behavior they must undergo a transformation. Through this transformation they will learn the error of their ways and will re-transform and return to teach his/her findings of their wrongdoings. They will then be separated from their path. From their they will have their initiation and finally, their rebirth (they will finally be free from their curse/whatever mistakes they had to learn from and be "born again" as a person with all the knowledge they were lacking prior to their journey. Therefore making them a better and more developed person).
The entire relationship between Fairy Tales and Jungian Psychology is based on the fact that they are linked together. The entire scheme of Jungian Psychology can be used to accurately describe the elements found in Fairy Tales.
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