I'm basing my interpretation on both the short film released as the official video for this song and the lyrics. I just watched the film, and found it really interesting, if maybe a little predictable. Makes me think of early 'nineties identity politics theory, and queer theory. Having been immersed in this theory back then, the video feels like a throwback to that period of passionate "New Queer Cinema" but still seems fresh and edgy today, which shows how slowly power is wrested from those who wield it. Maybe that's the point? To draw attention to the scary rise of right-wing conservative reactionary politics, maybe even more overt in Sweden than N. America. There's some comment on representation, who gets to write the story? What is opinion, your view, your story, and what is his-story? The guys, the signori ("sirs" or "senior" homophonically, superiors) vs. the queers, the freaks, whose desire is outside the mainstream, challenging gender-bound power. Our fantasy lives, our identities, our stories, who we think we are intersect private and public spaces. The lady in red who can't pee on the street like a man, so squats down in a kind of occupy the gutter action, bringing attention to herself from passerby, by defying taboos against women's bodily needs expressed in public spaces (urination, breast-feeding, menstruation). The elderly woman cross-dressing as a man, and fantasizing about a beautiful woman in pearls. Just a stroll in the city, but politicized because of what is going on in her heart and head, her screaming in frustration, rage. The child who sees the injustice that her parents do not see, the sadness and rage of the working class, the maid's private rebellion of breaking the wine glasses, the delicate objects of the rich. Only the little girl sees the aftermath of her tempest in a teacup. The power switch where the policewoman yelling at the protester turns into a pick-up scene and they walk off smiling, the protester in kinky handcuffs. In a sentence: our desires are political. Maybe it's a good time to be reminded of that so we can connect with the fire within that motivates societal change.
I'm basing my interpretation on both the short film released as the official video for this song and the lyrics. I just watched the film, and found it really interesting, if maybe a little predictable. Makes me think of early 'nineties identity politics theory, and queer theory. Having been immersed in this theory back then, the video feels like a throwback to that period of passionate "New Queer Cinema" but still seems fresh and edgy today, which shows how slowly power is wrested from those who wield it. Maybe that's the point? To draw attention to the scary rise of right-wing conservative reactionary politics, maybe even more overt in Sweden than N. America. There's some comment on representation, who gets to write the story? What is opinion, your view, your story, and what is his-story? The guys, the signori ("sirs" or "senior" homophonically, superiors) vs. the queers, the freaks, whose desire is outside the mainstream, challenging gender-bound power. Our fantasy lives, our identities, our stories, who we think we are intersect private and public spaces. The lady in red who can't pee on the street like a man, so squats down in a kind of occupy the gutter action, bringing attention to herself from passerby, by defying taboos against women's bodily needs expressed in public spaces (urination, breast-feeding, menstruation). The elderly woman cross-dressing as a man, and fantasizing about a beautiful woman in pearls. Just a stroll in the city, but politicized because of what is going on in her heart and head, her screaming in frustration, rage. The child who sees the injustice that her parents do not see, the sadness and rage of the working class, the maid's private rebellion of breaking the wine glasses, the delicate objects of the rich. Only the little girl sees the aftermath of her tempest in a teacup. The power switch where the policewoman yelling at the protester turns into a pick-up scene and they walk off smiling, the protester in kinky handcuffs. In a sentence: our desires are political. Maybe it's a good time to be reminded of that so we can connect with the fire within that motivates societal change.