Thread by @taejinception

revisiting knebel three years later, or, what i kinda disagree with zoran

a (long) music video analysis thread:

the heart of this thread is a discussion i had in 2019 with @ghouIsandghosts after watching the knebel mv for the first time. i tweeted that the woman in the mv seemed otherworldly, so my moot suggested that she might've been inspired by the rusalki.
(art by anna vinogradova) +

i found the idea interesting since it's plausible - lindemann had played with the slavic folk motif before in the mv 'fish on', where there are references to the bulgarian kukeri tradition.

in slavic folklore, a rusalka (pl. rusalki) is the revenant of a drowned maiden. +

ethnographer dmitry zelenin classified rusalki as the 'unclean dead', rejected by the earth and harmful to the living. they were viewed as girls who'd died unjustly: committed suicide or murdered from betrayal and/or abuse, most usually by male power figures in their lives. +

the most common portrayal of a rusalka is a pale (naked or clothed) woman with long, flowing hair that tempts men into her waters with her eerie beauty and alluring voice. sounds like your average siren, but since she's a revenant, she has human legs instead of a fish tail. +

other than killing to avenge her death, a rusalka would also doom those who are disrespectful towards her. there's a bulgarian tale about a man who refused to respect the rusalki because "he's not afraid of women". he ended up being cursed for three long months before he died. +

this is why the rusalki are deemed perfect horror villains (e.g. rusalka: lake of the dead). soviet folklorist vladimir propp described this 'dusha' archetype as a vengeful drowning creature: it's the hero's task to suppress her, then only she's defeated and obeys her husband. +

it seems like till and peter in the mv tried to suppress a rusalka by dragging her around, chained. however, many forgot how a rusalka's power is linked to nature. while bound, she held nature in her hands. and when she lowered her snowglobe, she sank everything in her waters. +

in folklore, a rusalka is actually more than an undead killer: she's also venerated as nature's giver of abundance. she grants moisture and fertility to the earth from below and above. this parallels with zoran's chosen theme of knebel/mouth being the origin of life and death. +

when invoked by village women, the rusalki would give life to fields and gardens in spring by bringing rain and dew with them. crops grow abundantly in their presence. around spassovden time in bulgaria, it's believed that this life-giving dew could also heal diseases. +

the rusalki also recognise good deeds and kindness in humans. there's a belarusian tale where a woman found a little boy sleeping alone in a forest. feeling pity, she took off her apron, covering him with it. a nearby rusalka saw the act and rewarded her with super strength. +

some rusalki reward help with wealth. in nikolai gogol's may night, a rusalka offers the mc pearls and gold if he could help her pinpoint her abusive stepmother. may night inspired two operas, kramskoy's painting... and maybe a league of legends champion with a similar motif. +

in short, the rusalki is an ambivalent force (and this is why it's theorised that they might be remnants of a past worshipped goddess). if you're a good helpful person, you'll be rewarded. if you ignore their power, you're dead.

the concert vcr version of knebel reflects this. +

in the vcr, instead of trying to capture the rusalka for himself, till bonded with her by having fun over their shared love for music. he saw her through a hole in a guitar, instead of a book. she looked happy and content, at least when compared to her pained mv counterpart. +

he showered her with affection and she seemed relaxed around him, listening to him playing his guitar, lying on his couch. their connection seemed genuine.

then, right before the song's infamous drop, she dropped her garment to the floor, as if offering herself to him. +

the view changed briefly to the mv scene of till being submerged. but that's another story. the current outcome is different:

she, uh, sucked him, they stared at each other through a book and he ate her out through a guitar - perhaps symbolising them finally meeting halfway. +

when combined, knebel forms a parable play about how you can't force someone into a relationship since it'll only end in tragedy. a relationship will only bloom with mutual love and respect (or self-control, since the bitten eel is a phallic metaphor) +

but is it the only message?

zoran explained in an interview that mv!till ended up lonely. the woman controls him, and that's how things are in real life.

"women make the laws," he said, "in the end, they're always the one to decide."

i disagree. +

(cw: mention of sexual assault)

i don't believe that women make the laws as in being the ones who control sex. believing so infantilises men as adults with equal agency.

plus, there have been many women who have been threatened, coerced and assaulted into having sex with men. +

if it's indeed true that the rusalka metaphor was used to make this point, i feel uncomfortable. this archetype, while demonised by men, is about being given agency over mistreatment and oppression in undeath.

(excerpt is from the book 'mother russia' by joanna hubbs) +

sometimes, folklore becomes the voice of the voiceless. like, on a day in rusalka week, bulgarian women sang and danced to some songs about girls raped and betrayed.

there's also the case of author zinaida gippius being called a rusalka tease for not being attracted to men. +

i love the message about how relationships can't be forced and have to come from mutual understanding, but the idea of women always making the laws about sex in real life is dangerous, given the current climate of incel entitlement and women's threatened reproductive rights. +

in a nutshell, sex isn't what women give to men. it takes two to tango.

treating other human beings with respect doesn't mean that they owe you sex. after all, you don't perform acts of kindness just in case there's a drowned ghost standing next to you.

references:
1. the dancing goddesses by elizabeth wayland barber
2. mother russia by joanna hubbs
3. rusalka: water, power and women by i. naroditskaya

further reading:
parabola.org/2018/10/23/the…

it's currently 3am so i'm sorry if it's a bit incomprehensible

(tagging
@Icarus_effect_ @mndmrqs @fantasy_x_v and @lemonysoup since you all seem to be interested from my last announcement hehe)