What does the Heart-Shaped Box video mean?

[Matt Burke]

mbu...@headwaters.com (Matt Burke) wrote:

>A while ago I posted this same question, and there was no response,
>but I wanted to give it another try.

>Does anyone know what the imagery for the video of Heart-Shaped Box is
>supposed to mean? Does it have any correlation with the song lyrics?
>I've tried to piece together stuff myself (the crucifix, the poppies,
>the little girl, the fetuses) but I really have no clue.

>Even if you're not sure, does anybody else have any good ideas about
>what it might mean?

>I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black...

>Matt

Obviously, I'm never gonna get any kind of reply, and I should just
give up trying to ask intelligent questions in newsgroups.

[MD]

In article <4sup4r$i...@news.bellglobal.com>, mbu...@headwaters.com says...

Maybe no one else knows what the video means. Maybe it doesn't have any
meaning. If you are confused about it, it's possible other people are
also confused. In my opinion asking a question about a music video
isn't any more intelligant than a lot of the other discussion that goes
on in newsgroups.

-Mark

[Mike Flaherty]

Well, I like the part, even though, it does show a sign of Kurt's death and that is bad,
but I like the part before the solo, when he rubs his hands over his eyes. They do this
to people who die w/their eyes open (in case someone didnt know) to shut their eyes, and
I thought it was a very creative way to let us know what was coming.

[Dave Armstrong]

I felt bad when you didn't get a response... a lot of people here are
somewhat unintelligent, and the don't look at the imagery too much. I
myself do not even have MTV, but I saw the video once, and I remember
vague parts.. He is wearing a Santa hat while he is on the cross. I think
this represents his feelings of becoming commercialized (like XMAS) and
also oif carrying the burden of the world on his shoulders (much like
Christ) the poppies are used to make Opium, so that may have something to
do with drug imagery? As for the little girl , I do not even remember the
video well enough for to tell you. As for the cancer when you turn black,
line... I think that also represents his wish to take on the burdens of
others, even as he is dying.

The fetuses are a recurring thing with Kurt. All through Inutero, he has
death and birth images... Heck, even on Nevermind, we see the Drain You
song.. right? They probably are just something he uses to suggest
innocence, and vulnerabilty... something that is fragile, easily
destroyed... like Kurt, the thinker and soul in the midst of a culture
that did not understand or accept him... Mail me, okay? Dave Armstrong
>mull...@misslink.net<

[laminated effect]

I may be far off, but i see the video like this: The birds are there as a
mocking of the doves which signify purity, They show the old man as someones
personal jesus being tortured or crucified and he is powerless instead of the
one with power. The poppies are related to three things: kurt thought they
looked like a vagina (thats why they appear on incesticide), secondly heroin
is derived from the poppy plat, and thirdly they are sometimes related to
death because they can grow through courpses once they are planted in the
ground. The little girl in the kkk costume signifys how naive people can be
by thinking they are the one true thing, or the one with all of the power.
Once the blood stain comes through its showing how people are affected by it.
When the kkk uniform turns black and soaked by blood, its showing how the
spirit dies. The in utero lady is supposed to be the mother of all children
which i guess makes her the one who is responsible for all that goes on. Once
their in the hospital they show how people that were once thought of as gods,
have turned ill and will die and be forgotten about. the fetus in the iv bag
is kind of a play on words, it can be thought of as a baby not getting its
chance to live, or it can be the soul of who is dying, which means they are
still not understanding why things happen.
well, ive rambled long enough, tell me what you think~~~~~~~

[ASIManager]

Who cares what it means? Kurt was obviously fucked up on heroin when he
wrote it and played it. Just like all his other songs!!! i'm not dissing
Nirvana. They fuckin rule, just stating facts.

later,
Elvis

[GypsyE2471]

You obviously don't know the first thing about Nirvana if you think that
none of their songs mean anything. Please go back to listening to Bush
and Oasis, thats mindless enough for you.

[Negative Creep]

fuck you, no, he wasn't fucked up when he wrote all his songs, and you
have dissed Nirvana. Don't speak of Kurt as though he was this major
drughead fucked up all the time. He had problems and occasionaly
turned to drungs to get around it.

Tony.

asima...@aol.com (ASIManager) wrote:

> Who cares what it means? Kurt was obviously fucked up on heroin when he
>wrote it and played it. Just like all his other songs!!! i'm not dissing
>Nirvana. They fuckin rule, just stating facts.

> later,
> Elvis

[Fritz Deboer]

In article <4u2u4a$5...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, asima...@aol.com (ASIManager) says:
>
> Who cares what it means? Kurt was obviously fucked up on heroin when he
>wrote it and played it. Just like all his other songs!!! i'm not dissing
>Nirvana. They fuckin rule, just stating facts.
>
>
> later,
> Elvis

Now, I don't want to make you mad, but people were asking about the
video, right? I think it's more of the director who's in charge of what
the video means. Not Kurt. Of course, I could be wrong, I don't know
anything about music video production--it's just that directors are
usually credited for films, which are basically what music videos are.

Twalen
Fleety
MonkeyMan

"That MonkeyMan guy shouldn't write such long, boring posts."

[The Orphic Sihnesi]

FDE...@WESLEYAN.EDU (Fritz Deboer) wrote:

>Now, I don't want to make you mad, but people were asking about the
>video, right? I think it's more of the director who's in charge of what
>the video means. Not Kurt. Of course, I could be wrong, I don't know
>anything about music video production--it's just that directors are
>usually credited for films, which are basically what music videos are.

I've been wondering about that video too. I think I read somewhere
that either the Lithium or Come as You Are video was supposed to be
about a girl whose parents were in the Klan and she realizes how evil
they are.

The Orphic Sihnesi

[DAY...@lcs.isu.edu]

Benji the wonder hound:I think Kurt was on cloud 9(or maybe 69) when he came up with
the idea for this video. It's obviously a flashback to his childhood days and a cry
to the american public for his lost innocence. So help me god, Kurt's a genius and
there should be shrines erected in his behalf(since he is the god of alternative)