anonymous November 20th, 2005 08:04PM  

the song 'hypnotize' refers to the 1989 self-immolation at tiananmen square. The chorus goes, 'i'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl.' his girl is at the tiananmen protest and he's waiting for her, but she's not coming because she was part of the mass suicide.
in the verses, 'Why don't you ask the kids at Tiananmen square?
Was Fashion the reason why they were there?' refers to 1) the square where the burning took place, and 2) fashion being a major factor in the burnings. a communist official was fired previous to the incident, for wearing blue jeans, jeans being what the 'revolutionary apparel,' like the rock music and american tendencies of the chinese youths. mao-jackets were what all citizens were forced to wear, and jeans were in conflict with the law.
'She's scared that I will take her away from there
Dreams that her country left with no one there' here he talks about trying to talk his girl out of killing protesting previously.
daron's verses are based on the hypnotizing mentality of the then-communist government, the reason for protesting.

awesome song, hope this helps.

anonymous November 26th, 2005 04:20PM  

I think that this song is about the American people neglecting to stand up against the American government, ruling the country by blinding and brainwashing its population with ‘propaganda’ to cover all of its fraud. ‘The kids at Tiananmen Square’ was the Chinese student’s demonstration in 1989, which ended up as being a
massacre. It was against the Chinese Government’s violent treatment of its population and the censored freedom of speech, which SOAD sadly admits is conspicuously maintained in America this day as well. ... Regretfully the Americans are just innocently ‘sitting in their cars and waiting for their girls’

anonymous November 29th, 2005 01:14PM  

I reckon this song is all about the government and the media's use of propaganda to manipulate the public's perception. The example they give is of the student protests in Tiananmen Square being represented in the media now as having a kind of kitsch value. The image of the young man standing up to the military tank is one of the best known in the world but is very rarely associated with the contemporary issues it should represent (the abuse of power by the authoritarian Chinese communist government of the time) and is far more frequently associated with fashionable concepts. In much the same way, Che Guevara's image is sported by students across the globe, the majority of whom I would guess have no idea what he actually did.

As for the girl in the car, who knows? While we can be sure that "Propaganda leaves us blinded", what is the correlation with the man waiting for his girl. Perhaps he wants to explain the manipulation of her attitude by the government but "She's scared that I will take her away from there", there being her position of ignorance. It is true that sometimes ignorance is bliss and some people do not want to know how bad their government actually can be. "Her dreams and her country left with no one there", there's no one there because the country that she believes in doesn't exist, it's a product of propaganda.

anonymous December 18th, 2005 05:00PM  

this song really is about the incidents in china between April and June of 1989. The root of the song stands on the fact that the government is too invasive as for the liberties of the population. In fact, the whole communist government of china, back in 89' was very strict and didn't permit any evasion from the traditional thoughts (propaganda). The fact that he says : ''was fashion the reason why they were there'', stands for the fact that even the clothes were regulated as acceptable or not. Overall, chinese students, researchers, liberals etc., were emprisonned and the students demanded their release ... which ended in months of battle.

he waits in his car for his girl that will never come back because she died at the battles against authority. when he says : "she is scared that I will take her away from their (....) " he refers to the fact that his girl, a member of the student federation pro-liberation out fighting ...

i find it very profound at the last instants of the song how the drum beats get faster and louder as he says "i'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl" ... and at the very end, it all slows down to one last breath

anonymous February 11th, 2006 02:27AM  

ummmm yeah the tianamen sqaure thing is right but it was a mass ASSASINATION not a mass suicide.......Just to clear that up

bubblegum May 26th, 2006 11:47AM  

Why don't you ask the kids at Tiannamen Square
Was fashion the reason why they were there?

This refers to the Tiannamen Square incident of 1989 and how China really didn't want to the world to know the truth about what happened.

They disguise it Hypnotize it Television made you buy it

This refers to how Mass Media can control pop culture and tell Americans what they want to beleive, wheather or not its ture. Also refers to how ad's on television tells Americans what to buy.

She's scared that I will Take her away from their
Dreams that her country Left with no one there

The girl he is refering to is afraid he's becoming so disenlusioned about America he's willing to leave the country and give up his american citizenship. And she's afraid he'll try to convince her to go with him.

Mesmerize the simple minded propaganda Leaves us blinded

This refers to how the goverenment tells us what we should beleive about things and how they try to hide from the American public from the truth about what they are really doing. And for some people who can't see beyond the lies of the governmeant believe what they are told.

I'm just sitting in my car And waiting for my girl.

This refers to the fact that despite the mass media influance and the goverment scandels and lies, americans try to go on about their daily lives

oscarfish16 June 7th, 2007 10:44AM  

First Poster:

The Tiananmen Square massacre had nothing to do with "self-immolation" or "suicide" as you say. It was a MASSACRE of protesters by the Chinese army. The "burning" you speak of was the army burning the bodies of the civilians they killed.

The song is about how propaganda makes one thing look like another, bending the facts in the favor of the government. The Tiananmen Square example is how a protest against the brutal treatment of citizens by the Chinese government was potrayed as a movement for freedom of fasion in order to make it appear to be less serious.

He then says "She's scared that I will take her away from there, Her dreams that her country left with no one there". By this he means that he has explained his political, or deep social views to his girl, and she was disturbed by it. I can relate to this. I've had girlfriends that have had a hard time with my interpretations of world events.

He then talks about sitting in his car, waiting for his girl. I'm not sure if it is metaphorical or if he was just sitting in his car waiting for his girl. The only thing I could come up with is that he already sees through the everyday propoganda, and has gotten into the car (or movement) to be against it. He is waiting for his girl to realize the truth (or get into the car with him). Basically he is waiting for his girl to realize things like he does.

anonymous January 15th, 2008 07:31PM  

I don't think this has anything to do with America. I think that it is very selfish to say it does That's like claiming a holocaust song as having to do with consumerism.

It talks about how the Chinese gov, has censored all literature about tiananmen square from libraries newspapers and the internet. Even the chinese version of google (google.cn) turns up mostly blank for tiananmen square.

He also goes on to criticize that the government wants people to believe that people were massacred justly (they disguise it hypnotize it television made you buy it). Not actually BUY, but accept their views.

So yah it's not about America in my opinion.

anonymous February 11th, 2008 12:40AM  

I remember reading somewhere on Wikipedia or something that Malakian was in his car waiting for his girlfriend when he wrote the song. It was supposed to be about how mass media keeps us entertained while war and death and whatever is going on.

Sitting in his car and waiting for his girl is a metaphor about how as all this happens life goes on as it always has and nothing is questioned.

anonymous March 15th, 2008 04:48PM  

Actually the 1989 incident and the self immolation incident, were two different demonstrations. The second one being in 2001.

The song asks "Was fashion the reason they were there?"
Obviously it was trying to say that the kids at Tienanmen actually had something important to stand for, unlike most Americans whose most important priority is materialistic things such as fashion.

It goes on to say how the media has hypnotized us into this materialistic state of mind, and how the simple minded among us (which are most of us) are easily mesmerized by the propaganda of those in authority.