Top Rated Interpretation

anonymous January 1st, 2006 05:07AM  

My interpretation of Shimmy is that it is an attack on the role played by education in creating a compliant and sexually repressed population. The aim of the education system is a "Subjugation of damnation"; 'damnation' being a reference to the religious concept of burning in hell for all eternity as a punishment for sinning (or at least not repenting from sin). Sex outside marriage, as well as various forms of behavior that deviates from what is considered as 'normal' (even where such behavior does not hurt others), is seen as a sin in a number of major religious traditions, with certain forms particularly frowned upon (for example, adultery - even if consentual - is explicitly prohibited in the Ten Commandment). Similarly, certain kinds of sex outside marriage is similarly either frowned upon or outlawed in society and the law, even where this behavior affects no-one other than the individual who commits the act. Damnation (in either a religious, legal, or social sense) from sex before marriage, or non-'normal' behavior, is something which is seen to need to be 'subjugated' and conquered (in a manner perhaps similar to how an invading army which captures a city may decide to subjugate or conquer the native population). In effect, the powerful have decided that their interpretation of behavior and thoughts which lead to damnation need to be conquered.

This conquering of 'damnation' requires an "Indoctrination of a nation." And education is how the citizens of a (developed) nation have the thoughts which lead to damnation purged, and undergo 'indoctrination' in 'normal' behavior.

The problem is that behavior and beliefs considered by some (i.e. The powerful) to be 'morally correct' (i.e. They don't lead to 'damnation') may not be 'authenic' foe everyone; thus the sarcastic lyrics "I think me, I want life/I think me, I want a house and a wife/I want to shimmy- shimmy- shimmy through the break of dawn, yeah." I'm not sure whether these sarcastic lyrics are sung from the point of view of System of a Down (who disagree with the norms of society), a hormonally charged high school student, or from the point of view of someone who generally doesn't fit in with what society considers normal. Whichever perspective it's sung from, there is a clear disagreement that 'normal' activities - like being a home owner, and needing to be married so that you can have sex (or 'shimmy') to the break of dawn, are necessarily desirable values (especially when not owning a picket fence house, or having consentual sex outside marriage don't hurt anyone other than the person undertaking said act).

And how the powerful subjugate (or at least attempt to subjugate) the values and behaviors which - in their opinion - lead to 'damnation' - and 'indoctrinate' people with values which don't lead to 'damnation' - is through the 'education' system. The education system acts to repress thoughts and behaviors which lead to damnation ("Education, fornication, in you are, Go!") up until graduation, when such thoughts have hopefully ('hopefully from the point of view of the elites) been 'subjugated' ("Education, subjugation, now you're out, Go!").

So instead of telling young people to be authentic to themselves in their thoughts and actions - as long as others aren't harmed - we shout at our young people (and shrilly nag them) that they "Don't be late for school again, boy!/Don't be late for school again, girl!"