Some time ago, I accidentally found a book called “The Music and Art of Radiohead” (by now you’d probably notice that I like them :>). From its’ title, you might’ve easily guessed what the book is all about. Just to make it clear, the book is a collection of academic essays about, well, Radiohead’s music and art (lyrics, album cover art, music videos, etc). Regardless of the efforts put out to make the essays (and not to mention the credibility of their writers), the editor was aware that the artists themselves wouldn’t be too thrilled with the project. As he pointed out at the introductory part of the book, Radiohead weren’t too fond of the over-intellectualization of their work.
You can’t blame people for it, though. Trying to look out for something beneath the surface, the hidden meaning, or whatever you’d like to call them, is simply human nature. If that’s not the case, do you think Kurt Cobain (and a whole bunch of others) would commit suicide out of feeling that his life was meaningless?
On the other hand, people always give out their personal beliefs, values, opinions and even character, intentionally or not, when they communicate with others in various media. By putting Voldemort and his death eaters as the “bad guys” (although defining good and bad in Potterverse isn’t exactly that easy) in Harry Potter series, for example, J. K. Rowling showed her disapproval towards racism. I doubt it if she really intended to preach to her readers, though.
So, what’s wrong with looking for meanings over stuff since they’re always there and everywhere? Nothing’s wrong with it, except that sometimes people can become too serious over things. I suppose that’s the reason why Radiohead refused to play “Creep” for about ten years or so, because the fans (and critics) were way too serious about the songs. People hailed it as the teenage reject anthem of the decade, for God’s sake! I mean, Thom Yorke was probably just having a bad day when he wrote the lyrics. That’s all.
And if you think that’s bad enough, check out for people who go too far in analyzing “hidden meanings” behind things: they see something which doesn’t even exist. From the corps of Harry Potter fans, Harry-Hermione shipper (from the word “relationship”, if you’re wondering) is a perfect example. They still insist that there’s something behind Harry and Hermione’s interaction (romantic love, to be exact) even after Rowling stated in one of the interviews that Ron and Hermione were meant to be together (something that should’ve been noticed by anyone who had read all Harry Potter series). Harry-Hermione shipper even slammed Rowling for “abandoning the greatest love story of the century”. Imagine!
The conclusion, it’s okay to dwell over stuff, trying to find their hidden meanings. Most of the times, you could really find something beneath the surface or even get positive lessons from it. Just don’t get too sentimental.
You can’t blame people for it, though. Trying to look out for something beneath the surface, the hidden meaning, or whatever you’d like to call them, is simply human nature. If that’s not the case, do you think Kurt Cobain (and a whole bunch of others) would commit suicide out of feeling that his life was meaningless?
On the other hand, people always give out their personal beliefs, values, opinions and even character, intentionally or not, when they communicate with others in various media. By putting Voldemort and his death eaters as the “bad guys” (although defining good and bad in Potterverse isn’t exactly that easy) in Harry Potter series, for example, J. K. Rowling showed her disapproval towards racism. I doubt it if she really intended to preach to her readers, though.
So, what’s wrong with looking for meanings over stuff since they’re always there and everywhere? Nothing’s wrong with it, except that sometimes people can become too serious over things. I suppose that’s the reason why Radiohead refused to play “Creep” for about ten years or so, because the fans (and critics) were way too serious about the songs. People hailed it as the teenage reject anthem of the decade, for God’s sake! I mean, Thom Yorke was probably just having a bad day when he wrote the lyrics. That’s all.
And if you think that’s bad enough, check out for people who go too far in analyzing “hidden meanings” behind things: they see something which doesn’t even exist. From the corps of Harry Potter fans, Harry-Hermione shipper (from the word “relationship”, if you’re wondering) is a perfect example. They still insist that there’s something behind Harry and Hermione’s interaction (romantic love, to be exact) even after Rowling stated in one of the interviews that Ron and Hermione were meant to be together (something that should’ve been noticed by anyone who had read all Harry Potter series). Harry-Hermione shipper even slammed Rowling for “abandoning the greatest love story of the century”. Imagine!
The conclusion, it’s okay to dwell over stuff, trying to find their hidden meanings. Most of the times, you could really find something beneath the surface or even get positive lessons from it. Just don’t get too sentimental.
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