This abstract is published in Building Bridges. Building Bridges is a collection of selected abstracts from the HTCC and UCI. I wrote this abstract based on a presentation I did at the conference. I hope you all enjoy. 
Duality
The Greek god, Zeus, upset with the “insolence” of human beings–who originally were graced with four legs, four arms, and one head–decided to teach humans a lesson by cutting them in half. Thus were male and female created. Zeus further warned that if people did not learn humility, they might end up “hopping on one leg.” As Plato’s Symposium tells the story, each half was to seek and find another if it were to ever become whole again (Plato).
Beginning with the whole self already divided into male and female, the song from the music video Schism (by the band, Tool) shows the male and female playing commonly accepted stereotypes. For example, the woman has a mouth, but no ears; the man has ears, but no mouth. Schism ends with the divisions of each self embracing the other’s duality of male and female sides until, finally, harmony enters as the original self is seen–bearing four legs, four arms, and one head.
A semiotic analysis of the visual signs reveals the illogical idea that every man is fully masculine or that any female is fully feminine, as these terms are defined in by this music video. The video exposes the damage and conflict of acting not as a whole self but as the kind of extreme polarity typically seen in gender roles, especially communication. In this way, Tool exaggerates stereotypes to break them.
Hey I really enjoyed this. I’ve been trying to analyze Tool myself, but I’m lost because I don’t really know where to begin on a LOT of their concepts. Are there any places I should look for either a further analysis or important influences where the band mightdraw their work from?
I am glad you enjoyed it.
Wow. I’m not really sure where to start to answer this question. I think the first step in analyzing
is just to simply listen. Absorb. Maybe start with what you think first. What are you first impressions? What feelings does a sound evoke? What associations do you make with a word, a line? What does it remind you of? For instance, you say, “their concepts.” What then are those concepts, and why do think so? You are an element of the music as well.Perhaps the songs, albums, and so forth can be interpreted in many applications:sociology, astrotheology, psychology, sexually, through other literature, and on and on and on. Also, answering who you are as a listener might be something to consider. During the conference, I prefaced my analysis with a disclaimer, stating that this was just one way to look it at and was not doctrine for me or anyone else; I am not the artist, especially not who the artist is at that moment. While I think just embracing the music is a key component, working within a confinement might help too. For instance, you may want to work solely within the context of religion. How might something fit there? (No, I am not saying to be fixed and rigid. :p Maybe the confinement might transform depending on what you find.) One last question to ask might be can the music change how one listens, just as the listener can alter how the music is heard? I apologize if I have not said, “Read this book,” but I hope I have helped. And, of course, there is always http://www.toolband.com and http://toolshed.down.net. Thanks for reading and for the comment.
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