I got wind later that Rammstein released a video to promote their new album titled, "Pussy", which featured hardcore pornographic material. "Color me bored" I thought, and made a note to take a look at it so I could engage in some cocktail hour banter. Then I looked at the album cover:
It was just as I expected. A naked model lying like a piece of meat to be consumed like the other food at the table. What's worse, one of the band members is poised with a meat cleaver, as if ready to hack off a piece of this model. A piece of meat. The (male) band members are all clothed. The (female) model is the only one exposed. Typical, and pretty boring. This trope has been used by many bands (I'm looking at you, Manowar!), and you'd think Rammstein could think of something a little more original.
The song itself is nothing special really. It's catchy, and falls under "generic Rammstein". I'm a casual fan of Rammstein at best.
It makes me sad that a lot of people don't see right through this watered down advertising strategy. Everyone knows that if you want to sell things, put naked people all over it. Make sure those naked people are female and look a certain way (thin, white, big breasts, etc). People are shocked by this when they shouldn't be. They see it every day in commercials, and on the internet when the door is locked and their pants are down. Rammstein co-opts this imagery, and all of a sudden, it's artistic. Rammstein are not stupid, they know what will grab people's attention. It's not subversive. It's marketing.
However, it's not just the lack of originality I take issue with. There's a lot that's problematic with Rammstein's new approach to selling records, and this "artistic vision" of theirs. It's just another testament to how pushing the envelope a little will get you the attention you want. American culture and music has become incredibly porn-ified. This is not necessarily a positive thing.
In music video culture, if you don't push the boundaries of "acceptable" in some way, no one will pay attention. As the imitators latch onto your strategy, the landscape becomes saturated, and the comfort zone needs readjusting once more. The viewers become desensitized to what was once "innovative" and "shocking". And this has happened with Rammstein's use of porn.
Usually, when anyone says anything negative about porn, the first reaction is, "Oh, go buy a dildo, stop being so afraid of your body, and rent Debbie Does Dallas, you fun-killing, out of touch prude!" It's an easy way to dismiss critique of porn so you don't have to think about what you're looking at. Maybe you just want to get your rocks off. Well, here's the critique: Porn does not equal sex (sorry to break it to you).
These videos and culture are displaying only one kind of sexuality. This kind of sexuality is being celebrated and seen as the pinnacle of ALL sexuality. If you grow up only seeing thin, white women commodified to titillate you, you will recall those images when you begin to explore sexuality on your own. Young people see these images long before they've had sex education in schools (if they get any at all), before they take those tentative steps to exploring their own sexuality as a teenager, and before they can truly contextualize them. Thus, these images are important because they have a hold on our culture, which simultaneously celebrates and condemns sexuality.
Rammstein was sure to include common porn tropes before unveiling any breasts. The seventies fonts introducing the band members as though they were porn stars was not lost on me. The female models used are mostly interchangeable with conventional "good looks". The tired stereotypes are trotted out: the maid, the cheerleader, the dominatrix, the secretary, the cowgirl. They shimmy around a little and titillate the band members individually in vignette style. This eventually leads to these folks disrobing and putting body parts inside other body parts. Insert tab A in Slot B. Yawn.
This was definitely inspired by modern porn, which everyone has seen or looks at regularly. The models have no pubic hair. Their breasts are stuffed full of silicone and stick out at unnatural angles. Whatever, some people go for that. We've all seen it before. Cue the fake moaning and a cheesy non-Rammstein soundtrack, and I'll go get some chips and dip. You want anything from the fridge?
The only thing that struck me as interesting was the shot where the model is filming herself as she masturbates. I interpret this as a nod to everyone's desire to be on camera and have their 15 minutes of fame, even if it is by exposing themselves on the internet. We truly are a culture obsessed with fame, recognition, and celebrity. Celebrities make sex tapes now as a career enhancement. It's a surefire way to get attention. It's the validation some people feel the need.
LYRICS
The lyrics are laden with innuendos, as should be expected.
"Mercedes-Benz and motorway,
alone in foreign driving,
Voyage, voyage, driving experience
i will just fun,
i do not fall in love"
The non-idiomatic translation not withstanding, I get it. Cars. Driveways. "Fun".
"You've got a pussy,
I have a dick,
So what's the problem?
Let's do it quick."
The problem is a lot of metal fans are male, and this is addressing women, who are apparently the ones who possess "pussies". You need to do better market research, Rammstein! Oh, and don't suggest to your male fans they have "pussies", or a lot of masculine posturing and cries of "You're a ph@g! No, you're the ph@g!" will ensue.
However, this direct (if not particularly articulate approach) would be instructive to this guy's approach to talking about sex! ("Wink wink nudge nudge say no more!" XD)
"So take me now before it's too late
Life's too short, so I can't wait.
Take me now, oh don't you see,
I can't get laid in Germany."
So, you're going to bang foreigners? Or go abroad in search of sex? Well, sex tourism is a huge problem in many parts of the world. So is human trafficking. I don't think Rammstein was really commenting on that, though.
They DO comment on penis size, however.
"Too big, too small,
Size does matter after all."
Ok, that's a little progressive, I guess...
"Nice lady, want some more?
Blitzkrieg with Fleischgewehr!
Schnapps in the head,
you holde Brau,
Stick sausage into your Sauerkraut!"
*cue image of model playing with sausages*
So they liken vaginas to Sauerkraut? That's bizarre, to say the least.
MORPHING THE BODY
Rammstein are no strangers to using their bodies to shock people. This is why it's so sad that they've gone the more mainstream and acceptable route (which is ironically, porn). They've used makeup, dramatic role play costumes, and bizarre getups to make a statement before. Their statement was always lost on me. They experimented with their own size.
A snapshot from the Keine Lust video:
However, for the promotional photo for "Pussy", they photoshopped their shoulders, arms, and heads onto female bodies.
Yes, there's "variation" in pubes and tattoos, and the singer chose a pregnant model to photoshop his face onto. Maybe that's shopped, as well. Is this a genderfuck? Doubtful. I give it 2 colors out of the homo rainbow. I'm not entirely sure any of the band members really identify as differently gendered. Everyone knows the images are edited. It's definitely not the same as a genderfuck because they had to use other people's bodies to make this point.
This brings me to the question of the production of this material. The hardcore shots in the video don't show the faces of the band members. Thus, you don't know if they're exposing their real bodies completely. They could be using other actors for those disembodied hardcore shots.
I also wonder how they found those actresses, and what the terms of their contracts were. Who had artistic control of the video? Rammstein would frame it as a way to do what they want without help from MTV, and without the need to censor themselves.
I guess this quote, taken from their official website says it all:
"Carried by a gigantic wave of testosterone, Rammstein unsheathes its sword and presents what makes man an animal."
Porn makes man an "animal"? I was aware humans were mammals, but everyone, not just men, has desires. I don't think Rammstein sees it that way. They present people PAID to have sex on camera. That's commercial exchange, not biology. There's no way to frame these images as primordial, since they're produced in a particular historical and cultural moment.
Anyway...
I know this will probably be met with, "will you Lighten UP?!" or "It's just superfluous entertainment, it's not hurting anyone" or even "Wow, you're very un-metal for bringing up these points and seeing it this way".
So what? These are important questions.
Furthermore, even if it is superfluous entertainment, it started a conversation. That's not so horrible.
We live in a different world than the one our parents grew up in. We need education to inform and contextualize all this information and these images. This is connected to teen pregnancy, eating disorders, and other social problems. We cannot censor these images, but we can educate.
My critique is informed by these sources. If you're interested in media studies or anthropology, these are great places to start your studies:
Sut Jhally, media anthropologist: Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Video
Jean Kilbourne, journalism and media studies: Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women
Pamela Paul: Pornified: How Pornography is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families
I would STRONGLY encourage you to look at these materials. Pornified is available at most academic libraries.
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