One thing you didn’t mention in your article was the reworking of “It Doesn’t Matter” from Sonic Adventure 2. A shorter version with a more Western tune than the original, one part of the song is missing.
“This fight is not for anybody, this is purely for myself
There is no way I’m gonna give up 'til the very end
I can’t tell what is wrong and what is right, I’ve got to find the answer
But I do there’s no way I will ever give up
Place all your bets on the one you think is right”
Perhaps a symbol of reservation? Or are we reading too much into this? Perhaps thinking songs to be representative of their owner’s thoughts unless specifically signalled (Staind, Linkin Park, John Lennon, Band Aid etc) is a bit daft. To illustrate, I give you Shadow’s theme from Sonic Adventure 2, “Throw it All Away”.
(OVER ANALYSIS MODE: ON)
“Now, wake up
Everybody tries to be straight
But things are still unchanged
It’s useless to resist
Your effort will be wasted
Head straight for your goal by any means
There is a door that you’ve never opened
There is a window with a view you’ve never seen
Get there no matter how long it takes”
Now, to me, this song indicates that the writer (Fumie Kumatani) went through a high school crush on someone of the same gender. “Everybody tries to be straight” clearly indicates the innermost thoughts of Fumie, as he/she (I can’t tell) realises that he/she is actually liking the look of someone of the same gender. “But things are still unchanged” could mean that thinking of heterosexuality is the Status Quo does not change this fact. “It’s useless to resist” is along the same lines. The song continues along the same lines of the voices in the head style chanting, encouraging the listener to open the “doors” of life, and to get where he/she wants to be “by any means”, implying a lack of morals in this journey. Perhaps a lack of morals is related to the biblical perspective that homosexuality is wrong?
The chorus of the song, repeated a whopping amount of times with relatively few lyrics between them, continues the theme.
“Oh dark, the darkness that dozes in the dusk
Throw it all away
An one can break you, nobody can tear you
You live an endless life forever
Oh dark, the darkness that dozes in the dusk
Throw it all away
You see a light wherever you go
You have to face it again and again”
Darkness dozing in the dusk implies that whatever this piece of imagery is describing is very dark. It IS Darkness, but it is also in the dusk or twilight, the last few moments before nightfall. So, Fumie feels that whatever this thing is must be dark, and in traditional representation, darkness = evil; in this case, his/her un-natural desires. The song urges him to “Throw it all Away”. Or does it? Perhaps “It”, in this case, is his former life, which he must abandon in order to get that which he/she desires? The former seems truer in the second part of the chorus: “You see a light wherever you go, you have to face it again and again.” Imagery relating to a constant reminder, or maybe a torturous process of the subject of his/her desires being present repeatedly throughout life? Finally, the voices give a double meaning of his choices: “No-one can break you, nobody can tear you”. This could be taken as no-one is attractive enough to lure him from being hetero; however, it could also be taken as his choice to play for the other team is strong enough that the beatings he will take/teasing she will endure will not be enough to make him/her change their mind.
An almost subliminal in the bridge provides a final piece of evidence. The words “wake up”, repeated over and again. Wake up to what? The fact that Fumie must accept his/her true feelings, or the fact that these feelings must be abandoned to maintain a healthy life?
We may never know.
(OVER ANALYSIS MODE: OFF)
Don’t fret yourselves, friends, I wasn’t struck by a lorry on the walk home from school today - I’m reserving all of my verbosity and prolixity for a tranche of A-Level English Literature coursework.
) as something of my signature… it’s expected of me! :anjou_embarassed: