The new video for the Filter song "No Love" has excellent photography, high production value, but is unfortunately loaded with the same occult imagery and symbolism that we have come to expect from the videos of all major music label artists in recent times.
While some might just cast this off as "following the current trends and styles", I think it is moreso a part of the obvious and deliberate pattern of desensitization to occult themes that is flowing from all forms of mass media these days - in music videos, movies, tv, fashion modeling and other visual entertainment venues.
I will say up front that this is a great song - very solid and well written, with great use of dynamics in its flow between the soft melodic haunting parts into the heavy grinding guitar riffs that are the powerful foundation of this song.
Simply put - this song rocks.
But as soon as you begin watching this video, it is clear that you have entered the realm of occult darkness that has sadly become far too predictable, and is done so casually now in modern videos of all musical genres.
If you turned off the sound and didn't see the shots of the Filter band members, you'd be hard pressed to decide whether this video is something by Lady Gaga, Aguilera, Rihanna or a host of other entertainers whose videos all share the same dark occult symbolism and images in recent times.
The dark hooded figures in cultish robes, the disturbing "Eyes Wide Shut" masks that are synonymous with occult rituals and/or sacrifices, the full on lesbian orgy scenes (complete with gas masks...WTF?....just to reinforce police state imagery, I suppose) as well as the more subtle but still obvious symbols like the illumination of shattered mirrors, slaves being dragged against their will to be traumatized by the cult members, and so on.
Another important element here involves the cognitive dissonance of the masked, hooded cult members being sexy, hot looking women.
That momentary glitch (at least for straight guys) of perhaps thinking, "Hey, she can torture and sacrifice me anytime" - the dark humor very much intended by me - but that is really the point.
So, too, is the underlying message (or metacommunication) that is being directed at the viewers here - it is quite intentional.
Although it is hardly subliminal, this is exactly the kind of thing that most often slips right past the "radar" of our conscious minds and into the subconscious "autopilot", where our morality and values are so subtly influenced, persuaded and changed - without us even realizing it, much of the time.
The Video Storyline
The "No Love" video begins with the Filter bandmembers sitting at a table, well-dressed and apparently playing some kind of high stakes card game. At the center of the table is a crystal ball, yet another obvious symbol of sorcery and witchcraft, which is perched atop a box of some sort, possibly a miniature piano.
The men are surrounded as they play by several dark robed figures, who we see are beautiful women wearing masks that are best known from their use in Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick's film about a wealthy elite sexual cult, wherein women are used and sacrificed in what is clearly depicted as occult, Satanic rituals.
See the photos below from this video:
The Game
As the bandmembers play, their every move is being watched by the shadowy cultish figures, who also serve them drinks now and then.
During this game, we catch glimpses of various things that are meaningful and symbolic, such as a large piece of a shattered mirror - which is just sort of "there" for no logical reason - that is standing upright and is the source of intense illumination when the lights move across it, as seen below.
Eventually, it becomes clear that when the players lose, they are not just disappointed and upset as a typical gambler would be at the thought of losing money.
We see that when the bandmembers lose this "game", they are then dragged away (into the darkness) from the table by the masked cult members who have been hovering behind them and watching them play.
It is obvious now that what is at stake in this "game" is not their money - but their souls. And they are shown losing them and having them claimed by the strangely masked, heavily sexualized cult members.
It is at this point that we see the singer go into a state of anger and rebellion, and he proceeds to throw down the card table they have been playing at - thus refusing to continue "playing the game".
The Sacrifice of Carmen Electra
Immediately after the singer throws down the card table, we see a frightened and apparently enslaved woman (played by Carmen Electra) being dragged forward against her will by two of the black robed and masked cult members.
As Carmen the slave is being brought forward by her cult abusers, we now see that they have exchanged their masquerade ball "cult" masks for military gas masks.
What could be better for a world being conditioned for chaos and a 'New World Order' to follow (Ordo Ab Chao) than to be shown constant, repetitive images and accessories of war and police state themes, even in music videos where they don't fit in or have any relevance whatsoever to the stories?
WARNING:
Cognitive Dissonance / Desensitization Alert - Sex, Weapons of Violence and The Coming Police State
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| Guns and boobs |
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| Ri-Ri sure loves to ride that...uhmm...pink cannon. |
So, you know, all of these things like Beeyonce's colorful machine guns, Gaga's assault rifle bra, Rihanna straddling a huge pink artillery gun barrel - and who can forget Fergie and her awesome speaker gun?!
These kinds of things, when.....shown....often.....and....repeatedly....are...known...to...desensitize people...without them even realizing it.
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| Carmen the slave falls into a dissociative trance state...and then falls down. |
In any event, we are shown that Carmen is either overcome with fear or maybe just gets a little "woozy", and loses consciousness, falling to the floor.
But to those of us with a little greater awareness, this appears to be an obvious allusion to the dissociative state, wherein the victim may not only lose consciousness, but truly "goes to another place" altogether, as a direct result of the severe trauma involved.
Psychedelic Gas Masks to the Rescue?
So, the sexy cult members are now wearing these gas masks that have psychedelic, colorful flashing lights - ironically, somewhat similar in appearance to the "brainwave entrainment" devices that use pulsing light and sound frequencies to induce altered states of consciousness, which I have written about here, except that these are flashing lights from the mouthpieces, not goggles.
And, just in case you're wondering, yes, I did also consider the probable inside joke with the gas masks flashing from the filter cartridge area - yaknow, considering that this band is named FILTER and all. Clever pun, no doubt. :)
Joining the Cult: Illumination and Lesbian Orgy Required
So, immediately after slave Carmen passes out and falls to the floor, one of the beautiful cult enslavers gives her a little mouth to psychedelic gas mask resuscitation, after which she apparently feels much better, and begins enjoying a passionate kiss with her cult abuser.
I mean, seriously, what else can you really say about the message here?
Carmen is dragged into this by the cult hotties, against her will, passes out and is then revived somehow by the illuminated colorful gas mask provided by this cult mistress of darkness, after which she immediately goes for it, feverishly making out with her new BFF.
The cult has "saved her", or at least turned her to the dark side - without much of a struggle, I must say, and she apparently likes it....a lot.
Nice message there, huh?
So, now a big sexy celebration dance breaks out, with the cultesses being very happy about their very suc-sexful and relatively painless recruitment of their new "initiate", Carmen Electra. The dance of the mostly naked (except for leather and gas masks) cult continues...
Oh yeah, and then there's a big orgy scene, too.
And here are some similar pics from Eyes Wide Shut, just for the sake of comparison...
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| No gas masks here, but I think you'll get the similarity... |
Part of me wants to say, well, at least this is for adults (unlike many other occult-laden videos we're seeing these days) and it isn't happening in a church in front of stained glass images of The Lord Jesus Christ, as we've seen in disgusting videos by Anti-Christina Aguilera and others.
But the fact is that these now writhing women started out in this video as creepy mask wearing, black robed Satan-esque cult members, who have now apparently robbed several of the card game players of their souls and turned poor, innocent Carmen Electra (how's that for some cognitive dissonance?? - cough) to the dark side, which she is obviously enjoying immensely.
All in all, not a very good or positive message, considering what the video's director claims that this story was intended to convey to us.
The director of this video, Mark Racco, has an impressive resume including rock heavyweights like Nirvana, Buckcherry, Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N' Roses. In a recent interview, he said this about the 'No Love' video:
"Conceptually, 'No Love' is about temptation and seduction," Racco told Noisecreep. "The imagery is metaphoric. The poker game, the dance, the beautiful women, the masquerade. It's more of a cautionary tale rather than a celebratory one, about the dangers of game playing, anger, lust and resentment and how they can lead to the dark side of eroticism and power, which can become a trap; the temptations offered by the music business. Sort of like a public service."
Hmmm......a public service and cautionary tale, huh??
Nice try dude - or should I say, "Hey man, nice shot"? :)
Final Thoughts
Long story short - love the song - but the video...not so much.
Please don't mistake me for a Puritan or prude of any sort, because although I am Christian in my beliefs and am quite aware that a sin is a sin, I do know that videos and movies can have sexual content and still be very well done, as well as being marketable - knowing that sex does sell.
That part is understood, and I consider that a given in entertainment, like it or not.
However, when you cloak sexuality in masked, robed, hooded cult rituals and sacrifices (and gas masks), then I just have to say, "REALLY???". That is supposed to be sexually cool??
To blur the line between sex/pleasure and occult rituals, forcible enslavement of victims and coercing them with some type of metaphoric drug - the "gas" from the mask, so that they will then be a willing slave that no longer resists?
Seriously??? I don't think so, guys.
It has become very clear now that the price of financial backing from major record labels basically involves this "bargain" for the recording artists:
"You do what you want to with the music (and that is true only IF the artists even happen to be the actual songwriters, which in this case, Filter, they are, but it is getting pretty rare now) but WE will show the masses what we want them to see in the videos - regardless of whether it has anything to do with the actual meaning of the songs".
Ok, so maybe Mark Racco was sincere about this video being done as a "cautionary tale" and a "public service" (in his own mind?), and maybe he wasn't.
But, in reality, what I find most telling about this video is that he (or the record execs) chose to represent the lust and temptation of "beautiful women" as masked, hooded cult members dragging a beautiful woman against her will to be "sacrificed", presumably as a result of this "game" they are playing.
There is no doubt that this does serve as a very accurate depiction of the dark side of the music business - quite literally in fact - as well as the servitude and enslavement of many an entertainer.
In fairness, we do see the singer becoming angry and throwing the table over - in essence, refusing to continue "playing the game". Good for him.
We also see that when the other bandmembers are dragged away from the table by the mostly naked cult members, they don't really look too happy about it, and show signs of protest. I guess that tells us something.
However, in the end, there really seems to be no redeeming message here - the sacrificed woman, Carmen Electra, after receiving a few puffs on the psychedelic light flashing gas mask, simply goes right along with the lesbian orgy, and we would have to assume she becomes part of the cult after this initiation ritual - and she likes it...a lot.
She likes it so much, in fact, that the closing shot of the video is Carmen licking the heel of a shoe - and I really can't think of a clearer symbol of domination and submission than that.
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| The tongue of the serpent, eh? |
If you really think about it, this symbolism is very consistent with the ruling elite's primary message to all of us:
You will lick our boots, and you will learn to love it - or else.
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