"Apple of Sodom" Unraveled

"Apple of Sodom" recently surfaced on Joseph Cultice's website and is dated around 1998, back in the Mechanical Animals era, so probably the imagery might seem familiar (white backgrounds, heavy glam make-up, medications and laboratory material)

Although there are not many sequences here, the most attractive character is a woman, which I'd refer to as a mannequin.

Now, before Mechanical Animals came out the song "Apple of Sodom" was included in David Lynch's "Lost Highway" soundtrack. Back then "Antichrist Superstar" was being openly promoted with the Dead To The World tour at the same time.

One of the songs from "Antichrist Superstar" that also makes a reference to a mannequin would be "Tourniquet",(she's made of hair and bone and little teeth...)reinforcing the one we see in this "new" 1998 video.

Now to dream of a mannequin represents an extension of your own self that you are projecting. You may feel that you are not playing an active enough role in some situation. The figure in question in "Apple of Sodom" is femenine but scarcely developed. She is pale white and she sits on what looks like a vanity mirror and separating elements into petri dishes.

Although there is no apparent meaning to dreaming petri dishes they are used to cultivate or culture cells, which could mean clearing your mind of negative thoughts.

The mannequin allegedely mutilates herself. The act of mutilation in dreams refers to that your integrity is put in question, or probably reputation.

She falls into a pool of blood with her left side completely exposed.Where she falls would represent life in general and she's bleeding, not able to withstand the ordeals of life.

Remember Coma White? This girl bears similarities with this mannequin, so this is indeed a recurring subject. An element that would haunt the Manson imagery again and again. Kinda makes you wonder that he still hasn't found the ideal woman.

So, putting this all together this video is just a continuation of the frailty of Manson's relationships, how they wither so easily. Even when they begin (consider the image of cultivating) they are destined to be doomed, as in the lyrics of the song "The Minute of Decay"; "the minute that it's born it begins to die."

What do you think the video means?

Running To The Edge Of The World, unraveled...

If you always thought Marilyn Manson was spooky, you might want to think twice because using careful dream analysis I decided to unravel the secrets behind "Running To The Edge of The World", a video probably mistakened for amateur "snuff" or openly promoting domestic violence.

Let's pretend the images or scenes on the video were actually part of a dream.



The opening sequence starts with a close-up, whereas dreaming one's face means that Manson is showing as its true self or exposes a side to the whole world. A fragile, sad expression it is, profoundly melancholic and nostalgic looking up, although sometimes this gesture would be considered hypocrite. So apparently at this point he's trying to win our sympathy and invite us into his nightmare.

However he hesitates for a while before he actually shows us the rest of his dream. He seems to be constantly trying to suffocate himself with some very thin drapes. This parts means that you are feeling smothered or oppressed by some situation/relationship.

He creeps into a hotel room confused focusing on his crime, which is a young blonde girl drenched in blood.

Of course you might think it's a murder, but let me stop for a moment to say that blood is also a recurring element on dreams. It means life in general. The fact that he's hitting someone covered in it can also mean a deep desire or anger at a certain aspect of life. And we're talking about frustration, mid-life crisis.

The other scene that attracts me the most is where he looks at the bathroom mirror having as only objects or pieces of evidence a yellow bottle of pills and a razorblade. One of those two was probably the weapon used for the crime. The pill means a desire to restore your inner harmony. The mirror is fuzzy so we wipes it out to look better at himself. The mirror is a symbol that suggests that you are pondering thoughts about your inner self. It can also mean how you want others to see you. When it's not completely clear signifies a hazy concept of who you are and questions about your self-identity.

Almost at the end of this video he writes down on a journal something that we will never be able to figure out and he shuts it down firmly . To write in dreams is almost as in real life, confessing a situation that already happened, but sometimes it can also mean that you are trying to correct something from the past. Imagine when you feel guilty for a situation and how much you wish you could take it back.

Now, the word "nostalgic" rings a bell in this video. If we put it all together in my own words it means that there was something that happened in his life that's hard to let go. And you can also consider the questions, "why did this have to happen to me? I didn't ask for this to happen."

You might have heard of posttraumatic stress disorder, which is related to what war veterans called "shell shock". Literally is followed by anxiety, depression and yes in some cases it does require medication.

Now I remember some time ago that he mentioned that an effective way to overcome fears was to embrace them or to become fear itself. Well, if this piece of evidence is actually a representation of a nightmare or a recurring dream to manifest it would be a way to exorcize it. But why tell us this? Is it because no one else might seem to understand it?

Traumatic experiences can happen to anybody, but we always learn from them. In my personal opinion reaching a certain age, like forty let's say it might become harder to regain confidence and engage on a new relationship, specially if you come from one where there was a bit of an age difference (try half your age).

I can see that Manson has a very hard time trusting someone, so maybe this situation is coming from an experience from long ago. But probably we would just be going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.

What do you think he's trying to say with this video?

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv-UEu6j2P0