The use of a snake with the this type of...pervocative song, projects an image of snakes as sensual and dangerous creatures...which doesn't help in educating people of the ecological importance of snakes.
Britney's performance certainly didn't sit well with PETA, because if you notice she also has a lion in the background...
Watching the video makes me realize how uneducated people are about snakes. The handling of the snake from person to person and being twirled around in between certainly wasn't enjoyable on the snake's part, or being handled as an object for that matter and not an animal...
But what I really started wondering after watching this video again and thinking about how snake's are projected, especially in America, as these sensual and dangerous creatures, is where this image came from?
I first stumbled upon an article that depicted how snakes were used in America's colonial days as a symbol for freedom from tryannical rule (aka England), because England sent convicted felons to the Americas. The snake morphed into this symbol for the colonies which says that the colonies strike back (the snake depictions went from a general snake to a timber rattler--- depicted below).
The first image depicts the snake divided into eight parts (eight of the colonies) which is mentioned in the article.
The second image depicts a rattlesnake (there are thirteen rattles on the snake's ratteler..the 13 colonies) which is also mentioned in the article.
This image of the snake as an animal that strikes back certainly gives the snake a dangerous element, which is still depicted into today's society like mentioned earlier with Britney Spears.
As I was perusing through other articles I kept stumbling upon that even in B.C. times the snake represents fertility and is often used to depict the male sex organ, which also carried over into today's time as a symbol of sensuality.
Know we know why Britney (or her designer) chose for her to have a snake, though I'm assuming she only chose an albino one because it looked cool...
2 comments:
And don't forget about that uber-symbol, the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
Also, I like that the colonists identified themselves as the snake, tapping into images of snakes as powerful and worthy of respect, rather than images of snakes as evil or lewd.
Post a Comment