Exit Music Essay

1096 Words5 Pages
Exit Music Throughout modern day pop culture, insanity or madness has been the theme of many songs, movies, and novels. Typically, madness is reflected by a person’s behavior, which may stray from the social norm and eventually become a danger to themselves or the people around them. Specifically, insanity or madness can strictly relate to defined mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. In our course Madness and Madness in Russian Culture, our definition of madness expanded far beyond that of mental illnesses. We examined numerous examples of different types of insanity. For example, in the 2005 Jan Svankmajer film Lunacy, the main character, Jean Berlot, experiences frequent nightmare hallucinations of being put into a straightjacket. Despite these disturbing nightmares, Jean rarely displays any other signs of madness. In fact, the antagonist, Marquis, convinces Jean he needs to be institutionalized when in reality he is saner than the Marquis. Furthermore, in the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel Notes from the Underground, the main character, or the unnamed narrator known as the Underground Man, feels extremely alienated from society. The Underground Man consistently slips into a constant feeling of shame and self-loathing. His inability to associate and interact with society causes him to sink further into his underground madness of isolation. Madness caused by the alienation from society, shown in Notes From the Underground, is the type of insanity exemplified in the UK’s popular alternative band, Radiohead’s, third LP album, OK Computer. OK Computer is known as Radiohead’s stroke of genius. Compiled of twelve unique songs, OK Computer follows the general theme of a rejection from society leading to mental instability. Lead singer and songwriter of Radiohead, Thom Yorke, is renowned for his cryptic messages through his songs. The following is my
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