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The Kerli Encyclopedia
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Explore
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Kerli
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Utopia
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Love Me or Leave Me
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Savages (song)
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===Symbology=== [[File:Savages sceptre.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Differences between the Rod of Asclepius, the Caduceus and Kerli's sceptre.]] The music video for ''Savages'' is full symbolism and deeper meaning, which often refers to Kerli's personal life experience. First of all, the two Lovers are the main protagonists of both the song and the music video. Kerli herself wrote in the ''Savages'' digital storybook, they were “just two hungry souls” who, “expelled from God’s presence, found God in each other”.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BvemGqOg0I1/|title="Swipe to begin the journey."|date=March 26, 2019|author=kerlimusic|website=Instagram|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> This story immediately resembles the Christian myth of Adam and Eve, who were banished by God from the Garden of Eden after eating fruit from the forbidden tree (the tree of knowledge of good and evil). Like Adam and Eve, the Lovers found in each other not only the complementary part, but also a piece of the divine essence. At the beginning of their story, they both exchanged love letters, and the man also promised, with "a drop of [his] blood", that their relationship will last forever. Nonetheless, he assassinated his lover in a ritual sacrifice, presumably because of the takeover of their shadows: as Kerli wrote in the ''Savages'' digital storybook, they "could not keep the innocence alive".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BvemGqOg0I1/|title="➕Seizing to hold a safe space, ..."|date=April 26, 2019|author=kerlimusic|website=Instagram|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> Secondly, the opposition between light and darkness, which is present from the beginning to the very end. A similar theme is present in the [[Diamond Hard (song)#Music video|''Diamond Hard'' music video]]. However, in the latter, the contrast between light and shadow is represented by Vägi and the Eye respectively, which are common figures in Estonian mythology. In the ''Savages'' music video, the opposition is taken to a more personal and inner level: as a matter of fact, Tantrika and Oni are the dark sides of the two Lovers. In Jungian psychology, the “shadow” is an unconscious aspect of the personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself. It is the home of everything one does not want to see in himself or herself. In this case, Kerli stated that Tantrika is "a master of self-sabotage", that "she fights ghosts where there are none" and that she is "addictive and addicted equally": Tantrika, therefore, has self-destructive tendencies that lead her to perceive danger and menaces every time, even when nothing can threat her.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BvwyoVdAtlT/|title="☥ T Λ N T R I K Λ ☥ is HER shadow +..."|date=April 2, 2019|author=kerlimusic|website=Instagram|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> Moreover, she uses "sexuality in order to avoid connecting [to people] emotionally", meaning that she uses her physical appearance to establish a social relationship with others because doing so with emotions would require a deeper and more serious involvement she is not prepared to have.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BvzQcdMAbdh/|title="☥ T Λ N T R I K Λ ☥ is HER shadow. ➕..."|date=April 3, 2019|author=kerlimusic|website=Instagram|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> On the other side, the key-word of Oni is destruction: when Tantrika's ability was self-sabotage, Oni is specialized in leaving behind nothing but "dying hearts", since "he struggles with self-control".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BwUumjngi6G/|title="Oni is HIS shadow. He struggles..."|date=April 16, 2019|author=kerlimusic|website=Instagram|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> The reason of this difference between the two shadows is rooted in the opposing view of "feminine energy and "masculine energy": as Kerli herself said in multiple videos, the former is about receptivity, the latter about action.<ref name="hiding vlog">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGopaExA5Qw|title=The real reason I've been in hiding.|date=December 21, 2018|author=OfficialKerli|website=YouTube|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> For this reason, Tantrika, by being subject to events, leads herself to destruction; on the other hand, Oni, by being active creation of the events, gives action to annihilation itself. These two types of destructive shadows are in opposition to the healthy and good side, represented by the "white woman", who is literally a carrier for a cure to heal the female lover. Thirdly, the Ankh sceptre the "white woman" is holding throughout the video resembles the Rod of Asclepius, for its snake that is twisted around. In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius, also known as the Staff of Asclepius, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine. The symbol has continued to be used in modern times, where it is associated with medicine and health care. Theories have been proposed about the Greek origin of the symbol and its implications. The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways; sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation, while other assessments centre on the serpent as a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the physician, who deals with life and death, sickness and health. The Rod of Asclepius symbol is often confused with the Caduceus, symbol of commerce associated with the Greek god Hermes. The Caduceus symbol consisted of a rod with two snakes coiled around it. This rod was represented with two wings on the top and two snakes to symbolize diligence and prudence, two characteristics very necessary in trading activities. As regards Kerli's personal interpretation of the Rod of Asclepius, she decided to add an Ankh probably to remark the connection between being alive (the Ankh us an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol commonly used to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself) and being healthy at the same time, in opposition to the "toxic" relationship represented in the video.
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