Perfume Genius’s track “Hood” is a song of intense complexity, as well as beautiful, simple tragedy. Perfume Genius, the stage name of Mike Hadreas, is a one-man solo artist, and “Hood” is the ninth song on a twelve track album called Put Your Back N 2 It, released in 2012. Hadreas is openly gay, and sexuality plays a large part in many of his works, “Hood” being a prime example, although not the central focus of the song. With various interpretations and subjective relatability, the true meaning of “Hood” is still able to shine through, especially with Hadreas’s use of rhetorical devices and artistic decisions that enhance the audience experience.
Rhetorical devices are used throughout the song and the video in order to help Hadreas get his …show more content…
“You’d never call me baby, if you knew the truth” (Hadreas 1), is true to nearly everyone. One must keep their own strangeness, flaws, and insecurities hidden in order to maintain appeal and attractiveness to their partner. When one reveals their true self and lets go of all such fears, one often finds their partner will abandon them, for that true self was not the person they fell in love with. Hadreas is shown with and his partner in the video, “gay porn star Arpad Miklos” (Dombal 1), and Miklos is doing Hadreas’ hair and makeup. This action is Hadreas hiding his true self, covering himself in makeup and a wig, and removing the clothes he was previously wearing. He goes through these changes before he finally touches and joins his partner as they pose for photographs, as if to say he must put on a mask before he can be around his partner. This fear of showing his true self is evident in the lyrics: “I am scared baby that I can’t keep it up for long” (Hadreas 1). If the facade were ever to crumble, Hadreas expresses his fear that he will lose the one he loves just for being who he truly is. The complexity of these feelings, yet the fact that nearly everyone can relate to them, is where the tragedy of the song lies. However, it does beg the question: what’s worse, losing the one you love, or hiding …show more content…
The song features themes of sexuality, secrecy, and, most importantly, love. The ballad expresses how Hadreas hides his true self for his lover, but is growing ever fearful that his illusion will crumble and his lover may leave him once finding out who he truly is. Many feel this same fear in their own lives; believing that their true self is undesirable or too strange to reveal, and it is necessary to keep that self from their lover. Often, this has a negative effect and creates tension or distance from one and one’s lover. The secret and the love become so entwined to the point where one or the other will snap. One can only hope for someone who will accept them for who they really are. But perhaps it would be easier if everyone learned to accept themselves,
Rhetorical devices are used throughout the song and the video in order to help Hadreas get his …show more content…
“You’d never call me baby, if you knew the truth” (Hadreas 1), is true to nearly everyone. One must keep their own strangeness, flaws, and insecurities hidden in order to maintain appeal and attractiveness to their partner. When one reveals their true self and lets go of all such fears, one often finds their partner will abandon them, for that true self was not the person they fell in love with. Hadreas is shown with and his partner in the video, “gay porn star Arpad Miklos” (Dombal 1), and Miklos is doing Hadreas’ hair and makeup. This action is Hadreas hiding his true self, covering himself in makeup and a wig, and removing the clothes he was previously wearing. He goes through these changes before he finally touches and joins his partner as they pose for photographs, as if to say he must put on a mask before he can be around his partner. This fear of showing his true self is evident in the lyrics: “I am scared baby that I can’t keep it up for long” (Hadreas 1). If the facade were ever to crumble, Hadreas expresses his fear that he will lose the one he loves just for being who he truly is. The complexity of these feelings, yet the fact that nearly everyone can relate to them, is where the tragedy of the song lies. However, it does beg the question: what’s worse, losing the one you love, or hiding …show more content…
The song features themes of sexuality, secrecy, and, most importantly, love. The ballad expresses how Hadreas hides his true self for his lover, but is growing ever fearful that his illusion will crumble and his lover may leave him once finding out who he truly is. Many feel this same fear in their own lives; believing that their true self is undesirable or too strange to reveal, and it is necessary to keep that self from their lover. Often, this has a negative effect and creates tension or distance from one and one’s lover. The secret and the love become so entwined to the point where one or the other will snap. One can only hope for someone who will accept them for who they really are. But perhaps it would be easier if everyone learned to accept themselves,