Marilyn Manson’s "Don't Answer the Door" at first sounds like a scene straight out of a horror movie or the poetic mind of Edgar Allan Poe, where the subject is trapped inside while voices scream from the outside. But when you look closer at the lyrics, it looks to actually be a song about survival, getting sober, and taking back control of your life. Instead of being a song about hiding in fear, it is about setting hard boundaries. It shows that true power doesn't come from fighting your past mistakes, but from locking them out completely so you can heal. The song starts by setting up a safe space away from the rest of the world: “Unscrew the lightbulbs / In your eyes / Let my darkness inhale you.” Here, Manson is setting up the idea that he is deliberately choosing to take sanctuary in a place of darkness by removing himself from an artificial light. In this darkness, away from all the noise, he can finally listen to his inner voice. This imagery perfectly mirror...
A Few Words on Cancel Culture For most of human history, shunning, excommunication, and public humiliation have been used for social conformity. The modern versions are generally categorized as “calling-out” or “canceling.” While the first use of these terms is not certain, sometime in the early 2010s, "fans" of various celebrities and groups began to post on social media, identifying imperfections in their "idols" and “calling them out” on their behaviors. During 2017 and 2018, online posts calling out others drastically increased and were part of the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements. By 2019, the term "cancel culture" became more known and moved into mainstream media usage. Cancel culture has been considered acceptable by some people in some cases because it seemed to provide a way for marginalized individuals and groups to silence someone they deemed hurtful. As a result, powerful individuals or groups that would otherwise evade responsibility for...