Friday, September 4, 2009

Nietzsche's Children Or Lonely Boys?

Kind of following on from Riuex's recent post on Conan, I thought I would post a link to this documentary. It looks at Norwegian Black Metal, with a particular focus on Gaahl, singer and multiple felon.



What is interesting (aside from the Black Metal - some choice music cuts are to be heard on there) is the Nietzschean angle that these kids often take. i.e. One of the ubermensch, and the duty to transcend conventional human values etc. The question is, do people like Gaahl actually get Nietzsche, or do they just need a hug?*

* It should be pointed out that Gaahl has stated that he doesn't have a lot in common with Nietzsche, despite releasing an album called 'Twighlight Of The Idols'.

3 comments:

Jon Herington said...

I'd suggest that lots of people profess an affinity with Nietzsche because a) a simple reading of his philosophy lets you justify pretty much any abomination as simply 'embracing the Dionysian' and b) he was such a swinging cat.

I'd think its more akin to a cultural affectation. Every 'emo' kids favourite book is Catcher in the Rye. I Heart Huckabees made existentialism fashionable amongst the celebrity set (including porn starlets). Bioshock was resolutely misinterpreted by the IT crowd as an endoresement of a Randian society with unfettered access to genetic modification.

Much the same with Black Metal, Nietzsche, Nazism and other occult Scandinavian tendencies.

* While we are on the suvject of occult Scandanavians...what about Varg Vikernes?

Anonymous said...

Recently i watched a video interview with Gaahl, the lead singer of Gorgoroth and he made an interesting allusion to "Master and Slave." I don't remember his exact quote but I think it said something like, "As long as nature is not allowed to persist, there will always be Master and there will always be Slave." It seems to me that this could possibly be a reference to the Master and Slave morality that Nietzsche mentioned so heavily in his philosophy.
i don't this has any real tie into what Nietsche might have actually believe, rather than it was a call to wipe out all slave morality(the morality of pity, judging good and bad acts of their intent.) I just thought that this was an interesting connection. Maybe Gaahl and Nietzsche have something in common after all. who knows?

Sean Valinoti said...

Well if he says he doesn't have a lot in common with him... he probably just needs a hug ;-)