Die Sonne

Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Händen / kann verbrennen, kann euch blenden / wenn sie aus den Fäusten bricht / legt sich heiß auf das Gesicht / sie wird heut Nacht nicht untergehen / und die Welt zählt laut bis zehn.

I thought to study some Plato's dialogues today, but eventually decided to dedicate some time to see Rammstein's Lichtspielhaus-DVD instead. Well, Plato followed me as something very platonic caught my eye from the band's videos. Video for Die Sonne (the sun) can be seen as a fine and rather humoristic interpretation of Plato's the allegory of the cave.

The guys of the band are working as miners in dark tunnels underground, which pretty well symbolically matches with the general semi-conscious slave-like human condition described in the allegory. Reality is very grey and only a poor reflection of full colors and wonders of what life is like outside of the cave. The Snow White who enters the cave brings with her bright light and colors of the world above. She can be seen as a personification of Plato´s idea of eros and her function in pursuit of the Truth, the Sun of the Good's idea (see more on this from Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus).

Snow White's appearance is not only mysterious, beautiful, and utterly inspiring but also painful for those who meet her (something the guys doesn’t seem to mind on the video…), just like what seeing the truth is like in the cave allegory. The miners mourn as their messenger from the Truth's Sun dies. At the very end of the video she resurrects, giving proof that she truly is a manifestation of an idea, and as such ageless and eternal.

Hmm. I guess this is all big time just my interpretation and that there was no such platonic symbolism intentionally put into the video at all. Or who knows? Anyway, die Sonne is a great video for a great song. Perfert for springtime in North Europe, where the sun is bringing more of its warmth every week.