[Meta] Kurt's pants today

[misqueue]

More of my half-baked Kurt's wardrobe symbolism meta. Kurt is wearing these shark tooth print pants on his way to work at Vogue. I'm amused because today kicks off Shark Week on Discovery. But it's a strong symbol for Kurt. Sharks & their teeth are a masculine/warrior/power/authority kind of symbol/totem. Kind of tribal, even. So Kurt's dressed for battle, in a sense. There's also, I think, an element of renewal & resilience inherent in the symbol. Sharks shed and regrow their teeth constantly throughout their life.

Sharks also are associated with water--as are hippos, and in another shot from the shoot, you can see Kurt has his hippo head brooch on his jacket, so we have two water symbols--which tends to indicate some kind of deep emotional delving/journey.

ETA: poking about a bit further indicates sharks convey emotional control and focus. Hippos are more with the emotional delving, journeying, creation, healing, et al..

Comments

[likeasouffle.livejournal.com]

Oooh I love it!

[misqueue.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm thinking this may be Kurt at his most literally fierce for a first day at Vogue, hence the need for power & focus. And it's a new dream so we get renewal too. As for the warrior aspect, I wonder what conflict he may be anticipating? Or perhaps he's been reading Sun Tzu again and in NY he is aiming for victory, whereas in Lima he was more just trying to survive (be invincible): "Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack."

[eido.livejournal.com]

(Saw this link while meandering around Tumblr)

Kind of tribal, even.

Made me think of Kurt as shaman. Shrouding himself in predatory animal teeth (idea of a strong or protective totem to scare away evil spirits during journeys through the spirit world - or through the unconscious - and such). The hippo, aside from being tied to water, is also considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Also looks like a mounted hippo head like hunters, so dead animal to boot (like Kurt killed it and wears it to use and absorb it's power, knowledge or abilities for himself. Like Sigurd defeating dragons, bathing in the blood and eating the heart). There is a lot of fandom theories around about Kurt and magic. Maybe also the possibility of the Familiar Animal.

Water, according to Jung, also represents the unconscious mind. Hence why water kept showing up in "The Matrix" movies (while the characters were in the Matrix). Kurt is in the Matrix? There are certainly a lot of mother (or temptress (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth#Woman_as_Temptress) or goddess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth#The_Meeting_With_the_Goddess) - potentially good, evil or somewhere in between) figures around New York, it would seem. Isabelle, Carmen Tibideaux, Cassandra, Rachel, maybe Santana (?). The Hummelberry reunion in NYC happened by a fountain. The Klaine and Finchel fall-outs in TBU happened by a fountain.

[misqueue.livejournal.com]

Hey! I'm so so sorry to be so late replying to you. I loved everything you wrote here, and I'm super excited to see other people say "Jung" and reference "The Matrix" in a conversation about Glee. :D

The water symbolism has been laid on very heavily this season (especially if we include all the mirrors), and I think all this stuff about the subconscious mind is very relevant to Kurt. He wore pants with a water print when performing in "Swan Song", tapping into his unconscious mind for the emotion he needed to perform authentically as an artist. Very cool. But then, in "Glee Actually" the water is frozen; Kurt is guarding himself from pain, only able to skim the surface for now.

Sort of tangentially, but since you mentioned Familiar Animals, I'd be really curious--if you're still about and want to talk--to hear what you might make of the wolf's head on Kurt's Burberry shirt. I'm really torn over it, whether it's another aggression symbol; or if it's more about being a team player; or even the opposite, being a lone wolf (Steppenwolf?); or could it something tied to battle? Does it go with the raven (in the apartment kitchen) as a creature of the battlefield, a pointer toward Odin. IDK. Of course, it could be all of this at once. The only other time I've noticed Kurt wearing a wolf was in The Spanish Teacher when he performs the song with the Mexican hipster boots. There's elements of team player (with the boys), and possibly even Kurt feeling empowered in other ways, ambition and desire? Hmm.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by! I really enjoyed your thoughts and insight!