Articles
Viewer's Guide To Garbage "Push It" Video
April 22, 1998
By Howard Wen
A not-so-serious yet thorough breakdown of the "Push It" video's narrative (i.e. what the hell's going on in it).
1) The TRIPLETS show up at the grocery store in their van. They put on disguises -- nun outfits -- in order to "blend in with the crowd." SHIRLEY is shopping inside the store with her husband, FUZZY MAN. A second squad of Triplets in nuns guise is seen covering another aisle in the store. It appears Shirley has set up her husband to be assassinated by the Triplets.
2) An indeterminate amount of time later (that is, if the concept of linear time itself applies to this vid's world), we see Shirley at home with her second husband, MR. LIGHTBULB HEAD. Another team of Triplets (or they could be the original Triplets in another disguise) are tracking Mr. Lightbulb Head. They contact Shirley by phone, readying her for the attack. In the midst of eating her sushi dinner, Shirley answers the door to let the Triplets in. This time, they capture Shirley's current spouse and put him away in what appears to be a hospital of some sort. (The child Triplets are an homage to the creepy kids in the movie "The Village of the Damned.")
3) A series of flashbacks: Clips of home movies of Shirley's domestic life with Mr. Lightbulb Head. We learn that she has a kid, fathered by her first husband -- FUZZY JR..
4) Shirley is at the cemetary with Fuzzy Jr. and with whom appears to be her second child, BABY LIGHTBULB (the child of Mr. Lightbulb Head obviously). Perhaps they are at the funeral for her second husband, whose cause of death wasn't fully detailed to the viewer. BLACKHEAD MAN appears on the scene with a balloon. Is he a contact associated with the Triplets? The balloon he brings adds to the other two Shirley already has been given. Does this mean the other two honor her late husbands and, thus, the balloon Blackhead Man offers means he's courting her?
5) A series of shots depicting other citizens in this tripped-out, "post surburban" world: The common, consistent theme seems to be that all of these relationships are centered on dualties (one person against another, an individual against a group, a group against a group, a person's conflicting personas, etc.).
6) In the bathroom of Shirley's house, Blackhead Man peels off his "skin" and is revealed to be...Shirley?! The original Shirley (or is it REALLY her?) leaves her home with Fuzzy Jr. and Baby Lightbulb who are now both grown up. She drives away with the kids. Regardless, Blackhead Man wasn't a suitor -- he wasn't a Doomed Husband #3. S/he is actually DARK SHIRLEY.
So did Shirley and Dark Shirley switch places? Was Dark Shirley the one who went away with the kids to have them finished off like their fathers? Or did Dark Shirley replace Shirley at the residence in order to continue the work of assassinating and capturing fellas for some organization that's backed by squads of Triplets? (Do they represent this world's police or law enforcement?) It's probably Dark Shirley who's the one staying at the house, possibly indicated by her sinisterly licking her reflection in the mirror, but we don't know for sure.
See the video and figure it out for yourself. Download the entire film, in Real Player format, at http://members.xoom.com/maike/pushit.zip. Courtesy of Maike's Garbage Fansite.
"Three Men And A Little Lady"
Additional Notes To "Push It" Viewer's Guide
April 23, 1998
By Howard Wen
1) The number 3 is significant in the video. Notice how just before the Triplet nuns make their kill on Fuzzy Man, Shirley backs up against BUTCH, DUKE and STEVE (BDS). BDS appear just before the child Triplets capture Mr. Lightbulb Head, too. Other than for the three men standing inside the grocery store frozen food displays with Shirley, these are the ONLY times we see BDS in the video. This implies that the Triplets are associated with BDS. (They could represent the three men.) While Blackhead Man appears to be a third suitor to Shirley, the revelation that this person is in fact Dark Shirley only reaffirms the strength of three individuals in a GROUP -- not as separate entities.
2) It is hinted at strongly that Blackhead Man is in fact Dark Shirley before s/he unmasks her/himself. Notice how as Blackhead Man is about to reveal his/her identity, we're shown footage of the SIAMESE TWINS in the grocery store, the BATHING GIRL (who is first seen as the SEXUALLY AMBIGUOUS NAVY OFFICER before her gender is confirmed), and Blackhead Man kissing Shirley's foot in the cemetery. All of this is intentional on the director's part -- notice also that just before Blackhead Man pulls off his/her skin, we see the Siamese Twins wiping their faces, gesturing as though they're pulling down masks.
WHAT THE HELL DOES IT ALL MEAN?!
My observation is that the director was more inspired by the inter-relationship of Garbage's members than the song, "Push It." The consistent theme appears to be conflicting, disparate images that somehow manage to work together, even if the results are a tad weird, illogical and perhaps creepy.
Look at the band itself: A young woman singer, Shirley, fronting it who, on the surface, seems mismatched with BDS -- who are, essentially, older guys known for their studio production and engineering work for other bands. Basically, Garbage does not look like a "real" band yet somehow this duality works together.
It's interesting also that the "Push It" video is the band's first video, since the one for "Queer," which incorporates a narrative. Additionally, both videos share a similar storyline: Individual male characters drawn in by Shirley wind up getting "fucked up" by her and BDS. The evolution between the two videos lies in how Shirley is depicted: In "Queer," she looks like a teenager. In "Push It," she displays maternal characteristics. Thus, she has "grown up." But BDS remain backing her, ready to fuck with others (apparently male personas) who try to mess with her. It's difficult not to conclude, when taking both music videos into observation, that the Triplets/BDS seem to represent parental presences.
That, to say the least, is pretty fucked up.