In the movie "Sleep with me", there is a scene in which Quentin Tarantino discusses his opinion on the true meaning of the movie "Top Gun".
Subversion on a massive scale. Now, as you may know, Quentin Tarantino improvised that scene and I doubt that the true message of "Top Gun" is one man's struggle with his own homosexuality. An example to help refute this interpretation is the scene that Tarantino's chracter discusses in which Kelly McGillis is wearing an aviator's suit. It was shot in post production because the studio wanted a little more development in their relationship and she had already had her hair dyed for another movie which forced her to wear a hat. Tarantino uses Top Gun as an example of how people can interpret things from a wide range of vantage points regardless of the intended message. It doesn't have to be subversive, but messages can take on a life of their own, especially in the different mediums of art.
In 1979 I was 6 years old and going to the movie theater was a very special event. I loved watching The Muppet Show and was very excited when I heard that a Muppet movie was being released.
A 6 year old boy is not normally into sweet ballads, so when Kermit appeared in the bog strumming a banjo and singing, I was quite unhappy until the "chase" part of the movie began. "The Rainbow Connection" was, at that time, nothing more than a sweet song of hope. How disgusting. Over 30 years later, it has taken on a completely new meaning for me. It still has the same basic message of hope and positivity, but in light of recent events, it has become more of an anthem for civil rights than plain hope. Just take a listen and read the lyrics with an open of a mind, as if you were hearing the song for the first time.
Why are there so many songs about rainbows
and what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Who said that every wish would be heard
and answered when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it.
Look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
All of us under its spell. We know that it's probably magic.
Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
To begin with from the most simple aspect, "The Rainbow Connection" can be interpreted as a song about the challenges that gay men and women face in the world. Obviously a rainbow is a widely used symbol in gay culture whether it be at Pride parades, decals in the window of bars or on church placards to denote that an establishment welcomes gay men and women.
It is visual harmony in a world filled with unlimited differences. A spectrum of variance that illumninates the dark when combined which is a hopeful and positive idea found in a natural phenomenon.
Now with this interpretation we can go through the lyrics and take a somewhat vague or generalised message and see an all too real situation for many young people without hope over being ostracized because of their sexual orientation. Millions of children wondering if they will ever feel apart of a community, be looked at as equals, or feeling secure in who they were born to be.
Why are there so many songs about rainbows
and what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
I can't imagine having been given the incredibly difficult task to be told that the way I was born is wrong and against everything that is right in the world and then maintain a sense of hope for the future. The constant barrage of messages telling gay boys and girls, men and women that they are making a choice and that they should just be like everyone else.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
It takes a great deal of courage, strength, and perseverance to wade through all of that negativity and discrimination from family, friends, and countless others who claim to have your best interests in mind and still have a clear sense of what you truly want out of life.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
In a way, the vague questioning of the lyrics illustrates the relentless spirit of a people who are in one way or another forced to hide who they are, whether that be indentured servitude or having to put up a facade.
Gay men and women are still forced into exile and although the gay community has made great strides in the areas of social, cultural, political, and religious acceptance, they still are not quite viewed as 5/5ths of a citizen in the United States, not to mention the barbaric treatment in 3rd world countries which are actively restricting rights of the gay community up to and including death. They're still fighting their way out of the closet.
What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
The active passivity and warmth of these lyrics hearken back to a great work of rhetoric in the area of equal rights. It may sound like a bit of a stretch, but Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream speech" outlined a time when people would not look on the color one's skin as an indication of quality, much like that of one's sexual orientation.
I would not put the lyrics of this song alongside a seminal work such as King's speech at the steps of the Lincoln monument, but it does act as a reminder that when calling for equal rights, you speak for all or none. You do not just look to represent a minority of the minority. You represent the few amongst the masses.
More importantly the lyrics of "The Rainbow Connection" speak to the individual in a reassuring manner, especially in the third verse.
Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
The line, "Is this the sweet sound, that called the young sailors," is a reference to the Greek mythological story, "The Odyssey", by Homer in which Sirens attempt to lure sailors ashore by singing in hopes of causing them to crash on the rocks. The singer isn't quite sure if the voices they're hearing are in their best interests, but they keep calling to the listener from within. The voices are inexorably tied with their identity. A fact which cannot be ignored.
Another image that is brought to mind in this verse is the stereotype of the Navy being a semi-gay organisation. This belief is in large part attributed to the longstanding rivalry between the Marines and the Navy. An example of that can be seen the movie, "A few good men", with references to the "Faggoty White uniform", of the Navy. In light of the repeal of D.A.D.T., allowing gay men and women to openly serve in the armed forces, this takes on a very new resonance in the song's lyrics.
I know that most of what I have written is purely my own interpretation and this sort of armchair psychology can be done by almost anyone with respect to works of art in a given medium. Nietszche was labeled an anti-Semitic, misogynistic, anarchist, but those interpretations are highly debated and controversial. Countless religions feel they have the copyright on "The word of God" despite their lack of proof or historical fact. Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher most likely did not intend "The Rainbow Connection" to be a gay rights anthem, but at times, great art takes on a life and message of it's own. The lyrics speak of an irrepressible desire to be proud of one's self. They wish for the listener to reach a place of rest, much like the path of another gay icon, Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz".
Something that is undeniable throughout the course of human history is the need for being apart of a community. We inherrently want to be with other people, who hopefully are like us, share a culture, language, history of experience, and most important of all, a connection. We are in the midst of a critical point in the history of mankind where we can not just fall back on culture as an excuse for our behavior, but use it as a spring board to move beyond what we were born into and create new, universally accepted cultures. We cannot shun that which we in the majority are unaware of. The gay community has been around since the beginning of human kind and they have waited far too long to wait a little more. No matter what you label a group of people, they are human and we cannot take away their inalienable rights, otherwise we are no better than those barbaric cultures who enslaved people for their own gain. We, as a people of this nation, will be viewed as the ones who could have realized the dream of our forefathers and failed to do so out of prejudice.
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