In her new video “Atopos,” Bjork expertly communicates the derangement of human connection and the internal erosion, the eventual self-destruction, that results from the impossibility of finding another human being who understands the world as you do through her juxtaposition of fantasy and reality.
While her music video seems to be solely unbelievable at first glance as she parades around a mushroom-infested grove in a floor-length moss dress that can only be described as alienating and otherworldly, Bjork commentates on how this simultaneous desire for connection and absolute justice in the face of the differences between humans seem to be contradictory to many humans on this planet when in actuality it does not need to be. Bjork frames these “insistences on absolute justice” as excuses for our lack of self-productivity and self-initiative to disregard differences that do not make us any different from anyone else on any fundamental level. She insists that existing in a world in which absolute justice is the primary and inherent goal that all living beings must strive for and hope to attain, the meaning for which all human beings were made, is inherently the motivating feature blocking individuals from connecting. This thus instigates a cycle in which conflating morals infringe on a presupposed definition of equality and justice and the dilemma of whether it is ethical for someone to adopt another person’s problems as their own.
Preaching from a fantasy setup, Bjork may intend to reduce the significance of her words as she distracts her audience from the lyrics with emphatic costumes, erratic and sporadic dancing, and whiny singing echoed with desperation. However, the fantastical setting and the rave-like structure of the entire music video, in which listeners are paralyzed with unease as they are forced to sift through the flashing lights and scenes that shift focus without any rhyme or reason, actually further cements the validity of her words. By masquerading as an alien in a mushroom rave as she makes her sentiments known, Bjork is emphasizing the applicability of her terms and the dangerousness of human nature to desire justice in a world of black and white morality in a world marked by subjective morals because of the sacrifices and resulting isolation that shadows it. Posing as an otherworldly creature, Bjork lets her listeners know that the issue of human connection and the seeming impossibility of mastering communication as a foreign art is not a characteristic relative to the individual; it is increasingly becoming human nature to hold justice in its absolute in the highest regards even when doing so may be counteractive to our sociability.
A champion of a genre she terms “biological techno,” Bjork blends bass and woodwinds and a message that must be hammered into her audiences’ brains. This song is an experimental pop anthem that forces us to acknowledge our subconscious withdrawal from conversations and better ourselves through this realization. According to Consequence, “to make sure Bjork’s message hits home, “please play [the song] loudly!”
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