Brainwashing in the Media: Lisa Loeb’s “Stay”
Welcome to what I hope will be a popular feature on this blog, highlighting “brainwashing” in today’s Hollywood culture. If you haven’t noticed, Hollywood likes to portray guys at subservient wimps who follow their girlfriends/wives every single order or super Macho Men who never say yes and control everything in a relationship. The former is done under the guise of “equality”; since men have been in control for so long, the feministas get their way by having the women in control. While this can be fine in moderation, this can lead to males in the media being portrayed as simply spineless slaves.
While I could roll off the numerous commercials over the years, I’ve decided to go with a pop song that kind of proves the concept of challenge. It’s Lisa Loeb’s hit 1994 song “Stay”, which you may remember was from the Ben Stiller movie “Reality Bites”. It’s a Generation X staple. I believe this song to be a great reason of why challenge is great to keep women interested. It’s also an example of calling her bluff, which you should only do unless you wish to accept the consequences in case she either stays OR leaves.
Here’s some song lyrics broke down. You can listen to the song in full at the end of this post.
“You say I only hear what I want to.
You say I talk so all the time so.”
These are common complaints of the male.
“And I thought what I felt was simple,
and I thought that I don’t belong,
and now that I am leaving,
now I know that I did something wrong ’cause I missed you.
Yeah yeah, I missed you.”
This is an example of a woman who decided to leave, but changed her mind. While you can say that she just simply changed her mind, I find to be more of an example of a man putting his foot down and calling her bluff. This may not be what Loeb had in mind, but this is what I interpret.
“I don’t understand if you really care,
I’m only hearing negative: no, no, no.”
As always, keep it light and funny.
“And I thought I’d live forever, but now I’m not so sure.
You try to tell me that I’m clever,
but that won’t take me anyhow, or anywhere with you.
You said that I was naive,
and I thought that I was strong.
I thought, “hey, I can leave, I can leave.”
Oh, but now I know that I was wrong, ’cause I missed you.”
Again, bluff called. Let me note that if this song was written from a male perspective, it’d be interpreted as being a spineless wimp who’s begging for affection. This is what I think and I’m hard pressed to think otherwise.
“You said, “I caught you ’cause I want you and one day I’ll let you go.”
You try to give away a keeper, or keep me ’cause you know you’re just
scared to lose.
And you say, “Stay.”
And you say I only hear what I want to.”
If a guy says this seriously, it’s a bad move. Try not to talk so much about the future or your intentions… especially if you have an inclination that things are going well. Why set a time limit for your relationship? Only brings bad news.
Anyway this song is an example of how you can stand your ground. Confidence is important when it comes to relationships. You don’t want a pushover. Trust me.
Listen:
Stay tuned next time when I dissect a classic Seinfeld episode.
