Jaguar Jonze’s “Rabbit Hole” is a Lively, Subversive Pop Song About Gaslighting

JaguarJonze_RabbitHole1_sm — Jaguar Jonze, photo courtesy the artist

Visual artist and musician Deena Lynch uses her creative work to enter into dialogue with others and her own subconscious mind, transforming the dynamic of the engagement of art and the creator and others experiencing the work. As Jaguar Jonze, Lynch has been making experimental pop songs with a theatrical performance element as evidenced by her music video for “Rabbit Hole.” The lyrics could be able what it’s like to be on the delivery end of a manipulative personality that works to undermine another person’s sense of self while making themselves an enticing center of attention. In the video Lynch looks like she’s in some kind of psychiatrist’s office surrounded by yellow painted walls. It recalls Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” which today might be interpreted as being about gaslighting as a means of social control of women. Lynch seems to be breaking down as the lyrics progress as though she herself is singing the internalized oppression to herself. This contrasts with the fact that she’s speaking to the truth of that narrative and its effects in the context of a lively pop song that wouldn’t have been out of place in the catalog of Garbage and at times Lynch’s vocal inflections are reminiscent of those of Fiona Apple. Taken alone the song, if one takes in the lyrics, is a catchy yet unusual bit of pop songcraft but when given the visual context it takes on a greater meaning and hits a much more powerfully. Watch the video on YouTube and follow Lynch’s various creative endeavors at the links below.