Pretty much hit t on the head as far as the way I interpret it. Although, I'd just say that I think Triangle Man might represent religion. Spiral on May 07, KingGraham acirvin on January 19, KingGraham mindblown acirvin on January 19, General Comment The lyrics and rhythm of the song are an obvious play on the old Spiderman cartoon theme song.
Spins a web, any size, Catches thieves just like flies PlutoniumBoss on December 09, Link. No Replies Log in to reply. It's easy to feel worthless when we compare ourselves to universe man. Asking who came up with person man is clearly our questioning of where we came from ie.
Putting down science. Putting down and controlling and subjugating the average person. Religion, our own construct, beats science and also beats humanity. Its the formulation of all time, from minutes to eons.
Amnesia88 on December 08, Link. General Comment It's been suggested to me that the different "men" in this song represent different social forces - science, religion the triangle for the Trinity , fate and the common man - and the conflicts between them and how the common man always gets crapped on, no matter who's fighting or who wins.
However, I think this is just one way to listen to this song - I like to listen to it and think of absurd, melodramatic pro wrestler personas. Or is that personae? This song tells the story of a few types of people but whether your big or small no-one really gives a damn. Triangle man illustrates the restrictions, boundaries and protocols we all follow. JamesD on April 17, Link.
Universe Man could also be that "threat," as it is both enormously powerful and more directly tied to the "watch hands" motifs, and being unspeakably large. Triangle Man is Ozymandius. OK, screw the spoiler thing, he's the villain. First, he is paired consistently with the pyramid, which is what, everybody?
Good, children! Man to go away forever. He "wins" in the end, i. Person Man, as noted, is Rorschach. He lives most of his life as a bum, i. Yes, you have to type it that way, captures the inflection. Hell, he's downright insane in a lot of ways. And, of course, they have a fight, and Triangle wins. It sounds weird, but it fits nearly every word of the song in some way, so it does make you think. Probably there are bits or should I say 'particles' of truth in most of these interpretations, but like others are saying, I'm sure that TMBG did not set out to write such a complex song.
To me the song has always been about human suffering, and specifically the eternal question of why God allows it. The watch means he controls time, or is eternal. Perhaps it's a mockery of religion. At a Toronto concert once, Linnell started singing Kumbaya in the middle of the song. People were laughing nervously but Linnell seemed to be serious. This confirmed my interpretation for me, because Kum Ba Yah is, in part, a prayer for God to respond to suffering.
The way I always interpreted it, Triangle Man is the endless circle of birth-life-death. No matter whether you're a human Person Man or a tiny one-celled organism Particle Man , you can't escape it. Universe Man is God, all-Powerful and usually kind, but he measures time in millenniums and eons. It's not that he doesn't care about our miniscule lives, it's just that he's looking at a much, much bigger picture, so we're all at the mercy of Triangle Man.
Like so may of TMBG's songs, this one is about how our brains get in the way of directly perceiving reality. This song is specifically about abstraction and personification, two of our most basic cognitive tools. Although each can be useful on its own, when they are mashed up, the results are unexpectedly wacky and zany.
Particle Man represents the scientific world of the very small. Cells, Atoms, the Quantum world. Triangle Man represents religion in the trinity. Triangle man hates Particle man, for the obvious reason that explaining the natural world, like any science, destroys the supposed miracle and power of God. Religion and Science fight, Religion wins.
It's easier to understand and been around longer in our minds. Universe Man represents the scientific world of the very big. The cosmos. Universe Man controls time and space and could destroy any Man if he so chose, but seem to be relatively non-intrusive despite his power. Person Man represents the middle world, where we live. Humans hit on the head with a fying pan stupid , living a garbage can polluted earth , is he worthless? Who came up with person man?
Triangle Man religion hates Person Man, too. Constantly asking questions like "Who came up with with this? Triangle Man doesn't like such intellect. He fights with Person Man, and wins.
The moral: Religion beats out human intellect and science, as it still does today. But the universe still has more than enough power to destroy Triangle Man, Person Man, and even Particle Man to a degree. If you spend enough time reading about physics and cosmology as I'm quite sure Mr.
Linnell has , you are struck by the gulf between the vast scale of the universe on the one hand and the very tiny, infinitesimal particles that make it up.
In fact, the modern understanding of cosmogenesis is intricately wedded to the properties of these nearly-non-existent bits of matter. We can barely comprehend mankind's lack of significance in the face of this great scale of things. Stuck in the middle, we are at the mercy of the top and the bottom of this scale, and of the indifferent, inflexible laws that control everything at all the levels.
That's why I think of triangle man as the 'laws of nature', defeating all comers. The symbol may be inspired by the prominence of triangles and the proofs related to them in high school Geometry class. The fundamental state of being is a molecule, so 'triangle man' appears to hate particle man, overcoming its natural desire to be itself, and forces particle man to join 'triangles'. Think about what the artist's conception of an H20 molecule looks like, fer instance.
Okay, then, there's universe man which is not at war with anybody, because they're all just part of him, including particles, triangles, and persons. He's just benignly hanging out there, not really part of the drama. Then, person man. When persons or any organisms break down, what do they break down into? Ding, ding!
Molecules, of course, so when 'triangle wins', that is the natural state of affairs. It really depends on how you look at it. Chances are it is just a parady of the spider man theme, and the others just came up -Man who points out the ovious. So, an interp somewhere in this page suggests that this song is about the graphic novel, Watchmen.
Whether or not it actually is, the interp still blew my mind with how well it fits. I disagree with part of it, though. So here's my slight re-working of the original interp:. The song is a retelling of Valve Software's videogame "Portal". Sure, the song was written long before the game, but since when do I let logic and common sense get in the way of awesomeness? Okay, let's get this from the bottom. Person Man is Chell, the protagonist.
She is "living in a garbage can" and "hit with a frying pan", she feels "worthless" etc. Particle Man is the mysterious "Rat Man" who keeps leaving clues and crazy messages on walls. You never learn what he looks like or who he is or where he came from - thus, all the confused questions in his stanzas. He "does the things a particle can" - that is, he seems to keep ending up in hard or impossible-to-reach places.
Triangle Man refers to the gun turrets, if only because they stand on three legs. They are hostile both to Chell and Rat Man. In a direct confrontation with a turret, Chell would most likely die; thus, "Triangle wins" against Person Man.
As for Triangle's victory against Particle Man, it might be a hint to Rat Man's final fate: he was shot and killed by a turret. The Enrichment Center is basically the game's entire universe, and since GlaDOS stretches all over the facility, she "the size of the entire universe". She's "usually kind to smaller man", at least in the early part of the game where she keeps making nice, gentle announcements to Chell while putting her in deadly danger.
Finally, the "watch" might be a metaphor for GlaDOS' big scheme which culminated in her singing: 'it was a triumph Here's another theory: the four "Men" are four genres of literature. Particle Man is science fiction. Sci-fi asks a lot of questions about the future of mankind, thus the lots of questions in his stanzas. The "what's he like? Universe Man is fantasy. A fantasy novel is typically set not on Earth, but in an entire different universe - thus, each fantasy book basically contains an entire universe within itself: thus, "size of the entire universe".
Person Man is mainstream. He's less interesting than the other men; while the others have cool powers or fight a lot, Person Man is just some boring sad guy. Just like mainstream novels, which do not feature any over-the-top, pop culture interesting stuff. They often tell stories about people who live in sadness, poverty, depression, low self-esteem etc. Even the narrator dislikes reading such books, and asks bitterly "Who came up with Person Man?
Triangle Man is action. Why the bullies beat Person Man mainstream but not Universe Man fantasy is the only weak point in this theory. Why a triangle? Well, a triangle is very much like a blade. Particle man is the dust, plants, animals etc. Person man is humans in general. Triangle man is satan. And Universe man is God. Triangle man hates everything and everyone, and beats on everything.
Except Universe man because he know he can't beat him. Universe man is "usually kind to smaller man". And his watch with the minute hand, millenium hand, and an eon hand. Which that to me seems like he's eternal. Through my psychedelic experiences, I have understood that particle man is you and me. A living breathing being made of particles.
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