St. Lenox returns with his video “Conspiracy Theories”, a song heard on his album “Ten Hymns From My American Gothic”. The video takes place as a shooting range where St. Lenox goes to visit an old friend, Mimi, who has since become a “gun enthusiast” after Trump won the Republican primary.
Mimi is an old friend who St. Lenox once dated years ago when she was known as a man named Mikey. In the video, St. Lenox asks a friend if anyone knows someone who knows how to shoot, and they suggest Mimi, who frequents a gun range. It’s clear that Mimi has command of the handgun she uses at the range, because St. Lenox describes her as going up to the target “like nobody’s business and loads the magazine. Then (she) with confident moves and all the right angles fires a measured and deliberate stream of silver-tipped killer death ray into the oncoming enemy on the horizon”, referring to the target. It’s then when we learn Mimi took up shooting ever since the now President-elect Donald Trump became the Republican nominee. As a result of his nomination, she no longer felt safe.
After they left the range, Mimi expresses her doubt that the world will improve. St. Lenox muses that this was why he and Mimi did not work out, as they are “just very different people”. He later makes reference to a line from “The Diary of Anne Frank”, “about how people are ultimately good at heart”, which implies that St. Lenox is a bit more optimistic than Mimi about how the world can change and be less of a violent atmosphere and that no matter who is nominated for any office, we won’t always have to be afraid.
The way St. Lenox tells his stories through the written and spoken word is what made “Conspiracy Theories” so amazing. It was more than a music video; we had a day out with St. Lenox and Mimi. The video gave us a better understanding about Mimi and why she feels unsafe. Even if the audience hasn’t walked in her shoes, they’ll be able to empathize with her.
Final Grade: A
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