Visual images, like paintings, photography pictures, or say and music videos, can launch symbolic meaning to a deeper dimension through symbolic meaning can portray a deeper meaning to its audience. With the contrasting of colors and shapes, an artist can send a more advanced message to the observer. With this insightful mechanism, everyday people have seen pictures “worth a thousands words” that can completely change one’s opinion on a specific subject. For example, a famous World War 2 picture sends chills down the spines of people when looking at a man trapped in a concentration camp. The photo drains the life out of the individual looking at the picture. Another example, is popular, authority-destroying defying musician Kurt Cobain created the music video in his music video, “Heart-Shaped Box” to stir array which stirs an array of different emotions. The biggest message Cobain sends through the video is a sacrilegious motif. Through specific colors and objects Cobain uses in the music video: like dead babies, a santa hat, crows, an outfit representing the Klu Klux Klan, and an arrange of visually unpleasing colors, that allows Cobain to send an anti-religious message to the observer. 

With the directors use of a long shot, the observer sees a disturbing image of a man being crucified on an unsymmetric, disgusting cross with three crows sitting on each unique surface of the platform. The use of the long shot allows everyone to focus on the man’s entire body, the midground, and the background. This unique mechanism serves to be extremely important because this photographic structure allows for the whole image to convey sufficient, miniature details connecting together to support one linear motif. Focusing on the man’s entire body portrays him as being nearly starved to death. However, the most important thing again why bold? about the man's body is how he’s tied up to the cross. Clearly, this is a representation of Jesus being  hung on the cross.  Jesus was tortured and executed on a perfect cross; meaning, the cross appears clean and symmetric. But, the cross in this music video is quite the opposite. Thus, this supports the director sending a sacrilegious message to the viewer; claiming, religion is an abomination. 

Looking on top of the cross, there are three crows sitting. In most literature pieces of work, crows are used to symbolize or foreshadow an array of negative exponents. Thus, with these three crows landing on the object portrays religion as an adverse faith in life. The fact that there are three crows on the cross could also mock the holy trinity.  The last symbol on the man is the santa claus hat. Santa Claus is a mythological figure for children to believe in order to promote good behavior in exchange for presents. For these kids to believe in Santa requires the youth to have faith in Santa. But as these children leave childhood and  grow maybe a better word than adapt into adulthood, they lose their beliefs in Santa. Thus, Cobain claims Jesus should be treated like Santa where people lose their faith and stop believing in Jesus; sending a sacrilegious message to individual. Besides the man himself, the background expands on the sacrilegious motif.

On the lower half of the background, one can see the red wave of roses. The color red, symbolically, can interpret considerable meanings like rage, strength, fire, or evil. In this definite video, the red rose can symbolize evil due to the man (should say Cobain) mocking religion. And, the red roses can interpret an image of fire as well. If one was to look at the roses, they are directly located under the cross. The buds of the flowers look like bodies of flames setting the cross on fire. 

Now, looking above the flowers the image shows a barren environment. In a barren environment, there’s very little life. [more] Above the barren shows a blue sky. This independent blue highlights the man hanging from the cross. Making the symbols on him stand out and appear to be more important. 

Taking a look at another frame in this music video, it shows a girl in white clothing jumping up and down cheering at  dead babies hanging from a tree. 

The dead  bodies hanging from the tree is clearly dead fetus.. The bodies resemble fetus due to the iconic positions they are hanging. That position is most typical related to how a baby looks in the womb. Now,  the child dressed in all white, is celebrating at the lifeless babies in front of her. The girl is dressed in a pure white outfit. In some religions, the dead are buried in white due to the symbolic meaning of white which is purity. Thus, appearing for the girl to be thought of as dead. When the girl glorifies the baby's’ body, it’s her expressing her hyper happiness of her dying. Does it have to be her dying or can she just be celebrating death in general. In most religions, killing a fetus in the womb is considered a crime; however, in this music video, Cobain challenges this religious ideal with adding several babies hanging from the tree with the girl encouraged to see the bodies hanging from the tree explaining how religion should not rule people’s actions.  The other important layer of this frame is the blue background in the back. The blue really highlights the girl’s outfit, the tree, and the fetuses which is important because it emphasises the message Cobain wants to send to the people viewing his music. 

Ultimately, religion is perceived as a perfection until man’s self insertion into religion that makes it imperfect. In the platonic realm, religion would be visualized as perfection, but the distorted cross represents the humanity’s insertion which causes religion to be imperfect. The presence of the Santa Claus hat is fascinating, it seems that Cobain may be explaining if one is allowed is explain the universe on the basis of faith, then everyone would have a right to determine their own personal beliefs. Therefore, believing in Santa Claus is not different than the faith in a deity. 
