Miike Snow - Genghis Khan

Are you yet familiar with Miike Snow's 2015 hit song Genghis Khan? If no, heads this way because I'm about to tell you why you should be! (ayy ☆)

Written by a Swedish indie pop band Miike Snow, Genghis Khan is a song from their third studio album iii (2016). The song was initially published in December 2015 but gained major popularity only in January 2016 when the music video (by Ninian Doff) was released and it went viral. The video features a James Bond-esque story of an agent captivated by a nameless, gold-nosed villain who theatrically threatens to destroy the agent but at the same time is conflicted over his feelings towards his captive. The video parodies the tension that is created between Bond and the villains in 007 movies and that often takes a step (or more like a huge leap if you consider Daniel Craig's Bond) towards homoerotic subtext.

Genghis Khan falls into the indie pop genre with its cheerful, light pop tune and melodic beat. It is also described as electropop due to its distinct use of synthesizers. Veiled in the catchy, upbeat tune lies a pretty basic story of jealousy in a relationship: "I get a little bit Genghis Khan / I don't want you to get it on / With nobody else but me / With nobody else but me". Genghis Khan, the feared Mongol emperor from the beginning of 12th century, is said to have been very possessive over his wives' lives and thus the reference to him can be interpreted as the song's protagonist being jealous over his lover and willing to keep them only to himself.

Now, as the song features a male singer it could have been interpreted as his possessiveness over his girlfriend as it usually is, but with the addition of the music video the situation is turned upside down. Instead the singer now seems to struggle with his inner conflict and feelings toward the man he has captured, establishing instead a gay relationship (yaass!)

Why is it a conflict, you ask? In the beginning the villain (the argued protagonist of the video) is shown having a rather normal-looking 50s household and family with his wife and children. However, he is clearly not happy with this life as he obsessively keeps thinking about the man kept in his laboratory, keeping him from dinner and sleep. When he gets back to his captive and to the plan to annihilate him with a showy laser beam it is revealed that he is actually torn between killing him and saving his life. Ultimately he chooses to release the agent and turns away as a sign of surrender. The agent is about to escape but, after a moment of uncertainty ("I wanna make up my mind / But I don't know myself / No I don't know myself"), turns back to the villain as a sign of returned feelings. For the first time the villain is shown truly smiling, and later on he returns home to be happily welcomed by the agent-now-husband and their children.

Could the meaning have changed if the song had been sung by a woman? It could be argued that then the song would be from the perspective of the villain's wife, singing about her jealousy towards her lost husband - and indeed, she is shown in the very end of the video (SPOILER) monitoring Gold Nose and Agent being perfectly happy together. Her stance and tone spill vengeance as she speaks the very chorus of the song: "I get a little bit Genghis Khan. Don't want you to get it on with nobody else but me."

What the song and video together put forward is a reaction to the underlying subtext in spy movies: just stop strutting, put down your masculinity for once and engage in a joyful dance number with your nemesis, I know you want to.

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