This week, I listened to a pop song by Khalil Fong (yes, again) featuring lyrics about unwavering romantic protection. On the surface, it is a sweet, devotion-filled song that is well mixed with more than 400 tracks. Fong repeatedly promises to shield their partner from a scary reality, singing, "I won't let go of your hand / I won't let you get hurt" (我不放開你的手 / 不讓你受傷害) and "No matter how dangerous the world is... I won't tire of protecting you" (不管世界多危險啊 / 保護你我不厭倦啊).
However, viewing these exact lyrics through the postcolonial lens of coercive assimilation and the loss of bodily autonomy from the same framework I used to analyze the alien Oankali in Octavia Butler’s Dawn. The lyrics completely flipped my understanding of the track. Through this theoretical lens, the narrative of "protection" is revealed as the exact rhetoric used by dominant powers to justify taking away an individual's autonomy.
When analyzed this way, the lyric "I won't let go of your hand"no longer sounds like a romantic promise; however, it sounds like a literal denial of agency. It perfectly mirrors the asymmetrical power dynamic in Dawn, where the Oankali trap humanity on their ship under the guise of saving them from a"dangerous world."The singer assumes they know what is best for the subject, insisting on guiding them out of the"maze"and telling them"don't be afraid." This lens changes the song from a romantic ballad into a chilling reflection of benevolent subjugation. Fong highlights how the loss of autonomy often doesn't come in the form of an attack, but it rather wrapped in the comforting and non-negotiable promise of eternal"protection,"leaving the protected individual entirely powerless and assimilated into the protector's world.
一條毒蛇別靠近
Stay away from that venomous snake
遇到老虎就要小心
Be careful when you encounter a tiger
避開獵人的陷阱
Avoid the hunter's traps
別總說那是命運
Don't always say it's just fate
緊緊握著我的手
Hold my hand tightly
衝出千變的迷宮
Break out of this ever-changing maze
我不放開你的手
I won't let go of your hand
不讓你受傷害
I won't let you get hurt
我在 這裡證明對你多愛
I am here to prove how much I love you
何時證明對你的愛 now
When to prove my love to you? Now
再不需要你看 left
You no longer need to look left
再不需要你看 right
You no longer need to look right
在你面前不管世界多危險啊
In front of you, no matter how dangerous the world is
有我站在你身邊啊
You have me standing by your side
保護你我不厭倦啊
I won't tire of protecting you
面對未來的一切一切一起體驗
Let's experience absolutely everything in the future together
水中鯉魚也著迷
Even the koi in the water are mesmerized
千紙鶴帶來的含義
The meaning carried by the paper cranes
這是我們的天意
This is our heaven-sent destiny
緣份沒有有效期
Our fate has no expiration date
緊緊握著我的手
Hold my hand tightly
衝出千變的迷宫
Break out of this ever-changing maze
我不放開你的手
I won't let go of your hand
不讓你受傷害
I won't let you get hurt
我在 這裡證明對你多愛
I am here to prove how much I love you
何時證明對你的愛 now
When to prove my love to you? Now
再不需要你看 left
You no longer need to look left
再不需要你看 right
You no longer need to look right
在你面前不管世界多危險啊
In front of you, no matter how dangerous the world is
有我站在你身邊啊
You have me standing by your side
保護你我不厭倦啊
I won't tire of protecting you
面對未來的一切一切一起體驗
Let's experience absolutely everything in the future together
一起感受這個地球不同的溫度
Let's feel the different temperatures of this Earth together
在我們的時代創造生命的旅途
Create the journey of life in our own era
用你的心就能發現愛無處不在
Use your heart and you'll discover love is everywhere
快伸出你的手
Quickly reach out your hand
別再怕 no no no no no
Don't be afraid anymore, no no no no no
我在 這裡證明對你多愛
I am here to prove how much I love you
何時證明對你的愛 now
When to prove my love to you? Now
再不需要你看 left
You no longer need to look left
再不需要你看 right
You no longer need to look right
在你面前不管世界多危險啊
In front of you, no matter how dangerous the world is
有我站在你身邊啊
You have me standing by your side
保護你我不厭倦啊
I won't tire of protecting you
面對未來的一切一切一起體驗
Let's experience absolutely everything in the future together