A Study in Goro Part II: Kano (Use Your Might)

A Study in Goro is an ongoing attempt to dissect the rich symbolism present in The Immortals’ Mortal Kombat: The Album, which is generally regarded as the culmination of all human creativity. We at Garbage Duck suggest that you do not try this at home, unless you have a BA in English and your parents’ permission.

The first lyric of “Kano (Use Your Might)” is the rather prosaic “Kano wins;” and we, the listeners, are misled into thinking what follows will be a ballad of triumph, glory, and the spoils of war. But this simple introduction is wrapped in the same gentle irony that accompanies nearly all of The Immortals’ legendary work — for in the art of Mortal Kombat, there are no winners. It is here that we realize Kano is nothing more than a heartbreakingly tragic symbol of the human condition.

Pain. Sadness. Fear. Hatred. These are the forces that drive us. Our joy is predicated on the pain of others.

We are all Kano.

“Use your might:” a simple command, and what some would call the prevalent theme of all human history. The downside, of course, is touched upon with The Immortals’ ever present theme of man’s inhumanity against man. Not since Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Church-yard” has the futility of physical conflict been depicted so beautifully:

You are wanted, and you’re haunted.
You’re the Bad Guy, but I feel for you.
You’re the danger, a fallen angel,
but I like you.
You’re the strongest of them all.

There is a certain perverse appeal in being a first-world aggressor, and The Immortals know this; but though we are wanted, we are also haunted — haunted by a lifestyle that bleeds the world of resources. The Immortals hold the mirror up to society and ask, “Who is the real monster? You, or the cyborg who regularly rips people’s still-beating hearts from their chests?” After listening to “(Use Your Might),” you may be surprised to find you and Kano are not all that different. Yes, you may not be taking part in a multidimensional fighting tournament, but your own conquests in life are undoubtedly stripping away your humanity.

Sometimes The Immortals tell us things we don’t want to hear. And I thank them for this.

A Study in Goro Part I