"A rose is a rose whether it's alive or wilted."
—Hexin E McPhee, A Vision of Love (2011)

"A rose is a rose is a rose . . . unless it's an apple! Apples are actually part of the rose family."
—Karla Dornacher, Sweet as Apple Pie (2011)

"'A rose is a rose is a rose,' but what is true of roses is not true of homicides."
—American Legal Injustice: Behind the Scenes with an Expert Witness

"A rose is a rose is a rose because innately there is a mechanism whereby the mind understands that a unit, in spite of its individual characteristics, belongs to a composite."
—Ilan Stavans, Return to Centro Historico (2011)

"Some people adopt a linear thinking, that is, a rose is a rose is a rose. Those people also emphasize cause and effect. That is to say, if you have this, then you will have that. You can trace back everything in this way."
—Peter Kien-Hong Yu, One-Dot Theory Described, Explained, Inferred, Justified, and Applied (2011)

"A rose is a rose is an onion."
—Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)

An onion rose from Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook.

"One might say that 'a rose is a rose is a rose' (or perhaps 'a noun is a noun is a noun'), but verbs are not so simple."
—Phineas J. Caruthers, Style & Circumstance: The Gentleperson's Guide to Good Grammar (2012)

"'A rose is a rose is a rose' . . . doesn't actually hold true for different types of damask rose oils: rose otto is preferable over rose absolute as the former is not extracted using chemical solvents."
—Stephanie Gailing, Planetary Apothecary (2012)

Photo by Zyada.

Frames from Boardwalk Empire.

"We say 'rose' and mean 'rose, because a rose is a rose is a rose.'  But the truth is that words really have no meaning that isn't socially constructed."
—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Writing, the Sacred Art (2012)

Photo by National Assembly For Wales / Cynulliad Cymru.

The classic red dot on maps indicating "You Are Here" is as simple a symbol as it is profound.  That red dot, let's observe, is a specific point and yet it's also everywhere, because, as the old saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are."  That red dot is what the Greek philosopher Pythagoras called the Monad — a unit that is simultaneously the whole shebang.  The classic red dot shows up in the classic Human League music video for "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," first as a point on a map . . .


. . .  and then as a literal red spot in space: a painted red house and its immediate surroundings.


Interestingly, we discover that the inside of the house is all grey, from the walls to the floor to the furniture and even to the lightbulb.  The band itself plays grey instruments, but we notice that they're not wearing grey.  This is a crucial detail — to live "la vie en rose," they don't need to dress in flamboyant red or pink but they do need to exhibit a contrast.  Their black clothing stands out sharply from the grey and yet also integrates, since grey is a combination of black and white.


Even in the middle of grey surroundings, the band exuberantly lives "la vie en rose," and we come to see the red circle around their house as a sort of aura that passively affects people in the vicinity.  For example, a boy playing football on the street finds both his ball and his outfit coloured red when he enters the circle.  Quite literally, his very existence becomes hued by virtue of neighbours who "keep feeling [and broadcasting] fascination."


Interestingly, lead singer Phil Oakey is depicted in front of a cracked door.  Had the door been closed, Phil would have had more room to sing and dance, so we know this detail was deliberate.  The cracked door symbolizes a opening between the outer world to inner, sacred space.  The band is not locked away but is accessible to others and free to move beyond any confines.


What the Human League seem to be saying with the red dot is in line with the countercultural mantra "be here now."  In other words, you are here, no matter where you go, so be fully present in the here and now and draw irresistibly the attention and interest of others by being ever-fascinating.

P.S.  Where exactly is the Human League's red dot house now?  Fascinatingly, it's nowhere and simultaneously everywhere, as the structure at 1 First Avenue, London was demolished just a few months after the video shoot.  The red dot is now a triangle of green.

"A rose is a rose is a rose, but the same is not true of conspiracies."
—James H. Fetzer, The Great Zapruder Film Hoax

"A rose is a rose is a rose, but what is a rhinocer-rose?"
—Thom Jones, Sonny Liston was a Friend of Mine

"A rose is a rose is a rose, but a pig will always be a pig."
—Stuart Gustafson Parables for Life in the 21st Century

"A rose is a rose is a rose — but it is also a maidenhead, a pudendum, and a whore; it depends on where it is and whose it is."
—Frankie Rubinstein, A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Sexual Puns and Their Significance

"'Rose is a rose is a rose.'  Except, perhaps, when it's grown for its hips."
—Peter Schneider, Right Rose, Right Place

"A rose is a rose is a weed in my book."
—Twila Van Leer, Life is Just a Bowl of Kumquats

"A rose is a rose is a cabbage bud."
—Botany for All Ages

"And then you go up to it and see, for the sake of argument, that it is an artificial rose."
—Bruno Munari, "A Rose is a Rose is a," Design as Art

"A rose is a rose is a rose — or so they say."
—Orient Express Magazine