What's the tattoo/symbol in DJ Shadow's _Six Days_?

May 3, 2008 1:34 PM

What's the tattoo in DJ Shadow's _Six Days_ video?

I was recently watching a music video to one of DJ Shadow's songs, _Six Days_. In the video, which is sort of NSFW, there is a tattoo/symbol repeated throughout the video. It's reported that this symbol means 'strength', but I can't find any confirmation and would like the army reading the green to help me figure it out.

posted by arimathea to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

If it's the symbol at 1:01 on this youtube version, it looks like the numbers 426 to me. The numbers recur a few times.
posted by jquinby at 1:48 PM on May 3, 2008

Also: I came across youtube comments discussing the significance. Theories range from a reference to the Six Day's War to the 50th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong back to China (0426, a date which would have meaning to Wong Kar-Wai, who directed the video).
posted by jquinby at 1:55 PM on May 3, 2008

hmm. the same symbol that's on the microphone? Odd, but I see it as nothing more than a heavily stylized 420 (i.e. 4:20, slang for pot). Though that seems it bit banal for what looks like a putatively high-brow video.
posted by oddman at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2008

426 - well it could signify that she's a "fighter". Reading about triads in Wikipedia I see that 426 is used to denote a fighter. That would make sense given the lyrics in the song.
posted by awfurby at 11:35 PM on May 5, 2008

I used to spend a lot of time on the wongkarwai.net forums, and I vaguely remember the tattoo being considered a reference to WKW's 2046. You might register on the forums there + ask, if you're really curious. Some hardcore fans on there could help.
posted by shortfuse at 6:44 PM on May 7, 2008