The Spiritual Teachings of Beavis and Butthead Part 2: Symbology of Beavis and Butthead
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The Logo - At first glance the logo is a simple effective diagram of the characters in question but to the spiritually trained eye you can see that it is the infinity sign and the yin-yang sign all in one. It represents in infinite struggle of dark and light, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. But, as is on par with the genius of Mike Judge, these are not opposite characters. They are brothers, almost TWINS. The same man twice. This shows that while it is a battle of balance and equality, both sides are the same. Our opposites are us in the mirror. We are our own worst enemy and greatest brother. In the eyes of your foe you can see your soul.
The Remote - Ahh, the remote! The illusion of power. You think you can control what you see but really the television controls all. Beavis and Butthead repeatedly fight over who gets to control the remote, but do they really care? No. They do this to demonstrate to their students the futility of trying to control your universe. Beavis and Butthead prove that this battle is pointless, no matter who holds the remote, you are always and forever at the mercy of the almighty TV.
The Television - Lifeforce, god, truth. The “TV” as they call it represents everything holy to the two brothers. They worship at the feet of it but also continuously mock it. Why? It is a false god. Everyone has a god whether it be drugs, jesus or hamburgers, we all worship something. But that god is just as fallible as any other. Beavis and Butthead want you to truly understand that your god is meaningless and deep, inside yourself, that is the only thing to worship. You are your own TV.
Nachos - As with many things in the Beavis and Butthead world, Nachos represent the pleasures of the physical world. These pleasures will always and forever have a draw. The Nachos being the most iconic of all in this cartoon world. They crave, they consume but what then? What has changed? Nothing. Just a momentary escape from the suffering of man. Are these “Nachos” really all they’re made up to be? Or just an empty excuse to forget your true calling?
BurgerWorld - Oh, the lowly job of the fry cook and the burger tosser. Why do cartoons need day jobs? Because it provides a very important lesson of course! Burgerworld represents the real world. No matter how enlightened or spiritually minded you are, at the end of the day you must interact with the real world. You are forced to interact with other humans, to provide services and conjure money. But just one peak into the actions of these two Burgerworld employees and you’ll see something more. Beavis and Butthead remind you that even in the chaos, when everything is upside down and “miserable”, never take it seriously. Life is a game! Embrace the chaos and you will come to work another day.
Van Driessen (The Teacher) - Like most great spiritual teachings there is a character in this story that represents “The Teacher”, a man named Van Driessen. Although he means well, it is obvious to everyone, including Beavis and Butthead, that he does not have the true answers to life's questions. He represents the false guru’s you will come in contact with over and over on your path. Every guru means well and every guru has something to teach you but do not believe in them fully. Take every guru with a grain of salt and you will avoid the common pitfalls others do not. Just another classic lesson on the path of the butt.
