Skip to content
Even as the Cleaners spray her with "Nevermind" gas to dull her mind, Jane resists. She realizes that her "bugs" are what make her real and that a "clean" computer is a hollow one. The Escape
Despite the systematic erasure, Jane's spirit is too resilient for the machines. She manages to reclaim her memories, choosing to embrace her "broken" interior rather than accept a false, sanitized version of herself. Ultimately, Jane and Zen manage to overthrow their oppressors by exposing the Cleaners to their own mind-altering drugs, escaping the facility to continue their revolution in the margins. Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer (2018) | Album Review
As the technicians delete her files, Jane’s life flashes before her in "emotion pictures" (the album's music videos):
In a near-future dystopian society, a "Dirty Computer" is anyone who refuses to assimilate—those whose identities are deemed "bugs" by a totalitarian regime called the New Dawn.
The facility views her individuality—her blackness, her queerness, and her refusal to follow their rigid code—as "trash in the bag" that must be emptied.
Even as the Cleaners spray her with "Nevermind" gas to dull her mind, Jane resists. She realizes that her "bugs" are what make her real and that a "clean" computer is a hollow one. The Escape
Despite the systematic erasure, Jane's spirit is too resilient for the machines. She manages to reclaim her memories, choosing to embrace her "broken" interior rather than accept a false, sanitized version of herself. Ultimately, Jane and Zen manage to overthrow their oppressors by exposing the Cleaners to their own mind-altering drugs, escaping the facility to continue their revolution in the margins. Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer (2018) | Album Review
As the technicians delete her files, Jane’s life flashes before her in "emotion pictures" (the album's music videos):
In a near-future dystopian society, a "Dirty Computer" is anyone who refuses to assimilate—those whose identities are deemed "bugs" by a totalitarian regime called the New Dawn.
The facility views her individuality—her blackness, her queerness, and her refusal to follow their rigid code—as "trash in the bag" that must be emptied.