<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section possibly contains original research . Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . Statements consisting only of original research should be removed . (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The track is also known for its popular, and somewhat disturbing, music video, written and directed by Brian Grant, which was played heavily in the early days of MTV featuring Gabriel (in white face paint) and a frightened - looking capuchin monkey . The music video features Gabriel in two guises; the one is as a businessman - type in a dark suit, and the other is as a mysterious persona in a white suit with white face paint . The video occurs as a back - and - forth between two rooms, each vaguely resembling an office . A movie projector plays zoo footage of a gibbon (technically, a lesser ape, not a monkey) in both rooms . As the video proceeds, events in the' normal' (black suit) office become increasingly irregular and disturbing, with Gabriel displaying increasing pressure, anger, and fear, and with objects in the room in increasing disarray . The office footage is increasingly interspersed with black - and - white footage of Gabriel fleeing from something unknown in a wilderness, and a disoriented Gabriel in different settings including central London and what looks to be a hospital . At the end of the video, the dark - suited Gabriel appears to have merged with the face - painted Gabriel, and to have accepted whatever he was fleeing or resisting previously . In the final shot, the two Gabriel's faces are superimposed over that of the gibbon . </P> <P> Due to its title and the content of the video, the song is frequently assumed to be either an animal rights song or a reference to the famous experiments by Stanley Milgram described in his book Obedience to Authority . It is neither, although another Gabriel song, "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)", from his 1986 album So, does deal directly with Milgram . Gabriel himself has described "Shock the Monkey" as "a love song" that examines how jealousy can release one's basic instincts; the monkey is not a literal monkey, but a metaphor for one's feelings of jealousy . </P> <P> "Shock the Monkey" was released as a 7" picture disc in addition to the 7" and 12" black vinyl singles . Club DJ remix service Hot Tracks crafted an 8: 12 version that intersperses verses and choruses sung by Gabriel in German with the more familiar English lyrics . A seven - minute - long concert version of the song appears on Gabriel's album Plays Live (1983). It is also included on the compilation albums Greenpeace (1985), Shaking the Tree (1990) and Hit (2003). The music video appears on the DVD compilation Play (2004). </P>

What does it mean to shock the monkey
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