A while back, I watched the Netflix film, Bird Box, and wrote out a few thoughts. This is less a review and more an analysis of the themes and symbolism used in the film.
There was a lot of chatter about this movie when it was released and I can see why. It's one of those films which is just vague enough to illicit speculation and varying interpretation while giving enough specifics to ground it in experiences that anyone can relate to. Personally, there were some things about it that I found a bit frustrating as someone who generally likes to know what's going on and why. Also, the practical logistics of all this suggest some massive plot holes in terms of how anyone could survive this scenario at all. However, when you're dealing with allegories, sometimes its best to put practical considerations aside and deal with what's being presented with a certain suspension of disbelief.
Allegory is certainly what this presents the viewer, but which allegory is where interpretation may vary as I can see a few possibilities cropping up. I saw some comments before watching this which theorized it's about racism, so I went into it looking for those references, but honestly, I don't know if that's really very pertinent to this tale. For me, the most obvious conclusion to draw from this story is that "ignorance is bliss", given that the main contention here is that what you don't see can't hurt you. From there, I suppose the question is, what could one ignore to the point where it would be advantageous to one's survival?
In the film, "seeing is believing" takes on a new meaning as each individual goes through their own reaction, though these reactions tend to break down into two main variations. Either one becomes suicidal and self destructive or one becomes a "convert" to whatever this menace is and attempts to ensure everyone around them is exposed to it as well. The "converts" seem to be able to continue to function in the world in some sense while the others seek nothing beyond immediate and irreversible annihilation. What's left are those few who remain ignorant or unexposed as long as they don't see what's in front of them.
When I consider the symbolism, I can't help but see a connection to the current political climate, particularly in the US. People who get wrapped up in the madness either feel hopeless and helpless or they become part of it and try to encourage it. Those who refuse to get absorbed by it seem few and far between, but maybe they're the ones who are best off. I don't know. This idea that being blind to something can protect you from it seems counter-intuitive to me.
Since watching it, the interpretations I've come across have focused on Mallory and how the story is about her connecting with people again after starting off as an isolated, detached character afraid to love or commit to relationships. I'm not so sure that's the real point of what's going on here either. I don't know how the act of cutting off perception of the world around you is supposed to help bring people together. I've always felt that the opposite of that was true.
I guess where that leaves me is confused as to the moral of the story given that we never find a way to exist in this world without being restricted in a very major way. Though the main character finds herself discovering her ability to care about others and create relationships, she's still trapped in a world where exposure to it leads to destructive and devastating consequences. It's a place where, ultimately, the people who are most adapted to it are those without the ability to perceive it. Truly a case of "the blind leading the blind".
After considering it for a day or two, however, I finally hit on something that made sense to me. The key is looking at the basic metaphysics involved here and the question of whether what's happening is "natural" or "supernatural". The answer to that, for me, is obviously the latter. This is not some virus or man made contagion or invasion. This is some kind of divine judgement. This is what happens when humanity sees that there is no "God".
Most people can't deal with it and, faced with an indifferent, uncaring universe, implode and self destruct. Some, the "atheists", embrace it and want everyone to see what they see. They go around trying to make everyone look at what they see. The "monster", for them, is beautiful and they're shown as godless heathens. The "believers" that remain spend the movie trying not to see the "truth". They end up trying to survive in an isolated enclave run by "blind" people, those who are incapable of seeing the truth of a godless universe and continue to live in ignorance. They survive by ignoring the evidence of their senses and clinging to their belief.
This is what religion offers. It's an excuse to keep your eyes closed and not see the vast indifference of the universe and how it swallows us up in its enormity. Those who embrace this knowledge are characterized as fanatics and insane, when the reality is that the believers are really the ones who are locked away from understanding reality. Ultimately, this film is an endorsement of ignorance as a means of security and safety. It tells the viewer that seeing is a curse and that blindness is a blessing.
There was a lot of chatter about this movie when it was released and I can see why. It's one of those films which is just vague enough to illicit speculation and varying interpretation while giving enough specifics to ground it in experiences that anyone can relate to. Personally, there were some things about it that I found a bit frustrating as someone who generally likes to know what's going on and why. Also, the practical logistics of all this suggest some massive plot holes in terms of how anyone could survive this scenario at all. However, when you're dealing with allegories, sometimes its best to put practical considerations aside and deal with what's being presented with a certain suspension of disbelief.
Allegory is certainly what this presents the viewer, but which allegory is where interpretation may vary as I can see a few possibilities cropping up. I saw some comments before watching this which theorized it's about racism, so I went into it looking for those references, but honestly, I don't know if that's really very pertinent to this tale. For me, the most obvious conclusion to draw from this story is that "ignorance is bliss", given that the main contention here is that what you don't see can't hurt you. From there, I suppose the question is, what could one ignore to the point where it would be advantageous to one's survival?
In the film, "seeing is believing" takes on a new meaning as each individual goes through their own reaction, though these reactions tend to break down into two main variations. Either one becomes suicidal and self destructive or one becomes a "convert" to whatever this menace is and attempts to ensure everyone around them is exposed to it as well. The "converts" seem to be able to continue to function in the world in some sense while the others seek nothing beyond immediate and irreversible annihilation. What's left are those few who remain ignorant or unexposed as long as they don't see what's in front of them.
When I consider the symbolism, I can't help but see a connection to the current political climate, particularly in the US. People who get wrapped up in the madness either feel hopeless and helpless or they become part of it and try to encourage it. Those who refuse to get absorbed by it seem few and far between, but maybe they're the ones who are best off. I don't know. This idea that being blind to something can protect you from it seems counter-intuitive to me.
Since watching it, the interpretations I've come across have focused on Mallory and how the story is about her connecting with people again after starting off as an isolated, detached character afraid to love or commit to relationships. I'm not so sure that's the real point of what's going on here either. I don't know how the act of cutting off perception of the world around you is supposed to help bring people together. I've always felt that the opposite of that was true.
I guess where that leaves me is confused as to the moral of the story given that we never find a way to exist in this world without being restricted in a very major way. Though the main character finds herself discovering her ability to care about others and create relationships, she's still trapped in a world where exposure to it leads to destructive and devastating consequences. It's a place where, ultimately, the people who are most adapted to it are those without the ability to perceive it. Truly a case of "the blind leading the blind".
After considering it for a day or two, however, I finally hit on something that made sense to me. The key is looking at the basic metaphysics involved here and the question of whether what's happening is "natural" or "supernatural". The answer to that, for me, is obviously the latter. This is not some virus or man made contagion or invasion. This is some kind of divine judgement. This is what happens when humanity sees that there is no "God".
Most people can't deal with it and, faced with an indifferent, uncaring universe, implode and self destruct. Some, the "atheists", embrace it and want everyone to see what they see. They go around trying to make everyone look at what they see. The "monster", for them, is beautiful and they're shown as godless heathens. The "believers" that remain spend the movie trying not to see the "truth". They end up trying to survive in an isolated enclave run by "blind" people, those who are incapable of seeing the truth of a godless universe and continue to live in ignorance. They survive by ignoring the evidence of their senses and clinging to their belief.
This is what religion offers. It's an excuse to keep your eyes closed and not see the vast indifference of the universe and how it swallows us up in its enormity. Those who embrace this knowledge are characterized as fanatics and insane, when the reality is that the believers are really the ones who are locked away from understanding reality. Ultimately, this film is an endorsement of ignorance as a means of security and safety. It tells the viewer that seeing is a curse and that blindness is a blessing.
