MovieChat Forums > Eraserhead (1978) Discussion > I need help

I need help

posted 9 years ago by Sewaat
11 replies | jump to latest

There is so much about this film that I do NOT understand. Normally I can pick up on symbolism pretty easily, but with this film there are certain things that happen that are never brought up or explained again. They happen for a short moment and then are never addressed. Like, I get the main premise of the film was Henry's fear of sex/fatherhood. That imagery for the most part was pretty clear. But I'm talking about the more subtle moments that are perhaps harder to explain.

Maybe it's too early for me to be asking these kinds of questions because I literally just finished it and I haven't fully "absorbed" it. I really don't know at this point if I can say if I liked it or not. I'll have to give it some more time and thought, but for now...if someone could please answer a couple of these questions for me, that would at least be a start.

-Why did Henry's wife have that weird seizure moment when he first came to her house? It happened and then it just stopped and the film never addresses it. The mother CLEARLY has problems of some sort and that's established, but the wife seemed like an otherwise normal character so why did she have that brief fit and then it was never mentioned again?

-What was Henry's nosebleed supposed to symbolize? What did that mean?

-What did the singing lady represent in Henry's consciousness?

-What does the dream about the head and the pencil factory mean?

-And finally...what does the ending mean?

I know the theme of these questions is very repetitive but I'm at a loss for words, here. If anyone can help me, that would be great.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

1. She also seemed to have this weird compulsion of scratching herself/rubbing her eyelids, so apparently it was just a more extreme expression of whatever ailment she had.

2. Henry found the idea of marrying her gf so nauseating that it literally gave him a nosebleed?

3. The allure of death - "in heaven, everything is fine".

4. Well there're the erasers... Henry's head/his existence will be erased.

5. Pretty sure Henry killed himself (the crackling bursts of electricity often mark dramatic interdimensional transitions in Lynch's films).

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] BelleDay 9 years ago

It's been years since I've been on a Board discussing Eraserhead,so my memory might be foggy, but many people described the movie in terms of it being a mixture of it being in the Future, and that Henry is an "alien", and that the entire movie is set in a Futuristic World--far far away.🚀🔆....
At first I thought that might be true, but then when I looked at all the symbolism and little details,so I began to think that the movie might have some other meanings. So then, I changed my perspective when I saw Eraserhead the 2nd time.✏
That's the thing about this movie in that a viewer can re-think his/her viewpoint depending on who they talk to, or how many times they've seen it, etc.
Plus, some people can barely make it through the movie, and other people want to watch it 10 times! This movie is not for everybody.
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[–] ratherbebocce 9 years ago

I first saw this flick maybe 25 yrs ago and was horrified. It left me affected for a week.
Just a few years ago got up the nerve to watch it again.
Thought perhaps this was the after death dream realm called the "Bardo" by the Tibetens
where (if you do not realize you are dead) you dream according to your karma.
Dunno.
Best,

[–] Horror-yo 9 years ago

I haven't seen it as I'm sure it's a piece of crap, but I can respond in one way to you: if you're not sure after experiencing something if you like it or not, you MOST probably didn't like it.

Harry !!....your hands are freezing !!...

[–] Sewaat 9 years ago

That's not necessarily true, actually. I gave this movie quite a bit more thought and after watching it again, I realized that I actually kind of like it. Obviously, it's not a perfect movie. And it's definitely too weird for most audiences. Most people who watch it will not understand it. This movie is the whole definition of "thinking outside the box". I have a lot of admiration for David Lynch because of that.

Also, you probably shouldn't label a film as "a piece of crap" before you've even seen it. At least give it a chance before you blast it.

[–] Horror-yo 9 years ago

I'm saying "I'm sure it's a piece of crap", or 'is bad' - I'm not actually calling it that. Like I just recently watched Lost Highway, and it was such a mess, I wanted to like it, but my consciousness just got in the way and I can't refute it's very very flawed. And that's not even that reputed to be a mess, though it is truthfully. So no way am I ready for this now. I liked Blue Velvet or Dune for instance, and I like Twin Peaks, so I'm not a biased hater.

Harry !!....your hands are freezing !!...

[–] Sewaat 9 years ago

My apologies. I misunderstood what you meant. Blue Velvet is the next David Lynch film on my list. I want to see Mulholland Dr. but I worry it'll be too confusing for me. I just saw Dune yesterday, funny enough. It wasn't bad. I don't know if I would watch it again though. Lost Highway doesn't interest me at all. It seems like a mess, as you've said. But some of his films are definitely intriguing to me.

[–] Horror-yo 9 years ago

Well thank you first of all for being courteous and gathered as you reply - to be noted online these days.
Dune is interesting for people who've played the game, perhaps read the book, and are nostalgic of that atmosphere and have a penchant for sci-fi, or more specifically bizarre sci-fi.
Lost Highway is interesting visually, pretty enjoyable to watch, but it really doesn't amount to anything of any valuable quality when it comes to an actual resolution of the plot and never provides the fullness in meaning, the satisfaction of understanding the whole. It is half-assed, and enthusiasts will contest that but it's just true.
Mullholland is my next one in line also. I reckon it will be good. I know Lynch can actually be good, that is to the non pseud-intellectual; but he does sometimes get self-indulgent.

Harry !!....your hands are freezing !!...

[–] northernlad 9 years ago

Maybe it's too early for me to be asking these kinds of questions because I literally just finished it and I haven't fully "absorbed" it. I really don't know at this point if I can say if I liked it or not.

I feel the exact same way! I just finished it and I have NO idea what to think about this.

American Horror Story Season 6: Donald Trump

[–] moonbus69 8 years ago

On YouTube I watched Eraserhead last night, and had many of the same questions you did... and came away equally both amazed (the sounds in particular), and yet quite perplexed.

Been trying to stretch my film appreciation level lately, after getting into some of Andrei Tarkovsky's films the past year (Andrei Rublev, Stalker, The Mirror, Nostalghia). Eraserhead was one of those films that I had heard about for years, since seeing The Elephant Man and DUNE (both favorite David Lynch films). And boy, what a mind-stretch it was!

But the one thing that bothered me the most watching the film was this: Why did Henry and his wife never give the baby any physical touch?

She fed the baby alright, and when Henry noticed the baby was sick he did put out a humidifier, etc. But at no time did I see them give any affection in the way of rubbing the baby's head/nose, or simply picking it up and cradling it in their arms, etc.

Given that one's baby is a mutant that looks more like an alien (or a baby dinosaur) must be a terrible cross to bear, but when a baby cries it seems most parents would pick it up and sing or talk kindly to it - or at least try.

Yes, Life might be just a dream (or a living nightmare), but above all it seemed for me that the film suggests that when you are in a bad place, Love and compassion are so very precious and impossibly rare - especially in the world that Henry lived in.

Just about all the characters, except for the dancing/singing lady and the baby, seemed to be like zombies... devoid of any expressed emotions or feelings, other than despair or alienation. Just barely moving, existing.

"Why do people expect art to make sense, when life doesn't make sense"
- David Lynch

[–] Brazillian 8 years ago

I'm still waiting to see the movie, I have it here, but you said something interesting.

It is not that love and compassion are rare, is that it loses its meaning. Even if you are given it, it doesn't has the same value as before all corruption and hopelessness set foot in.

Once you lost your innocence, it never goes back the same. It is like selling your soul to the devil. You are just surviving, procrastinating your death, avoiding final judgment.

The more I wait, the more I want to see the movie. I'm just avoiding it because I have a infant child and I think it is not a good idea to watch it yet unless I'm in a good mood and with a really nice amount of sane/happy movies to see after it and counterbalance.

"Nobody cares. Nobody tries..."