MovieChat Forums > Beyond the Black Rainbow (2011) Discussion > Flickering TV Inside House (spoiler)

Flickering TV Inside House (spoiler)

posted 12 years ago by chuck-526
10 replies | jump to latest

At the end of her escape, Elena closes in on a house with a TV flickering through its window; and the scene looks realistic _except_ the light of the TV is greatly emphasized. Perhaps because I'd just listened to a review of a Cuban "zombie" film, my first thought was Elena was escaping from one kind of psychic prison (her cubicle and the ubiquitous pyramidic crystal) to another kind of psychic prison (being a couch potato watching TV in suburbia). But on second thought, such an interpretation seemed too pat and silly, and in general a little too precious.

How did you interpret Elena confronting the flickering light of a TV inside a tract house as soon as she completed her escape?

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Sean_Haze 12 years ago

The central theme for me was that inner peace is possible only through the removal of our humanity. As long as we can think and feel, we'll never have inner peace.

I agree that it was purposely juxtaposed with the suburbs, but I don't think it's so much a prison as a different means to the same end. We seek happiness but to be truely happy, we have to remove thought (can't have all those doubts, regrets, dreams, etc), enter the suburbs with the flickering tv set.

I don't agree with the message based purely on emotional grounds, to accept that we're our own worst enemy in our pursuit of happiness and the only way to be happy is to kill the self is a bit bleak, but I can't argue with the logic.

People move to the suburbs to be happy after all and proper suburban developments are downright dehumanizing.

[–] The_Coma-Man 12 years ago

I think the film is, in a way, about filmmaking. About film - not digital one, but real celluloid.

I took it that the flickering, in a way, had to do with film, with media being shown to us. In the last shot, Elena is drawn to the flickering of a TV screen like a moth to light. Remember how she responded to the small TV screen inside the facility?

[–] divisionbell-2 12 years ago

I took it simply that things in the "real world" were really no different than her "prison". That we are all sitting in front of the TV having images and symbols displayed before us.

As for the ultimate message of the movie...I'm still working on that.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

[–] malteehlers 12 years ago

You might have to work a very very long time on that. From reading some interviews with the director, it seems there is not "ultimate message". It´s more of a collage as well as homage to various directors and movies. Not saying there isn´t any message or overall meaning at all but I don´t think you will find an ultimate message.

[–] bradaviel 12 years ago

i didn't see flickering at all that as a message. I saw it as "there are people inside, regular ones, watching tv".

The real question that arose was : what's gonna happen to her and how will she react, how will she be greeted, and how her nature and power will affect and changed the world as we know it ?
She has been contained her whole life for a reason, and she clearly has no grip on her emotions. She has grown away from human contact as we know it and her presence might be devastating, game changing. It reminded me of old Cronenberg movies when you see plagued people that have been afflicted and contained, finaly unleashed onto the world. To me its both an hommage and an uncertainty. She's pure, but purity can be corrupted and/or turned wrong.

Also, she already ahd a connection to the "tv world", being the only thing she can watch from her "cell", so maybe there's something there too.

[–] violet_yoshi 12 years ago

I interpreted the ending as Elana is walking towards your house where you are sitting now watching the film.

[–] justin40580 12 years ago

:)
I can dig it

From dream to dream....we have always been, like an ever flowing stream....

[–] SleuthoundSeburo 12 years ago

I just saw this on Netflix Friday night.
This movie impressed me because of the visuals and music. I truly wish I was able to see this movie in a theatre with a huge screen and awesome sound system.
At the very end, I thought that was an AWESOME touch with the house with the flickering tv. For me I just thought it was a symbol of the girl's end to a long journey home.
This movie is a true indie gem.
I'm glad it's available on Netflix for instant watch.

---

Do not expect any further statements.
The Sons of Batman do not make speeches.
We act.

[–] rtsfilms35 12 years ago

At the very end after the credits roll you see a close up of a sentionaut doll on a carpet with some backwards dialog going on in the background and the blinking light of a TV, the same TV you see in the end of the movie before the credits roll?....I think this is a sign that the entire movie was a dream....some kid staying up late watching scary/sci-fi flicks fell asleep and their mind went in to creative mode concocting the entire story.... very David Lynch....