Why is bird box about depression
Bird Box Theory: The Hidden Meaning Of The Netflix Horror Movie
few movies in the last little while have
made quite as big a splash as the
Netflix horror thriller bird box the
post-apocalyptic Sandra Bullock vehicle
blew up on social media
sparking memes and conversations galore
some fans absolutely swear that there's
a ton of meaning hidden in bird box that
are totally obvious if only we could
open our eyes and look proceed with
caution however because there are a ton
of spoilers ahead let's get started with
a bit of a refresher for anyone who
missed some details because they watch
the movie with one eye peeking through
their fingers screaming tell me when
it's over to their friends no of course
we're not talking about anyone in
particular so here's what we may or may
not have missed bird box follows Sandra
Bullock's Malory a woman on the verge of
reluctantly giving birth to her first
child who is unsure of her ability to
love it enough suddenly a terrifying
epidemic sweeps the earth but it's not
just any old epidemic this one is
actually an unseen evil that causes
whoever to look at it to lose all free
will and commit suicide
so Sandra's not having a great time off
the bat after the death of her sister
which is as tragic for us as it was for
her because Sarah Paulsen is a national
treasure
she takes shelter with a group of
survivors that include but are not
limited to a grumpy John Malkovich and
trivanti Rhodes who you should
absolutely remember from the third act
of moonlight over time and after lots
more tragedy and an extremely disturbing
next stabbing with scissors they learned
to adapt to their environment with the
use of blindfolds
sandy gives birth to her son and winds
up the guardian of another baby girl who
she and Trayvon raised together for five
years eventually it comes time to seek
shelter at a mysterious sanctuary at the
end of a long and perilous journey down
a river blindfolded remember
devastatingly sandy and little boy and
girl wind up having to go on without
trivanti
for reasons that we are not ashamed to
say had us full-on screaming at the TV
r.i.p Trayvon you were too good for this
world a thrilling race along the river
follows and finally sandy and the kids
find their way to the sanctuary which
turns out to be a beautiful and secluded
school for the blind they're able to
take off their blindfolds at last and
because she no longer fears for their
immediate death Sandra gives the
children names
all's well that ends well oh yeah there
was a whole thing about birds in a box
but that's beside the point if you've
even glanced at any social media since
the movie was released you know what a
huge sensation this movie caused and for
good reason beyond just enjoying the
ride fans have come up with some pretty
amazing theories about what the deeper
meaning of bird boxes and one theory
stands out more than the rest for better
or for worse people can't stop talking
about how the movie is actually an
allegory for mental illness and the way
that we treated and those who suffer
from it while some have said the movie
actually stigmatized as mental illness
and does more harm than good
others see it as a message about how
much we ignore it because unlike
physical illnesses it's much easier to
hide Malorie actually says it pretty
plainly after the death of her sister
alone in the kitchen after the shock is
worn off a little she says that she and
her sister were just driving before Jess
got a look on her face that she had
never seen before this is probably one
of the most insightful observations
about mental illness that the movie
could make often people who are
struggling internally projecting outside
image that to the rest of us seems
totally fine they hide their pain often
to protect their loved ones from it and
a lot of the time because of the way we
look down on it in society until very
recently and unfortunately even still
today mental illness was seen as a
weakness something that could be
controlled if only the person affected
could just get over it but in Byrd box
the illness is a literal monster that is
so powerful that it is impossible to
just get over which is a physical
representation of what mental illness is
actually like no one would tell you to
just stop worrying about that giant
Lovecraftian entity that's terrorizing
you and the rest of the planet and if
they did well we've seen how well that
turns out and then there are the ones
who were immune to it the escaped
patients of a mental hospital who
actually enjoy looking at the monster
and who are hell-bent on forcing others
to see it - these characters have fueled
the argument that bird box is actually
doing more harm than good in the
conversation about mental health these
people who the movie affectionately
labeled the psychos from Northwood they
are those who are already afflicted and
because of this become extremely
dangerous and go around murdering
everyone by forcing them to look so it's
understandable
why that might make some movie goers
skeptical about the message that bird
box is trying to send on the surface it
seems like they're making the statement
that mental illness makes people
deranged and unhinged who want to
inflict their torment on everyone around
them or is the unwelcome British
houseguest put it but what if we look at
it in a slightly different way just for
a moment some fans have come to the
defense of the movie saying that while
it's easy to interpret it the negative
way there might be more below the
surface
these mentally ill survivors are
unaffected by the power of the monster
because every day they live with the
horrors that are the worst fears of
others they are desperate for the
so-called normal people to see the
monster because they need them to
understand what it is that they're
forced to experience all the time and
yes they absolutely go about it in the
wrong way and it is extremely violent
and scary but this is a horror movie
after all and that's what horror movies
do best show us uncomfortable truths
about one thing or another and then blow
those truths totally out of proportion
until they're almost unrecognizable and
all we're left with is a feeling that we
can't quite describe another popular
theory surrounding Byrd box is a little
bit more direct and a lot more on the
nose some have said the real message in
the movie is about the fear of first
becoming a parent and then the weight of
the responsibility that comes once you
bring that baby home from the hospital
and are now the caretaker of a totally
dependent human life which is admittedly
terrifying it's easy to see how fans
have been drawing this conclusion about
Burt box as Malory expresses these fears
from the first moment we meet her and
she doesn't stop until the last frame of
the movie she's having a baby and boy is
she not looking forward to it she
refuses to say out loud that she is in
fact pregnant even while she's having an
ultrasound at her doctor's office if you
watch the scene again you'll also notice
that she doesn't even glance towards the
ultrasound machine to see what her baby
looks like and along with not wanting to
know the gender it's clear that Mallory
is terrified and beyond resistant about
the entire thing once we know that she
winds up the sole guardian of both a
little boy and girl the allegory about
parenting fears becomes even more
obvious starting with the fact that she
didn't even give them names but only
calls them boy
girl Mallory does this because the world
she lives in is so dangerous that they
could die at any moment and naming them
would make it so much harder to lose
them she won't even let Trayvon take a a
Tom tell the kids a story about climbing
a tree because she doesn't want to give
them hope for the future even the
blindfolds themselves can be seen as a
metaphor about the fears of being a
parent today and how tempting it can be
to be overprotective and try and shield
your children from everything just like
the monsters that they can't see in the
movie there is so much danger that can't
be predicted in this world and the idea
of blindfolding your children so they
don't have to see it as reflected in
bird box only much more literally
Mallory is the ultimate overprotective
parent because she has to be she is what
you might call a tiger mom who is
intensely strict harsh and borderline
cold towards her children all in the
name of protecting them while she is
definitely in the right to be so
aggressive about protecting them from
the monsters she is also preventing them
from experiencing any of the good things
about the world around them some believe
that the movie is making a huge
statement about that type of parenting
which is everywhere today and that
statement is that while yes it is so
important to protect your kids from harm
at some point they lose the ability to
actually learn for themselves and they
end up missing out on a whole lot of
good stuff as well in the scene after
the big fight with Tom when the family
is scavenging in a nearby house and come
across an old box of pop-tarts as an
example of how letting that guard down
for a second might actually be a good
thing for your kids rather than
deliberately not giving them the
pop-tarts so they don't develop false
hope about more sweet things in their
future they all have this amazing moment
together where they forget the terrible
world they live in and just enjoy some
strawberry treats together of course it
ends in total tragedy because again
horror movie and while some might see
this as a confirmation that it's better
to be overprotective and never let your
guard down when it comes to your
children authors believe it shouldn't be
taken that way at all yes losing tom was
so beyond tragic that Malorie almost
couldn't go on alone but loss is as much
a part of life as well life is as unfair
as that seems there is literally no way
to stop it from happening and so you
carry on later as the trio get to the
most treacherous part of the river when
Mallory
she has no choice but to sacrifice one
of the children to look where they're
going as she steers the boat
it seems pretty likely that she's going
to pick girl rather than her biological
son but in the last moment she decides
against it it's at this moment that she
lets go of the idea that she can shield
them from everything by always making
the logical calculated decision rather
than sacrificing the girl who isn't
actually her blood she takes a leap
later in the forest after having been
separated from girl by the monster boy
says that the reason girl won't come to
her is because she's scared of Mallory
it's only when she breaks down and
apologizes to girl for being so hard on
her and tells her the end of Tom's story
that girl finds her way back to Mallory
just like with parenting even in a world
not dominated by giant unseen monsters
sometimes the only way to bring your
children back to you is to trust them
enough to do it themselves finally by
the time that Mallory and the kids make
it to the sanctuary she's able to give
them names let them go and play and
trust that they will be okay of course
it's because they're now hidden from the
mind eating demons or whatever they are
but still for the metaphor it totally
works of course like any movie there can
be more than one hidden meaning and for
bird box there are many but these two
seem to fit more than others so what did
you think of these theories do you
believe them at all or think everyone is
putting just a little too much thought
into all this do you have another bird
box theory that we should know about let
us know in the comments and we hope you
enjoyed the ride
[Music]
![Bird Box: Ending Explained & What The Monsters Represent [Netflix Spoiler Talk Review]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/T7d-EHi6x1w/mqdefault.jpg)
![Bird Box: Ending Explained & What The Monsters Represent [Spoiler Talk Review]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/afPKLGh8y7w/mqdefault.jpg)
