The ending of this movie is so bleak and cruel. It's a special kind of horror that many experience towards the later of years of their life. When you look back and regret the path you chose, all the opportunities you turned down, and even the person you've become. You can never take back all those decades of denying your true self.
I'd say yes that is the horror of the ending sequence with the older Owen. But I think there is some kernel of hope. Shown in the chalk shot saying "There is Still Time" No matter how old you get or opportunities you've missed there is still time to be your true self.
Even though Owen is appologizing in the end, we don't know what he is going to do next. He could be finally taking action. Remember, he is in a psychic trap that can prevent him from escaping. So one could say he was apologizing as a cover to show that he's good with the status quo.
You’re right: you don’t get that time back, but having started my transition at 46, I’d rather move forward as myself, than know who I am, but not transition, because I can’t time travel. If there is anything bleak about the ending it’s Owen apologizing to everyone for figuring out who he is, because it could be seen as a rejection of their true self, because of fear of the public might think.
after watching this movie for a second time, the ending felt different for me. originally, i was so devastated by the bleakness. all of this suffering, just to feel like no progress has been made. but that’s not true, is it? because before the ending scene walking through the funplex, isabel (owen) finally physically opens herself up to see what’s inside, a thing she’s been afraid of doing for the entire film. and most of all, there WAS something there, and it was something beautiful!! this is the first step in recognizing the self and living authentically. although her journey is on a different timeline than tara’s, that doesn’t mean she’s trapped. the movie itself shows the message in chalk on the concrete: “there is still time”. despite the loss of years, we still have the opportunity to embrace our identities. i left after my second viewing experience feeling confident that the ending has an optimism to it.
But they apologize. And this is what fucking broke me. They see all that beauty in themself, they even realize they're happy it's still there, and then they apologize about being themself.
@@radiofloyd2359 Do you remember when Maddy was talking to Owen about dying and becoming Tara? When describing her breaking point, Maddy said that "at first I was screaming, and then I apologized to everyone around me". This was her experience shortly before dying and getting out/self actualizing. Owen follows that same pattern at the end of the movie. Based on that (along with the chalk message) I actually thought the ending was extremely hopeful, like this was Owen's first step at breaking out of the Midnight Realm.
This is absolutely the correct interpretation and I have 100% certainty in that because perhaps the most influential story over the narrative of the film is a novel called Nevada which has many of the same themes and an incredibly similar ending. Anyone I know who has read Nevada has the same interpretation of the ending. Jane Schoenbrun was even set to direct an adaptation of Nevada at some point. I don't think I can overstate how much of Nevada's DNA is in ISTTVG. It is the film's skeleton key to understanding the narrative.
This is exactly what I thought. I left thinking that, Owen was on the path to find their true self. They weren't there and when he was apologizing I didn't get the sense they were apologizing for being themselves but just for causing a scene at work. But as they are leaving I felt they had some sliver of hope. Which I didn't feel they had in the beginning of the scene.
I just saw this movie and broke down in tears so many times. The imagery of being buried alive really got me, because that’s how I treated my real self. I shoved her into a box and buried her deep in my mind. So deep, I nearly forgot about her. Also Owen’s line about it being “time to become a man” broke me too. I also said that to myself. In my late 20s I rejected everything I actually was in a clumsy attempt to live “correctly”. Such a great film. I will own this.
I may have only see others views of it - the movie itself reminds me in order for me to be my queer self had to take down the old self who pleased others too much. Bittersweet but relieving
The movie was insane. It was as Owen was trapped in the screen. He made the wrong choice and I would’ve loved to see him break out the simulation/realm. The Screaming for help at the end was sad. Just to be in an infinite loop. Casted into the moonlight realm forever. Until she chooses to bury himself with maddy. Moonlight man is definitely a top tier villain.
I came out as gay at 23 years old. My first gay experience ever was just one year earlier. I grew up my whole life watching everyone around me experience the romantic/s*xual experiences that people have at those ages. All I could do was watch from the outside. It felt like when you were a kid watching a tv show where all the characters have superpowers, and you start to fantasize about what it’d be like for you to have that experience and be in that world, accepting that could only be possible inside your fantasy. It’s very painful when the thing you’re not letting out is who you are. For relief, I’d start to watch little movies in my head where I’d see *me* getting to experience those things. I’m so happy that I can now. 6 years later, and it’s still a liberation unlike any other I’ve known. Such a good film
@@DRMZBeatz I’m humbled to know you found my story interesting, although my story is really just a literal way of telling the similar experience of repression and escapism that this film portrays for most “other” kids in the late 90s and early 2000s. It sounds like you may enjoy more literal methods of storytelling rather than symbolic, which is totally fine, but if you watch this film from a symbolic perspective, you may find it more enjoyable! Cheers
We live in a free country where you can find your tribe. There will always be social barriers to certain behaviors but it’s not that big of a deal here in America anymore and I wish people would stop acting like it is. All the progressive noise and the resulting push back is just manufactured division. Don’t by the bull.
@@ultradevon04 …did you even read? I’m 29. My comment is talking about growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. Even if I were talking about now, who are you to say that it’s not a problem anymore? Besides the regular homophobic comment I see/get on the internet, even in the real world just two years ago, I got called f*ggot by a stranger on the street, and that was in Los Angeles of all places. It is still happening, and it’s really ugly of you that “happening less” is enough justification for you to stop caring (if you ever even started) and start actively shut down conversation around it. It’s always right wingers with such brain dead things to say about people they do not interact with. Why?! Call your mom, feed your kid, check in on your friend. Do anything other than this
@@ultradevon04Yea we get America is a great place to live for minorities and is also generally privileged, but that saying that it’s not that big of a deal anymore is ridiculous because it’s playing down the experiences real people feel. Just because things have gotten better over time doesn’t mean that pain, trauma, or frustration isn’t still experienced by queer people like myself and general marginalized groups.
I think this movie is connecting so well with so many people because at its core it’s telling you to embrace your inner self. Whether gay or trans or straight or autistic or just the awkward person in life we all hide something. Sometimes we go through the motions and try to live as we deem “acceptable” by society. We do so much to remain hidden in plain sight when we should live in a manner that brings us peace and happiness.
Oh, man. I missed all of this. I was sure this was about living as neurodivergents, which is always a nightmare but would’ve been even more of one in the 90s. The emphasis on their inability to make eye contact and the strict bedtime for Owen made me think that.
It’s definitely both! Trans women have an incredibly high overlap with autistic people so it’s very reasonable to assume that that’s an intentional choice!
I am seeing a ton of autistic people connect to the film and that's totally valid. The experiences of autistic people and trans people are quite similar.
So pretty much he actually was getting buried alive, and he needed to kill himself to get back to the real world. He was just too afraid, and wanted to hang on to comfort. His whole life passed and hes just going to die of suffocation, because he couldn’t break out of the trance.
The fact that this film is a trans allegory is the least surprising thing about it, and I think that speaks to the strength of its story. It is so honest and true to that idea, that everything else is made to serve that idea without disrupting the narrative. Its not a side piece, tacked on for some purpose. It is the point A that everything else flows from. I will be watching this film so many times, picking at it again and again.
The feeling the ending evoked in me more than anything was gratitude. I saw myself a lot in Isabel. She's a deeply closeted, autistic coded, transfem growing up in the 90s whose egg cracks later in life. That is me to a T. When my egg cracked at the age of 30 it was exciting and beautiful and terrifying all at once. The thought of upending my entire life was scary of course but I knew this was the piece that had always been missing. Maybe a week beforehand I had been crying and shouting up to the nights sky begging God to show me what I was supposed to do, begging for some kind of sign (eerily enough when I asked for a sign out of the corner of my eye I saw a falling star). So when my egg cracked I knew that I had to transition and that I had to start right away and I remember saying to myself in that moment "I've already wasted too much time". Over the next few weeks I had to repeat that statement to several selfish people in my life who kept insisting I should "take it slow". I knew they were telling themselves they were looking out for me but they were really trying to preserve the image THEY had of me, it was for their sake not mine. I pushed through and started my transition and for the first time in my life I felt alive. Now its been a few years, of course its not as exciting as it was in the beginning but I feel like a real person instead of a shell. So when I saw "Owen" have that egg crack moment and choose to continue repressing all I thought was "that so easily could have been me" and I felt grateful that it wasn't.
The ending is fantastic because it makes it clear that this whole movie is a tragedy, but its so hard to pinpoint what aspect is so tragic specifically. Is it the fact that Owen associated his honesty about his true sense of self/belonging so much with Mandy that her mental unravelling/inability to grow up poisoned it for him and left him feeling ashamed of that? Is it the fact the way things turned out is really neither of their faults, but rather the natural, tragic decisions of people in their circumstances? Is it even, possibly, the fact that Owen betrayed Maddy, not for not going through with the burial with her, but for not trying harder to convince her to get help? Or failed her even earlier than that by not going with her when she ran away from home? The reality is that, to an extent, all of these aspects are terrible, and made even worse that theyre all so realistic and relatable feelings for just about anyone, really.
I dont consider myself very queer despite being bi, but I love the discussions this movie inspired. I gotta say from a story point I really didnt like the ending, but thats because I liked the Owen so much by the end and I didnt wanna see my boi hurt so bad. Now that I'm aware of the intentions this movie had I feel more personally involved. I have three trans buddies of mine who shared similar existencial worries like what our buddy went through in this picture. Amazing work.
I feel like every trans person should watch this move. I "got out of the midnight realm" at 27, and the ending of of the movie was one of my worst fears. Aging into a decrepit body that wasn't mine. Mr melancholy's lines are almost a perfect description of gender dysphoria: years pass in seconds, you won't even remember your dying. Its the disassociation and depersonalization that comes with living a lie. In the end we csn only hope that Isobel will open up and free themselves. Theres still time...
I have an interpretation that might make this movie even scarier, it might piss people off but be open for the sake of interpreting horror fiction. Something i was juggling throughout the plot was if what we are being presented was real or not, which is the point, but as someone who spends a lot of time investigating my own individual confusions and personal limitations through research, I wonder if this confusion of reality and fantasy goes deeper than we see. Enter the idea of shared fantasy, and the idea that people, usually those with mental illness, can become engulfed with perceived evidence of persecutory narratives, aka delusions. I think one perspective one can leave with this movie is that the fantasy that is the tv show was the actual malignant force pulling Owen from reality, the Mr. Melancholy being Maddy rather than the father. To me, this spin is as scary as the face value interpretation because it truly is a state of utter dysphoria to not know who to trust, and this is a common reaction to people who experience narcissistic abuse or gaslighting, which in itself usually includes a dynamic of shared fantasy in which the victim is manipulated into doubting their reality. Just an idea I had while watching, whats the consensus? Im not a bigot, just love looking at fear from multiple angles.
Interesting reading, but I don't know if I love it specifically you describe it, mainly because I think it's more interesting and tragic to interpret it as follows: Owen is denying a part of himself (the most obvious, and I would almost say "canon", interpretation of that being that he's trans). The only time that he actually feels okay/seen is when he's watching the Pink Opaque and hanging out with Maddy, who is also using the show to cope her homosexuality and feelings of powerlessness in her life. When Maddy takes the escapism too far, Owen is forced to cut her off entirely, but by cutting out the toxic influences of Maddy/the Pink Opaque from his life, he also starts to deny the self-acceptance that he found in the show, resulting in him also denying himself the self-actualization he needs, all because he ended up inseparably associating a very healthy development in his life with a very bad influence, with the main source of tragedy being that he was never able to unmingle the two. Note: the above interpretation is very dumbed-down so as to communicate it quickly and ended up demonizing Maddy a lot more than I meant to, she's definitely going through shit too
@_cat_smith_ I think that is definitely closer to a canon take on the story, and I like that you point out the element of escapism, and how Maddy kinda instigated that dynamic but took it to the extreme to get to what she viewed as safety. I agree that this is tragic in the way it affects Owen, who wasn't ready for that and was clearly affected for the worst.
@@MilkyWayGrump I too interpreted it as Maddy struggling more than Owen. she was older, deeper in her journey. Tara fell victim first to Mr. Melancholy, a mirror for Maddy running away instead of staying in town. I believe guilt is partly what drew her back to Owen later in life. But the roles flip on that football field when she realizes she has to move forward now alone and you cannot free everyone, even your childhood closet buddy.
One of the best and thorough expliantions of the movie. Truly appreciated, this movie absolutely broke me. Yet happy I saw it as it meant so much to me. I had many explanations for it after I saw it, but Thank you for this video much appreciated
I really enjoyed the ending. I hope people who have trouble finding themselves watch it and know you should never be ashamed who you are. And never apologize. Owen waited to long to be who he wanted to be. All in all it was a really different film that we all need.
On the basic level I resonated with the theme of not acting on what you want to do and letting life go by. It was an okay movie I am just kind of bored with the neon glowy look of these types of films but I loved the acting and what the film stands for.
My Opinion: I felt like the movie had missed potential, like certain things were half baked, and the third act dragged a little with the ending being abrupt. Might rewatch it after it’s released to see if I missed something first viewing.
Can you guys help me and tell me what I missed. I really wanted to like this movie but I was just left very confused and the message didn’t resonate with me
Hard to do without knowing what you were and were not able to grasp/walk away with. What do you think the message WAS, that you're not resonating with?
It is the most flagrant trans allegory possible, pushed so far in the subtext that the text of the film itself becomes that Isabel is being slowly being suffocated to death by being forced to live as a man named Owen.
I wonder why I feel like I was watching Alice in wonderland I thought it was about the two od them teaming up to defeat the evil guy but it's about a boy identifying as trans? I'm so lost 😂
I really wanted him to be asexual though and I was getting that vibe a bit when Maddy asked him if he likes girls but I figured that's the route they were going for when he put on that dress in the flashback. Not a lot of asexual representation in films or at least the ones I've seen. That and the fact that the director is a transwoman. Didn't do much research before watching this film but that's on me.
Trangender can also be Asexual, they are not exclusive from each other. I genuinely got the vibe they had no interest in sex but to be who they truly are, an asexual woman. No allegory to sexually tension, but sexual acceptance, being Asexual and Transgender.
I took him to be asexual. If anything, he seemed autistic and not into sex at all. The trans stuff didn't seem to really fit. I think anyone who grew up as an outsider with a family that was indifferent can relate to Owen. I was expecting the family he spoke of to be schizophrenia kicking in because they are never shown.
Owen might be asexual. Queer people, specially in less progressive times still entered marriages because that was what was expected of "productive members of society".
@@A_UA-cam_Commenter Owen can be ace and autistic and trans! Heck, autism is fairly common among trans people, as are sexual minorities (most trans people are not straight).
I love this film so much the only part that kind of makes me wonder is the scene where he starts watching the streamed version of the Pink Opaque and it’s much different and cheesier than he remembered. I wonder if that’s the result of companies being able to gaslight viewers by manipulating and changing certain aspects of media, similar to the Mandela effect or was it’s truly just in his imagination all the time?
@xoliyah6553 I take a pretty narrativist view of things; part of what's going on is that when Owen watched The Pink Opaque with Maddy, he recognized it as HIS story, which is why he's so identified with Isabel. When he goes back to rewatch the streamed version, he's run away from Maddy and her claims about The Pink Opaque; what he sees is degraded to cheesy kid's programming because The Pink Opaque is no longer HIS story but the story he wrote himself out of.
The interpretation I like the most is that this cheesy version of the show represents a lot of people's tendencies to look back at their young attempts to be more genuine versions of themselves as cringe-worthy or stupid. Owen was so far away from an authentic life at that point that any authentic moments can only be thought of as silly and childish before being quickly tucked away because seeing them as anything else would be digging too deep
Your interpretation is entirely reasonable and is the most common one but it is wrong. I have complete certainty that it is wrong. I know you're wrong not because I caught an important detail you missed or because I'm trans and you're not or anything like that. You're wrong because you haven't read Nevada. Nevada is a 2013 book by Imogen Binnie that on the surface has little similarities to I Saw The TV Glow. Make no mistake however, Nevada is one of the primary influences on the narrative of the film. I walked out of the theater with 100% certainty that Jane Schoenbrun had read Nevada and not only did they read it but they were set to direct the film adaptation of it at a point in time. I can't really explain how Nevada makes it clear because there's just too much to say. So, so much of the DNA of the film's narrative comes from Nevada. Especially the ending, which are incredibly similar to the point I suspect it was a deliberate allusion. I'm trying not to spoil the book since the book itself is a queer literature classic but a lot of the book is about queer pain and the damage repression does to ourselves and the ending is so incredibly similar. And if you understand the ending of Nevada - which is a bittersweet ending just like ISTTVG - then you can see that Isabel will inevitably escape the midnight realm. Maybe not today. Or this week. But it will happen. And the apologizing is not demonstrating that Isabel is returning to her life but demonstrating the self-inflicted damage of repression. It's bittersweet because she's saving herself but has all of these self-inflicted scars on her psyche. Edit: Just to be clear, my take is that you're wrong about the ambiguity. To me (and anyone I know who has read Nevada) is that there is no ambiguity in the ending. It's crystal clear. Isabel will escape the Midnight Realm. It is inevitable.
This movie may have been a trans allegory. But it did a really great job at putting almost any person in the shoes of these characters. Any person can understand what it’s like to not live your authentic self and what that feels like. They did a really good job at showing how fearful it can be to live your authentic life so you make choices to bury who you are.
I loved everything about this movie, it had everyone talking and buzzing after it ended. Everyone under 20 years old in the theatre had no idea how to interpret the movie, but that didn’t surprise me. It just makes me sad for our gen-z future. I know the director said there was a lot of metaphors of going through life as “trans.” However I found that you didn’t have to be trans to relate to the main character Owen, or to interpret what is happening in the film. Being an outcast who feels alienated by society can result from many different issues. For those of you under 20 that left confused and said “I don’t get it,” well…I can’t help you.
Actually, a lot of GenZ people also go through experiences as they are in the prime of experimenting with their life choices. Sure the setting is more directed to 90s people but it doesn’t change what the main idea which including how everyone will have their own interpretation of it. Maybe talking with GenZ instead of talking down at them may help with the cycle of destructive decision making.
This anecdote surprises me because the experience of making inseparably close, and occasionally toxic, friendships with people purely by bonding over obscure media has always been a staple of Gen Z culture in my eyes (as someone who was born in '99, at the very beginning of that generation). I'll also assert that although the trans allegory is... hard to miss, to the point I'd almost say it's canon, it's hardly the main point the story is trying to make, which is admittedly harder to decipher, and even harder to swallow if you do pick up on it.
That's so interesting to me bc I've seen the opposite. Many younger queer kids are buzzing about this movie, while the older straights claim it's "boring" and "confusing". I think it's one of those movies that's destined to become a classic after years of being left aside, sadly
Idk, I didn't really see anything Trans related except when he had the dress on in the football field. I just took the movie how they made it. 2 people that got buried alive and mentally imprisoned in another life so they don't know that they're really dying. Then Owen has the choice to bury himself alive so he can live, or live and not bury himself alive. The "horror" theme is time passing to fast.
The girl he is supposed to be on the show looks just like him but a girl. And when he's a kid he's playing in gym classs with the others in a parachute that's pink, blue, and white. Those are the colors for the trans flag. His Dad teases the show he likes is a girl show.
Nothing to explain, this thing is straight garbage, so bad it's incredible how many people try to explain it. When you have that many people needing to explain it that means it's garbage.
I agree. We needed to be shown a sense of empowerment, maybe through Maddy, of what living a season six could look like for Owen. Without that, I don’t feel like there were any stakes for Owen to stay “buried”
I had so much hope for this movie and at a point I really thought it was about a couple of people on a different world fighting monsters who get defeated and are put in a different dimension and now stuck there with one of them trying to desperately Convince the other that’s what’s happening. But it’s just some bullshit about being trans.. 😭😮💨🤷♂️
If you research filmmakers before seeing a film, you’ll get a better understand as to who the target audience is. Jane’s first film was also a trans allegory. This isn’t bullshit. You just didn’t do your research and are complaining about watching a movie that you would have realized wouldn’t have resonated with you if looked into it more. You didn’t have “hope” for this movie. You had very specific expectations that you placed on it without knowing what it was
@@yadoog it’s been out for less than a week, maybe sit with your thoughts and feelings for a bit ya know? Or let everything that resonates with you allow yourself to form your own interpretations?
Bro thinks people dumping thousands off hours of labor, writing, filming, boarding, dialoguing, conversations, production just to have no message or thought? Dog, Rambo is about PTSD and veteran discarded, Scott Pilgrim is about accepting one's self before starting a serious relationship, Mad Max is about the indomitable human spirit in the realm of societal destruction and barren environment. Things are only "dumb" when they are meant to be, like Kong vs Godzilla 2, or She Hulk.
Im straight and I connected so much with this movie. The way is done let's you interpret things from a lot of angles and contexts that apply to many things in life. Love how weird the film is from the cinematography, the show under the show, the acting, storytelling, layers of details in the score, coloring, liminal spaces,etc everything mixes in very cool way to me. 🙂🔥🫡.
If this was horror than no wonder kids sre getting so fat today. This is where some tell me how i just wasnt bright enough to grasp the metaphors and symbolism within the movie and other such artsy bs. Such hype for this movie, and did not deliver in any aspect at all. I loved " Vivarium" as an example of a " horror" movie whose protaganist is undefined and/ or a representation of inner fears caused by self esteem issues with repressed sexualism or not coming to terms with mommy dying at such a vulnerable age. Anyway i cut it ,a huge pile o poop is all i can call this flick
The ending of this movie is so bleak and cruel. It's a special kind of horror that many experience towards the later of years of their life. When you look back and regret the path you chose, all the opportunities you turned down, and even the person you've become. You can never take back all those decades of denying your true self.
I'd say yes that is the horror of the ending sequence with the older Owen. But I think there is some kernel of hope. Shown in the chalk shot saying "There is Still Time"
No matter how old you get or opportunities you've missed there is still time to be your true self.
I couldn't stop thinking of my family - some who seem in that perpetual catatonic state. Can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. As we see.
Even though Owen is appologizing in the end, we don't know what he is going to do next. He could be finally taking action. Remember, he is in a psychic trap that can prevent him from escaping. So one could say he was apologizing as a cover to show that he's good with the status quo.
existential horror basically.
You’re right: you don’t get that time back, but having started my transition at 46, I’d rather move forward as myself, than know who I am, but not transition, because I can’t time travel.
If there is anything bleak about the ending it’s Owen apologizing to everyone for figuring out who he is, because it could be seen as a rejection of their true self, because of fear of the public might think.
after watching this movie for a second time, the ending felt different for me. originally, i was so devastated by the bleakness. all of this suffering, just to feel like no progress has been made. but that’s not true, is it? because before the ending scene walking through the funplex, isabel (owen) finally physically opens herself up to see what’s inside, a thing she’s been afraid of doing for the entire film. and most of all, there WAS something there, and it was something beautiful!! this is the first step in recognizing the self and living authentically. although her journey is on a different timeline than tara’s, that doesn’t mean she’s trapped. the movie itself shows the message in chalk on the concrete: “there is still time”. despite the loss of years, we still have the opportunity to embrace our identities. i left after my second viewing experience feeling confident that the ending has an optimism to it.
But they apologize. And this is what fucking broke me. They see all that beauty in themself, they even realize they're happy it's still there, and then they apologize about being themself.
@@radiofloyd2359 Do you remember when Maddy was talking to Owen about dying and becoming Tara? When describing her breaking point, Maddy said that "at first I was screaming, and then I apologized to everyone around me". This was her experience shortly before dying and getting out/self actualizing. Owen follows that same pattern at the end of the movie. Based on that (along with the chalk message) I actually thought the ending was extremely hopeful, like this was Owen's first step at breaking out of the Midnight Realm.
@@virtue7591 That might be nice, then.
This is absolutely the correct interpretation and I have 100% certainty in that because perhaps the most influential story over the narrative of the film is a novel called Nevada which has many of the same themes and an incredibly similar ending. Anyone I know who has read Nevada has the same interpretation of the ending. Jane Schoenbrun was even set to direct an adaptation of Nevada at some point. I don't think I can overstate how much of Nevada's DNA is in ISTTVG. It is the film's skeleton key to understanding the narrative.
This is exactly what I thought. I left thinking that, Owen was on the path to find their true self. They weren't there and when he was apologizing I didn't get the sense they were apologizing for being themselves but just for causing a scene at work. But as they are leaving I felt they had some sliver of hope. Which I didn't feel they had in the beginning of the scene.
I just saw this movie and broke down in tears so many times.
The imagery of being buried alive really got me, because that’s how I treated my real self. I shoved her into a box and buried her deep in my mind. So deep, I nearly forgot about her.
Also Owen’s line about it being “time to become a man” broke me too. I also said that to myself. In my late 20s I rejected everything I actually was in a clumsy attempt to live “correctly”.
Such a great film. I will own this.
This movie…..spoke directly to me. Like this is the movie I needed at this point in my life.
SAAAAAAME
I may have only see others views of it - the movie itself reminds me in order for me to be my queer self had to take down the old self who pleased others too much. Bittersweet but relieving
The movie was insane. It was as Owen was trapped in the screen. He made the wrong choice and I would’ve loved to see him break out the simulation/realm. The Screaming for help at the end was sad. Just to be in an infinite loop. Casted into the moonlight realm forever. Until she chooses to bury himself with maddy.
Moonlight man is definitely a top tier villain.
*melancholy man* hehe
I came out as gay at 23 years old. My first gay experience ever was just one year earlier. I grew up my whole life watching everyone around me experience the romantic/s*xual experiences that people have at those ages. All I could do was watch from the outside. It felt like when you were a kid watching a tv show where all the characters have superpowers, and you start to fantasize about what it’d be like for you to have that experience and be in that world, accepting that could only be possible inside your fantasy. It’s very painful when the thing you’re not letting out is who you are.
For relief, I’d start to watch little movies in my head where I’d see *me* getting to experience those things. I’m so happy that I can now. 6 years later, and it’s still a liberation unlike any other I’ve known. Such a good film
Your story is more interesting this this movie and the characters in it
@@DRMZBeatz I’m humbled to know you found my story interesting, although my story is really just a literal way of telling the similar experience of repression and escapism that this film portrays for most “other” kids in the late 90s and early 2000s. It sounds like you may enjoy more literal methods of storytelling rather than symbolic, which is totally fine, but if you watch this film from a symbolic perspective, you may find it more enjoyable! Cheers
We live in a free country where you can find your tribe. There will always be social barriers to certain behaviors but it’s not that big of a deal here in America anymore and I wish people would stop acting like it is. All the progressive noise and the resulting push back is just manufactured division. Don’t by the bull.
@@ultradevon04 …did you even read? I’m 29. My comment is talking about growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. Even if I were talking about now, who are you to say that it’s not a problem anymore? Besides the regular homophobic comment I see/get on the internet, even in the real world just two years ago, I got called f*ggot by a stranger on the street, and that was in Los Angeles of all places.
It is still happening, and it’s really ugly of you that “happening less” is enough justification for you to stop caring (if you ever even started) and start actively shut down conversation around it. It’s always right wingers with such brain dead things to say about people they do not interact with. Why?! Call your mom, feed your kid, check in on your friend. Do anything other than this
@@ultradevon04Yea we get America is a great place to live for minorities and is also generally privileged, but that saying that it’s not that big of a deal anymore is ridiculous because it’s playing down the experiences real people feel. Just because things have gotten better over time doesn’t mean that pain, trauma, or frustration isn’t still experienced by queer people like myself and general marginalized groups.
the realization moment of queerness is deeply personal and hits unbelievably hard. something as guttural as that somehow makes a lot of sense
I think this movie is connecting so well with so many people because at its core it’s telling you to embrace your inner self. Whether gay or trans or straight or autistic or just the awkward person in life we all hide something. Sometimes we go through the motions and try to live as we deem “acceptable” by society. We do so much to remain hidden in plain sight when we should live in a manner that brings us peace and happiness.
As a person with Aspergers I agree with this notion. It's hard to be open with others about my true self. Always the societal pressure to mask
Oh, man. I missed all of this. I was sure this was about living as neurodivergents, which is always a nightmare but would’ve been even more of one in the 90s. The emphasis on their inability to make eye contact and the strict bedtime for Owen made me think that.
Definitely can be about that as well. I caught onto a lot of that, both are valid!
I also caught on to the neurodivergent themes. I think it's both, this movie has so much to say.
It’s definitely both! Trans women have an incredibly high overlap with autistic people so it’s very reasonable to assume that that’s an intentional choice!
i defiantly caught on to this. i feel the overlap of neurodivergent people and the trans community is apparent in this film.
I am seeing a ton of autistic people connect to the film and that's totally valid. The experiences of autistic people and trans people are quite similar.
I was confused by the ending, though it was a movie I wanted to talk about it for hours after viewing.
So pretty much he actually was getting buried alive, and he needed to kill himself to get back to the real world. He was just too afraid, and wanted to hang on to comfort. His whole life passed and hes just going to die of suffocation, because he couldn’t break out of the trance.
Nope
@@lydiamoon3747yes he was casted into the moonlight realm ever since season six was cancelled.
Owen is Isabel.
But as the chalk still says “there is still time!!”
it’s a metaphor hehe
Yup and maddie warned him about this, “The more you run from this the closer you are to suffocating”
The fact that this film is a trans allegory is the least surprising thing about it, and I think that speaks to the strength of its story. It is so honest and true to that idea, that everything else is made to serve that idea without disrupting the narrative. Its not a side piece, tacked on for some purpose. It is the point A that everything else flows from. I will be watching this film so many times, picking at it again and again.
I haven’t seen one reviewer talk about this
@@lydiamoon3747Emily St. James has, and it's at least in part because published reviews before her didn't
The message of the movie didn't hit close to home for me personally, but it was still very good in my opinion.
Yea same
Yea I can’t relate to any themes or emotions they are tying to represent. Still enjoyed it tho
@@chandlerflanagan7625probably because ur a straight man
The feeling the ending evoked in me more than anything was gratitude. I saw myself a lot in Isabel. She's a deeply closeted, autistic coded, transfem growing up in the 90s whose egg cracks later in life. That is me to a T. When my egg cracked at the age of 30 it was exciting and beautiful and terrifying all at once. The thought of upending my entire life was scary of course but I knew this was the piece that had always been missing. Maybe a week beforehand I had been crying and shouting up to the nights sky begging God to show me what I was supposed to do, begging for some kind of sign (eerily enough when I asked for a sign out of the corner of my eye I saw a falling star). So when my egg cracked I knew that I had to transition and that I had to start right away and I remember saying to myself in that moment "I've already wasted too much time". Over the next few weeks I had to repeat that statement to several selfish people in my life who kept insisting I should "take it slow". I knew they were telling themselves they were looking out for me but they were really trying to preserve the image THEY had of me, it was for their sake not mine. I pushed through and started my transition and for the first time in my life I felt alive. Now its been a few years, of course its not as exciting as it was in the beginning but I feel like a real person instead of a shell. So when I saw "Owen" have that egg crack moment and choose to continue repressing all I thought was "that so easily could have been me" and I felt grateful that it wasn't.
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m so happy you found that missing piece to live your truth 💖
The ending is fantastic because it makes it clear that this whole movie is a tragedy, but its so hard to pinpoint what aspect is so tragic specifically.
Is it the fact that Owen associated his honesty about his true sense of self/belonging so much with Mandy that her mental unravelling/inability to grow up poisoned it for him and left him feeling ashamed of that?
Is it the fact the way things turned out is really neither of their faults, but rather the natural, tragic decisions of people in their circumstances?
Is it even, possibly, the fact that Owen betrayed Maddy, not for not going through with the burial with her, but for not trying harder to convince her to get help? Or failed her even earlier than that by not going with her when she ran away from home?
The reality is that, to an extent, all of these aspects are terrible, and made even worse that theyre all so realistic and relatable feelings for just about anyone, really.
He’s in the closet
I dont consider myself very queer despite being bi, but I love the discussions this movie inspired. I gotta say from a story point I really didnt like the ending, but thats because I liked the Owen so much by the end and I didnt wanna see my boi hurt so bad. Now that I'm aware of the intentions this movie had I feel more personally involved. I have three trans buddies of mine who shared similar existencial worries like what our buddy went through in this picture.
Amazing work.
I feel like every trans person should watch this move. I "got out of the midnight realm" at 27, and the ending of of the movie was one of my worst fears. Aging into a decrepit body that wasn't mine. Mr melancholy's lines are almost a perfect description of gender dysphoria: years pass in seconds, you won't even remember your dying. Its the disassociation and depersonalization that comes with living a lie. In the end we csn only hope that Isobel will open up and free themselves. Theres still time...
I have an interpretation that might make this movie even scarier, it might piss people off but be open for the sake of interpreting horror fiction. Something i was juggling throughout the plot was if what we are being presented was real or not, which is the point, but as someone who spends a lot of time investigating my own individual confusions and personal limitations through research, I wonder if this confusion of reality and fantasy goes deeper than we see. Enter the idea of shared fantasy, and the idea that people, usually those with mental illness, can become engulfed with perceived evidence of persecutory narratives, aka delusions. I think one perspective one can leave with this movie is that the fantasy that is the tv show was the actual malignant force pulling Owen from reality, the Mr. Melancholy being Maddy rather than the father. To me, this spin is as scary as the face value interpretation because it truly is a state of utter dysphoria to not know who to trust, and this is a common reaction to people who experience narcissistic abuse or gaslighting, which in itself usually includes a dynamic of shared fantasy in which the victim is manipulated into doubting their reality. Just an idea I had while watching, whats the consensus? Im not a bigot, just love looking at fear from multiple angles.
Interesting reading, but I don't know if I love it specifically you describe it, mainly because I think it's more interesting and tragic to interpret it as follows:
Owen is denying a part of himself (the most obvious, and I would almost say "canon", interpretation of that being that he's trans). The only time that he actually feels okay/seen is when he's watching the Pink Opaque and hanging out with Maddy, who is also using the show to cope her homosexuality and feelings of powerlessness in her life. When Maddy takes the escapism too far, Owen is forced to cut her off entirely, but by cutting out the toxic influences of Maddy/the Pink Opaque from his life, he also starts to deny the self-acceptance that he found in the show, resulting in him also denying himself the self-actualization he needs, all because he ended up inseparably associating a very healthy development in his life with a very bad influence, with the main source of tragedy being that he was never able to unmingle the two.
Note: the above interpretation is very dumbed-down so as to communicate it quickly and ended up demonizing Maddy a lot more than I meant to, she's definitely going through shit too
@_cat_smith_ I think that is definitely closer to a canon take on the story, and I like that you point out the element of escapism, and how Maddy kinda instigated that dynamic but took it to the extreme to get to what she viewed as safety. I agree that this is tragic in the way it affects Owen, who wasn't ready for that and was clearly affected for the worst.
@@MilkyWayGrump I too interpreted it as Maddy struggling more than Owen. she was older, deeper in her journey. Tara fell victim first to Mr. Melancholy, a mirror for Maddy running away instead of staying in town. I believe guilt is partly what drew her back to Owen later in life. But the roles flip on that football field when she realizes she has to move forward now alone and you cannot free everyone, even your childhood closet buddy.
that ending was so sad
One of the best and thorough expliantions of the movie. Truly appreciated, this movie absolutely broke me. Yet happy I saw it as it meant so much to me. I had many explanations for it after I saw it, but Thank you for this video much appreciated
Loved it. The whole theater was silent. Definitely a physical copy purchase
I agree can't wait to own it!
Silent isn’t always good.
"The Pink Opaque" is an album by The Cocteau Twins. Directors LOVE that band!!!
I really enjoyed the ending. I hope people who have trouble finding themselves watch it and know you should never be ashamed who you are. And never apologize. Owen waited to long to be who he wanted to be. All in all it was a really different film that we all need.
Visually incredible movie with a beautiful meaning
Very unique and new approach to horror and the mystery of 'life' through a supernatural approach. Original and awesome, actually!
I loved this movie
On the basic level I resonated with the theme of not acting on what you want to do and letting life go by. It was an okay movie I am just kind of bored with the neon glowy look of these types of films but I loved the acting and what the film stands for.
Mind blown!
same!
this movie broke me
real
My Opinion: I felt like the movie had missed potential, like certain things were half baked, and the third act dragged a little with the ending being abrupt. Might rewatch it after it’s released to see if I missed something first viewing.
Incredible film
It sucked
@@derek6350 k
@@derek6350 Then why are you here? Go watch a better movie or something.
@@derek6350we don’t listen to someone. Named Derek stfu
this movie feels like a smashing pumpkins videoclip, a lot of references on it. Even the cover version of one of their songs is on it.
I noticed too. Tried to like the movie. Didn’t connect whatsoever but liked the music. 🎶
Simply wasn’t creepy enough and too obscure.
Finally someone in these reviews said it's a trans allegory!
Can you guys help me and tell me what I missed. I really wanted to like this movie but I was just left very confused and the message didn’t resonate with me
Hard to do without knowing what you were and were not able to grasp/walk away with. What do you think the message WAS, that you're not resonating with?
Basically real life sucking and two friends escaping by watching a show. There's more but that part is obvious.
It is the most flagrant trans allegory possible, pushed so far in the subtext that the text of the film itself becomes that Isabel is being slowly being suffocated to death by being forced to live as a man named Owen.
I wonder why I feel like I was watching Alice in wonderland I thought it was about the two od them teaming up to defeat the evil guy but it's about a boy identifying as trans? I'm so lost 😂
I really wanted him to be asexual though and I was getting that vibe a bit when Maddy asked him if he likes girls but I figured that's the route they were going for when he put on that dress in the flashback. Not a lot of asexual representation in films or at least the ones I've seen. That and the fact that the director is a transwoman. Didn't do much research before watching this film but that's on me.
Trangender can also be Asexual, they are not exclusive from each other. I genuinely got the vibe they had no interest in sex but to be who they truly are, an asexual woman. No allegory to sexually tension, but sexual acceptance, being Asexual and Transgender.
I took him to be asexual. If anything, he seemed autistic and not into sex at all. The trans stuff didn't seem to really fit. I think anyone who grew up as an outsider with a family that was indifferent can relate to Owen. I was expecting the family he spoke of to be schizophrenia kicking in because they are never shown.
Owen might be asexual. Queer people, specially in less progressive times still entered marriages because that was what was expected of "productive members of society".
this is not about u! hope this helps
@@A_UA-cam_Commenter Owen can be ace and autistic and trans!
Heck, autism is fairly common among trans people, as are sexual minorities (most trans people are not straight).
I love this film so much the only part that kind of makes me wonder is the scene where he starts watching the streamed version of the Pink Opaque and it’s much different and cheesier than he remembered. I wonder if that’s the result of companies being able to gaslight viewers by manipulating and changing certain aspects of media, similar to the Mandela effect or was it’s truly just in his imagination all the time?
What struck me about the streamed version of The Pink Opaque was that the cast shown on screen was entirely white: Isabel *wasn't there*.
@@meshuggahshirt Right! That part still confuses me
@xoliyah6553 I take a pretty narrativist view of things; part of what's going on is that when Owen watched The Pink Opaque with Maddy, he recognized it as HIS story, which is why he's so identified with Isabel.
When he goes back to rewatch the streamed version, he's run away from Maddy and her claims about The Pink Opaque; what he sees is degraded to cheesy kid's programming because The Pink Opaque is no longer HIS story but the story he wrote himself out of.
The interpretation I like the most is that this cheesy version of the show represents a lot of people's tendencies to look back at their young attempts to be more genuine versions of themselves as cringe-worthy or stupid. Owen was so far away from an authentic life at that point that any authentic moments can only be thought of as silly and childish before being quickly tucked away because seeing them as anything else would be digging too deep
Your interpretation is entirely reasonable and is the most common one but it is wrong. I have complete certainty that it is wrong. I know you're wrong not because I caught an important detail you missed or because I'm trans and you're not or anything like that. You're wrong because you haven't read Nevada.
Nevada is a 2013 book by Imogen Binnie that on the surface has little similarities to I Saw The TV Glow. Make no mistake however, Nevada is one of the primary influences on the narrative of the film. I walked out of the theater with 100% certainty that Jane Schoenbrun had read Nevada and not only did they read it but they were set to direct the film adaptation of it at a point in time. I can't really explain how Nevada makes it clear because there's just too much to say. So, so much of the DNA of the film's narrative comes from Nevada. Especially the ending, which are incredibly similar to the point I suspect it was a deliberate allusion.
I'm trying not to spoil the book since the book itself is a queer literature classic but a lot of the book is about queer pain and the damage repression does to ourselves and the ending is so incredibly similar. And if you understand the ending of Nevada - which is a bittersweet ending just like ISTTVG - then you can see that Isabel will inevitably escape the midnight realm. Maybe not today. Or this week. But it will happen. And the apologizing is not demonstrating that Isabel is returning to her life but demonstrating the self-inflicted damage of repression. It's bittersweet because she's saving herself but has all of these self-inflicted scars on her psyche.
Edit: Just to be clear, my take is that you're wrong about the ambiguity. To me (and anyone I know who has read Nevada) is that there is no ambiguity in the ending. It's crystal clear. Isabel will escape the Midnight Realm. It is inevitable.
This movie may have been a trans allegory. But it did a really great job at putting almost any person in the shoes of these characters. Any person can understand what it’s like to not live your authentic self and what that feels like. They did a really good job at showing how fearful it can be to live your authentic life so you make choices to bury who you are.
I loved everything about this movie, it had everyone talking and buzzing after it ended. Everyone under 20 years old in the theatre had no idea how to interpret the movie, but that didn’t surprise me. It just makes me sad for our gen-z future. I know the director said there was a lot of metaphors of going through life as “trans.” However I found that you didn’t have to be trans to relate to the main character Owen, or to interpret what is happening in the film. Being an outcast who feels alienated by society can result from many different issues. For those of you under 20 that left confused and said “I don’t get it,” well…I can’t help you.
🤓☝️
Actually, a lot of GenZ people also go through experiences as they are in the prime of experimenting with their life choices.
Sure the setting is more directed to 90s people but it doesn’t change what the main idea which including how everyone will have their own interpretation of it.
Maybe talking with GenZ instead of talking down at them may help with the cycle of destructive decision making.
@@genn_210 I agree, no matter the generation, everyone is human. And we deal with the same emotions regardless of how the world changes.
This anecdote surprises me because the experience of making inseparably close, and occasionally toxic, friendships with people purely by bonding over obscure media has always been a staple of Gen Z culture in my eyes (as someone who was born in '99, at the very beginning of that generation).
I'll also assert that although the trans allegory is... hard to miss, to the point I'd almost say it's canon, it's hardly the main point the story is trying to make, which is admittedly harder to decipher, and even harder to swallow if you do pick up on it.
That's so interesting to me bc I've seen the opposite. Many younger queer kids are buzzing about this movie, while the older straights claim it's "boring" and "confusing". I think it's one of those movies that's destined to become a classic after years of being left aside, sadly
Buddy please invest in a good microphone 😭
His mic is fine? Maybe it’s ur fucked up phone please invest in a new phone
Idk, I didn't really see anything Trans related except when he had the dress on in the football field.
I just took the movie how they made it.
2 people that got buried alive and mentally imprisoned in another life so they don't know that they're really dying.
Then Owen has the choice to bury himself alive so he can live, or live and not bury himself alive.
The "horror" theme is time passing to fast.
The girl he is supposed to be on the show looks just like him but a girl. And when he's a kid he's playing in gym classs with the others in a parachute that's pink, blue, and white. Those are the colors for the trans flag. His Dad teases the show he likes is a girl show.
Somme n kak stuk man
The ending sucked I wanted to know if he’d bury his self but it seem like he chose to live in a world where he was dying and being controlled
One of the most disappointing movies I’ve ever watched bar the cinematography being beautiful
Nothing to explain, this thing is straight garbage, so bad it's incredible how many people try to explain it. When you have that many people needing to explain it that means it's garbage.
I didn’t really like it bc I felt that there was no reason to trust that she was supposed to burry themself
awful, pointless movie. maybe i'm just not defective enough to enjoy it.
The ending was pretty bad. Could have been an even better movie if it was more thought out.
I was fully thought out! it's not a linear story, the past is what gives meaning to the sad reality of the present ending.
I agree. We needed to be shown a sense of empowerment, maybe through Maddy, of what living a season six could look like for Owen. Without that, I don’t feel like there were any stakes for Owen to stay “buried”
@@connwonnOwen is literally decaying.
@@connwonnWe do see empowerment in the ending.
The movie sucked
I had so much hope for this movie and at a point I really thought it was about a couple of people on a different world fighting monsters who get defeated and are put in a different dimension and now stuck there with one of them trying to desperately Convince the other that’s what’s happening.
But it’s just some bullshit about being trans.. 😭😮💨🤷♂️
SAME
It's actually kind of both.
That’s kinda how I felt and I didn’t understand shit I was watching
If you research filmmakers before seeing a film, you’ll get a better understand as to who the target audience is. Jane’s first film was also a trans allegory. This isn’t bullshit. You just didn’t do your research and are complaining about watching a movie that you would have realized wouldn’t have resonated with you if looked into it more. You didn’t have “hope” for this movie. You had very specific expectations that you placed on it without knowing what it was
@@mikeleddyphoto I think your just offended because your gay 🤷♂️😂
GET A LIFE! LET THE FILM WASH OVER YOU! STOP TRYING TO CONTEXTUALIZE THE FILM IN WAYS YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND! NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO ANALYZED!
bro chill, some people enjoy analysing things
@@yadoog it’s been out for less than a week, maybe sit with your thoughts and feelings for a bit ya know? Or let everything that resonates with you allow yourself to form your own interpretations?
It’s a trans allegory
@@s.rodriguez8308 don’t worry know this, I watched the movie
Bro thinks people dumping thousands off hours of labor, writing, filming, boarding, dialoguing, conversations, production just to have no message or thought? Dog, Rambo is about PTSD and veteran discarded, Scott Pilgrim is about accepting one's self before starting a serious relationship, Mad Max is about the indomitable human spirit in the realm of societal destruction and barren environment. Things are only "dumb" when they are meant to be, like Kong vs Godzilla 2, or She Hulk.
Im straight and I connected so much with this movie. The way is done let's you interpret things from a lot of angles and contexts that apply to many things in life. Love how weird the film is from the cinematography, the show under the show, the acting, storytelling, layers of details in the score, coloring, liminal spaces,etc everything mixes in very cool way to me. 🙂🔥🫡.
The first ever CreepyPasta movie that genuinely freaks you out!
If this was horror than no wonder kids sre getting so fat today. This is where some tell me how i just wasnt bright enough to grasp the metaphors and symbolism within the movie and other such artsy bs. Such hype for this movie, and did not deliver in any aspect at all. I loved " Vivarium" as an example of a " horror" movie whose protaganist is undefined and/ or a representation of inner fears caused by self esteem issues with repressed sexualism or not coming to terms with mommy dying at such a vulnerable age. Anyway i cut it ,a huge pile o poop is all i can call this flick