The film Netflix film Bird Box (2018) has kept the deadly, mysterious beings, which lead to the apocalyptic condition of the world, invisible and cryptic. Are they aliens, ghosts or gods? One plausible hypothesis refers to the Cthulhu Mythos, the fictitious shared words of indescribable of cosmic deities and monstrous beings.
What are the features of the mysterious beings in Bird Box?
- Although they are invisible to the audience, they can cast shadows on windows and appear to be seen by the characters, and move the trees when they pass by.
- These beings create the hallucination of ?someone is calling my name? which tempts the people to open their eyes or commit suicide.
- Most who saw these beings would kill themselves. Some people seem to be immune to the suicidal force, and they would force other people to see those beings, claiming they cannot be the only ones to ?see the truth?.
- No one describes how they look like. But in one scene their appearances are hinted in some gothic drawings:
What is Cthulhu?
Cthulhu is originally one of those mysterious characters created by H. P. Lovecraft in his novels. Later August Derleth, novelist and disciple of Lovecraft, coined the term ?Cthulhu Mythos? and created a more systematic worldview.
There are numerous deities and monsters created by Lovecraft and Derleth. The most common feature of those horrible beings is an assemblage of tentacles, many tentacles. Some also remind me of the brain nerve cells with many dendrites.
Some characters have limbs and trunks, some with wings, many are in irregular shapes, with dreadful eyes. I suggest people who suffer from trypophobia should also avoid the images of Cthulhu characters. But if you love cuttlefish ink spaghetti with octopus, Cthulhu is your cup of tea.
Some of the deities in Cthulhu Mythos:Cthugha: a great fireballNyogtha: amorphous dark matter with tentaclesAzathoth/Xada-Hgla: enormous amoeba with many polypous appendages and eyesNyarlathotep: a tall, dark faceless man sometimes with a tentacle on his face
The layout of Cthulhu drafted by Lovecraft (Wikipedia0
What is in common between Bird Box and Cthulhu Mythos?
- Both keep the mysterious beings beyond the reach of human understanding. The “truth” of the cosmos is horror itself. Most people who see these beings are driven to death or madness, thus cannot report what these beings actually are.
- These beings are the source of destructive temptation to human. People in Cthulhu Mythos often worship those beings and form cults. The closer to the ?truth? about these beings, the closer to death or madness of those people.
- The appearances of those beings in Bird Box resemble those in Cthulhu Mythos, such as tentacles/dendrites, dreadful eyes, and irregular shapes:
This is just a hypothesis. The filmmaker of Bird Box intentionally leaves it open, keeps the secret of the mysterious beings obscure, and invites the viewers to interpret.
What is your hypothesis?
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