A strange tale that I cannot help but liken to the current talk of a Metaverse. It’s dark and creepy, and I very much enjoyed watching it, but have given it more thought as a concept, and as an analogy.
A lure of everything you might need or want, into a trap, a web no less. But in an alternate world, almost like the one you know, but with changes, and glitches, and built from a place of greed and darkness. Although for children, it’s essentially the story of an alternate world, alongside the ordinary one but hidden until activated. With a murderous female type villain (not the usual for the evil villains) who lures and grooms children with sweets, and games and the pretence of love, trying to emotionally separate the child from their parents. Picking on neglected, lonely and imaginative ones, with a past history of killing them once bored of them. Like I said, creepy. But there is more.
And it’s a bit of a shocker to be honest, because there is also a voluntary process involved to be able to stay in the ‘perfect’ alternate world, a price. You must agree to a needle, for buttons to be sewn into your eyes, replacing the eyes you have, with their ‘button eyes’ so that you will no longer ‘see’. Interesting, and possibly just a case of me reading too much into things, but perhaps not.
A little moment as well of eating a ‘chocolate beetle’ while its squirming. Made me think of recent celebrities eating bugs, trying to convince you too as well. If you have seen the film, you may know what I mean if you remember that part. Once all the smiles are gone and the gloves are off, the real ‘other mother’ comes through. Being a snidey, greedy, selfish, ugly being who pretended to be what they needed to, to get what wanted. In this case, to convince a child that they should have buttons sewn into their eyes.
It’s a theme we are very familiar with overall though isn’t it, luring children with promises and their naivety being preyed upon by unsavoury and nefarious characters. Fairy tales, stories, films, media, history, reality. They all have those same characters, repeating and reoccurring. As if there is a demon just for children, like IT and other things that exist to tempt them and lead them astray or down a dark path (see my article Face of a clown, in story town).
I do not believe the world was ever normal, at least not in our lifetime and the few generations that preceded this time, but where it appears to be headed and is being carefully crafted and steered towards, is a whole new level of concerning, weird and creepy. A bizarre manufactured landscape of confusion and crisis, with some dark and sinister themes trying to take the lead. Many have likened these times to Biblical, and that we are in fight for the future of humanity, and you know what? It doesn’t half feel like that sometimes at the moment, but then I have to think, is that just how it is meant to seem? Which means you must be ready for whatever unfolds, be ready, for both the calm and the storm…
