Over winter break, I could not scroll through any social media app without seeing a post or meme about the new Netflix film “Bird Box”, and I’m pretty sure you probably couldn’t either. I mean the hype for this movie is EVERYWHERE. So, I decided to give it a shot and watch the movie to understand why everyone was raving about it.

Before I give my analysis on the movie, I think it would be a good idea to explain the plot of this post-apocalyptic film. Just a heads up, there will be SPOILERS, so if you haven’t seen this movie, read at your own risk. “Bird Box” centers around a pregnant woman, Malorie, who finds herself witnessing what seems to be the end of the world. This “end of the world” or “apocalytpic” phenomenon deals with creatures (well no one is exactly sure what they are) that have the ability to cause someone to commit suicide by looking at them. The only possible way to avoid these creatures or beings is to stay inside with no way to see out, or to cover your eyes with a blindfold. There is an exception for people who are “special”, but we will get into that later. However, not everyone is able to get inside before they are exposed to these creatures, which causes mass suicides and wipes out a majority of the human race. Fortunately, Malorie is able to safely get into a house, after losing her sister to suicide, and she begins to live with the people in that house. As the film continues, everyone living in that house dies, except Malorie. She has no other choice but to take her child, which she gave birth to while living in the house, and the child of one of the other women who died, along a river to what they know as a safe place. (I know this was quite possibly the shortest summary ever, but just watch the movie).

Now what does all of this mean? I’m getting there. There are several conspiracies and explanations that have been put out over the past couple of weeks to explain what this “creature” is and why it affects some and not others. Remember when I said you had to be “special”, I’ll get into that now. During the film, there are a couple instances in which the characters living inside the house encounter someone from the outside who does not need a blindfold and can look at the creature without being forced to commit suicide. This makes no sense to the audience though because we all thought that the creature could take hold of everyone, so why are some people left out of this mass killing? Let’s think about if the film revolved around depression. Notice when everyone looks at the creature, they become extremely sad and it causes their eyes change. They are exposed to their deepest and darkest fears, the worst of the worst, something that would cause them to commit suicide. However, several people have already gone through their worst of their worst. They’ve already struggled with extreme depression. These are the people who can look at the creature without being affected because they know how to handle it, they’ve done it before. They almost seem delighted and fascinated by the creature and encourage others to look because it causes people, who have not dealt with depression, to see how they are feeling. It gives the “special” people a feeling of not being an outcast anymore. What could possibly confirm this theory though? Well we are told the backgrounds of some of the “special” people and in every case, they have had mental trauma, a mental issue, or extreme depression. Everyone else? They haven’t, as far as we know, or atleast nothing bad enough that could make them already face their worst fear or situation.

Now I am not saying that this theory could explain the entire film, but this theory is one that makes the most sense to me. The creature casts a dark shadow and makes people feel the need to commit suicide, what else could it represent? But like anything, it’s all up to your own interpretation. So go back and watch the movie, but really pay attention. What do you think it means?