I always took this episode as an allegory for the most basic question of or own existence,who (what?) are we, where did we come from, where are we going? The BIG universal mysteries that religion, phiosophy and imagination seek to answer.The identities are the roles we invent as we relate to each other seeking purpose in life though they do not ultimatley seem to bring us any closer to answering the ultimate questions.
Right, this is instantly what I thought and was the intent of the writers I think as it is based on Jean Paul-Sartre's "No Exit", a 1944 French existential play where 3 characters wake up in a mysterious room. To have an essay that ignores these deeper ontological and existential themes is to only skim the surface of this beautifully written and directed episode. That said, I do like the OP's interpretation of how without memory we have no ego and we need others to survive and have comfort in this cold lonely impermanent existence. My take FWIW: awaking in that place, the Major is just like every other human, in that no one has ever asked to be born, we just exist one day (Martin Hediegger in "Being and Time" calls this Throwness - as we are “thrown into the world at birth”). We now suddenly exist and may have a vague recollection of what our "true" selves/soul is, perhaps from a past life or from our genetic structure, but we are mostly a blank slate/tabula rasa. Hence the existential questions of are we born knowing our true ego and identity, does existence precede essence? This episode confronts the fact that as humans we are not meant to know, it is beyond our comprehension at this point. The difference between happiness/contentment (the other 4 stranger) and pure existential angst (the Major) is being able to radically accept that 1. as imperfect humans we may never know the answers to life's true mysteries and questions; and 2. we will all die just as we are all born and it is completely out of our control, just like these dolls cannot control who plays with them or where they end up.
Art the Clown was created by filmmaker Damian Leone, and his unsettling monochromatic design was inspired by a clown seen in The Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters In Search Of An Exit."
@@TalkHorror are we truly in control of our own lives or are we just players in someones game? Keep the reviews coming, I need more existential crisis! lol
Ah, but is this actually a _horror_ episode? Although it goes in that direction for much of its run time, Rod's outro suggests otherwise. Dark fantasy, perhaps? Thanks for the analysis--liked and subscribed.
