They are not afraid to confront the ‘aliens’, shedding the blindfolds representative of ignorance. Within it, all the inhabitants have their eyes open but are unaffected. The tension that builds as they try to get to this haven, becomes inherent of the struggle to be understood, to use the voice so many suppress as they try cope with mental health issues.Īctually a school for the blind, the safe haven the family reach symbolises within the story a perfect society. In Bird Box’s final scenes when Sandra Bullock’s Malorie and her two children attempt to reach a promised ‘safe place’, they have to use their voices and rely solely on speech. They can be the relatives, friends, and partners. They may not even have the illness directly. However, as the film continues we come to understand that many of the protagonists are also dealing with their own personal demons, highlighting that victims are not always those you suspect. They are cast as evil by the protagonists, not to be trusted and avoided at all costs. Within the narrative, these characters are in league with the unseen and symbolic ‘alien’. It is pointed out these people have escaped from asylums and they are the key to understanding this layered story. There are characters in the movie who want to stare at the monster, who are not afraid to see and encourage others desperately to do the same. An ‘alien’ who remains frustratingly unseen, faceless, invisible throughout the movie serves to represent that which people try to repress from their consciousness. The film is a response to a culture of ‘don’t look and it won’t affect you’, so alive today. This in turn leads to the protagonist and main characters of the story wearing blindfolds in public to remain unaffected. In Bird Box, we are told an unseen force has the power to cause people who stare towards it to become unbalanced and overwhelmed with the suggestion of suicide. Through clever symbolism, director Susanne Bier ( The Night Manager) subtly gets her point across. And one wonders whether the film would have been such a roaring success if these themes had been addressed more directly within its narrative. The movie suggests a split in society, an ‘us and them’ situation. It delves into how it is perceived from those directly affected, to those who view it and how those attitudes are communicated. The viewer is brought along a metaphorical path submerged into the depths of ignorance as forced behavior.īird Box sensitively tackles the question of mental health in society. It is a cleverly disguised science fiction film where art imitates life. Netflix’s Bird Box can be viewed as one of the most intelligent movies in the current climate.
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