What are the mysterious beings in Bird Box?— the Cthulhu hypothesis
Among the many hypotheses in the market, the most reliable seems to be the god/monster/evil spirit/(other...)
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.
At the end of the movie, it did not clearly show or explain what the mysterious creatures that caused human catastrophe are, leaving the audience to imagine: aliens? Ghost? Gods?
What are the features of the mysterious beings in BirdBox?
What is the setting of the "monster" in the movie? They will produce shadows, can shake tree crowns, and those who can see them will die (suicide) or fall into madness; survivors claim to see "truth" and become obsessed... pay special attention, there is a scene that suggests a "monster" Exterior:
- 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 isCthulhu?
The "Cthulhu Mythology" system created by the novelist HP Lovecraft (set up after sorting out the many works of Lovecraft by later generations) has many "gods" or "super-existence" characters ("Cthulhu" was originally just one of them ), with different characteristics, but there are also some common characteristics: many tentacles, many tentacles; irregular shapes, strange eyes; humans will die, be crazy, or become admirers if they see them.
Cthulhu is originally one of those mysterious characters created by HP 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 of the characters are reminiscent of the shape of brain nerve cells. People with dense phobias should avoid watching pictures about the myth of Cthulhu. On the other hand, if you like to eat ink octopus spaghetti, you might I really like the myth of Cthulhu.
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:
The following are some of the character characteristics in the myth of Cthulhu:
Cthugha: a great fireball
Nyogtha: amorphous dark matter with tentacles
Azathoth/Xada-Hgla: enormous amoeba with many polypous appendages and eyes
Nyarlathotep: a tall, dark faceless man sometimes with a tentacle on his face
Looks like a black and tall man, with no facial features on his face, only a huge tentacle
(Please compare the "monster" portrait in the movie screenshot)
What is in common between Bird Box and CthulhuMythos?
What are the similarities between the mysterious creatures in the movie and the gods/monsters in Cthulhu?
Movies and Lovecraft's novels will not fully show what "they" are, because they are beyond the ability of human cognition; just like this, they are both destructive and attractive; the appearance characteristics of the two are also equivalent. Anastomosis (please refer to the portrait in the screenshot)
- 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 leave it open, keeps the secret of the mysterious beings obscure, and invite the viewers to interpret.
What is your hypothesis?
Of course, there are differences from the myth of Cthulhu-after all, this is just one of the hypotheses.
What is your opinion?
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