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00:09i'm pretty sure most of you have at the
00:10very least heard of the 2009 stop-motion
00:13animated classic coraline every time i
00:15watch coraline i get something new out
00:16of it and i seem to gain a new sense of
00:18appreciation for just how much this film
00:21obviously there's the creepiness and the
00:23beautiful animation but there were
00:24storytelling elements that went above
00:26and beyond what most films cared to
00:28i say films and not just animated films
00:30because that's just the truth
00:32many have theorized the details within
00:34coraline and what their darker meaning
00:36was and it's frustrating to hop into a
00:38coraline video over 10 years after its
00:40release and try to say something new but
00:42there is an aspect of the film that i
00:43feel hasn't been fully touched on
00:45and that's the use of bugs coraline is
00:49a lot of people will immediately think
00:51back to the iconic final web scene but
00:53then there's also the bug room aka the
00:55room where the door is
00:57within that room you got bugs for
00:58furniture bug wallpaper
01:00other mother eats a bug at one point but
01:02that's not the end of it
01:03in this alternative universe the dad
01:05rides a giant mechanical praying mantis
01:08coraline's bed has dragonfly decorations
01:10on top of it that later come alive
01:12her bedside table has a praying mantis
01:14to hold up her picture frame
01:16there are bugs in the shower at one
01:17point there are mosquitoes
01:19she has a small bug hairpin that is worn
01:21consistently throughout the film
01:22ladies and gentlemen the only car in the
01:24film is a volkswagen bug
01:26i'll admit this sounds a little jokey
01:28which it is i'm pretty sure adding a
01:30volkswagen bug was a very subtle way of
01:33having some fun with the material
01:34but at the same time for a film like
01:36this that puts in this level of detail i
01:38just know all of this was placed here
01:40for a reason and it was starting with
01:42the smaller stuff let's just talk about
01:45there's this blog post from emmett brady
01:47that goes pretty in depth about a lot of
01:49this so i'm gonna be referencing it a
01:50lot but dragonfly supposedly in european
01:53folklore are referred to as the devil's
01:55darning needles upon doing some more
01:57research one article states they were
01:58also reputed to sew up the mouths of
02:01hence the devil's darning needles and
02:03make people blind and deaf
02:04eye pokers and ear cutters which just
02:08exactly the kinds of acts done in
02:10coraline it's the core conflict
02:12of the film another bug used is the
02:14praying mantis used at first as a photo
02:16stand but later turning evil as it
02:18functions as a machine used by the dad
02:20to attack coraline mantids are usually
02:23harmless creatures sometimes people make
02:26they're pretty wise just look at kung fu
02:28panda but coraline turns that idea on
02:30its head for the sake of horror
02:32using the trustworthiness of a mantis as
02:35putting other father in a violent
02:37position then there are the beatles and
02:39the cockroaches which simultaneously
02:41play such a big role
02:42in such a small role at the same time
02:44they function as most of the furniture
02:46in this bug room almost like henchmen
02:48other mother brady's explanation for
02:50this is that cockroaches and beetles are
02:52often always around but we don't see
02:53them which i guess is why they make for
02:55great furniture replacements
02:57furniture is also lifeless giving it a
02:58sense of immortality which lines up with
03:00cockroaches and the idea that you can't
03:03kill them which also lines up with other
03:06of trying to live forever and lastly
03:08there is of course the spider which is
03:11of this entire thing i'm getting at
03:13anyone who has seen the movie remembers
03:15the web scene like i mentioned earlier
03:17and that this entire time other mother
03:19was a spider or a monster spider or
03:22she's a spider that's the point it
03:23doesn't take much research to find that
03:25the meaning of spiders in folklore is
03:27not at all far away from what they are
03:29meant to represent in coralline
03:30on worldbirds.org it said that spiders
03:33and dreams represent fear
03:35freud believed that dreaming of spiders
03:36represents the mother that devours her
03:38children which she does through
03:39possessiveness or guilt when you dream
03:41of spiders you are dreaming of webs
03:43ancient knowledge language intricacy and
03:45creativity the circle of life
03:47transmutation feminine power and
03:49creation keep in mind coraline typically
03:52encounters other mother in this universe
03:54when she's dreaming is that not exactly
03:56what the other mother does to coraline
03:59i also think the other bugs within the
04:01story are all working towards the spider
04:03but i feel like this is pretty obvious
04:05considering their numerous attempts at
04:08and the button eyes that they have the
04:09spider thing is weaved through the
04:11entire story as the opening credits
04:14essentially injecting this quote unquote
04:16evil stuffing into the coraline doll the
04:18way a spider injects poison into its
04:20the way other mother has only ever seen
04:22eating a bug and her plates are
04:25the way she lacks the vision the way a
04:27spider does how she uses surroundings as
04:29a means of luring rather than
04:31emotional attachment but as usual i
04:34it's definitely cool that there are all
04:36these creative ways that the film
04:38implemented bugs into the story but why
04:40did they do that but i mean it's creepy
04:42but there's gotta be a cooler reason
04:44i do think bugs are weaved through the
04:46story to serve a greater purpose
04:48especially when taking into
04:49consideration the devouring mother trope
04:51i don't doubt the core theme of the film
04:53is about a mother-daughter relationship
04:54but i think it uses the idea of
04:57bugs prey and power dynamics as a means
04:59of driving that idea home
05:01coraline is in a sense a movie about
05:03control the way a dog owner can still
05:06own their dog in the afterlife the way
05:08an abusive relationship and work
05:09schedule can own coralline's father
05:12the way humans take control over animals
05:14through banana slug hunting or through
05:16circus mice or even the way
05:18humans take control over other humans
05:20using a spider and its easily
05:23the bug coraline as a means of conveying
05:26that there's a small moment
05:27in the film that never feels fully
05:29explained or expanded on but that leaves
05:31me with an eerie feeling
05:33it's when coraline and weibi are going
05:35about their night and stop
05:36mid-conversation as they see a bright
05:38balloon mysteriously floating through
05:41and into the top floor they drop
05:43everything and without saying a word
05:46as if they're moths wandering towards
05:48the light completely uncontrolled which
05:50is much more unsettling when you take
05:52into consideration that other mother
05:54is in control of this world and she
05:57likely put that balloon there as soon as
05:59coraline began to question the morality
06:01of weibi's stitchings
06:02all of that happening at the same time
06:04really makes it feel like coraline is
06:06the bug in the situation
06:07in a blog post by lottie mcguire she
06:09writes that in fairy tales insects are
06:12usually called upon to do impossible
06:14tasks similar to how the bugs are
06:15treated in the other world
06:17which is true other mothers sends all
06:19these other bugs out to
06:21lure coraline towards her and she
06:23survives on this control
06:25the only reason she's really alive is
06:27from stealing the souls of other
06:29the same way a spider survives only on
06:31control through creating webs
06:33and stealing the lives of other bugs but
06:35spiders can't help that you know
06:37that's just the way they are we can't we
06:40spiders which i think is the same case
06:42for someone as abusive
06:44as other mother whereas coraline's real
06:46mom is just emotionally neglectful
06:49other mother loves coraline not for
06:50coraline but for herself
06:52in an insecure validating way which is
06:56crazy when we recall the beginning where
06:57other mother refills coraline with bad
07:00and that introduces another horror
07:03that coraline is inherently her mother
07:06but that's not to say the film doesn't
07:07end victorious in some way as coraline
07:10throws the hand down the hole and kills
07:12the other mother as well as the doll i
07:14think it's also worth quickly mentioning
07:15that coraline's real mother
07:16is specializing in gardening which
07:18further proves the point that if she's
07:20studying or examining bugs and the way
07:22they interact or even disrupt her
07:25the garden that's almost the exact same
07:27way other mother looks at coraline
07:29as a disruption or something to be used
07:32rather than loved but to wrap things up
07:34i can admit that there isn't some secret
07:36subplot with bugs that i wish existed
07:39where maybe the cockroaches have a
07:41backstory we don't know about but i do
07:43think bugs are a crucial part of what
07:45this film wants to say
07:46that power dynamics within nature no
07:48matter how miniscule
07:50also exist in a form just as violent
07:53and that's all i have to say about it
07:55thanks for watching make sure to check
07:56out coraline and form your own opinion
07:58and before you head out i want to give a
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08:29uh so thanks again squarespace for
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08:33and i'll see you all in the next one