The Coraline Bug Theory

this video is brought to you by squarespace when it comes to websites online stores etc there's no place to build a beautiful online presence like squarespace [Music] i'm pretty sure most of you have at the very least heard of the 2009 stop-motion animated classic coraline every time i watch coraline i get something new out of it and i seem to gain a new sense of appreciation for just how much this film was doing obviously there's the creepiness and the beautiful animation but there were storytelling elements that went above and beyond what most films cared to

incorporate i say films and not just animated films because that's just the truth many have theorized the details within coraline and what their darker meaning was and it's frustrating to hop into a coraline video over 10 years after its release and try to say something new but there is an aspect of the film that i feel hasn't been fully touched on and that's the use of bugs coraline is littered with bugs a lot of people will immediately think back to the iconic final web scene but then there's also the bug room aka the room where

the door is within that room you got bugs for furniture bug wallpaper other mother eats a bug at one point but that's not the end of it in this alternative universe the dad rides a giant mechanical praying mantis coraline's bed has dragonfly decorations on top of it that later come alive her bedside table has a praying mantis to hold up her picture frame there are bugs in the shower at one point there are mosquitoes she has a small bug hairpin that is worn consistently throughout the film ladies and gentlemen the only car in the film

is a volkswagen bug i'll admit this sounds a little jokey which it is i'm pretty sure adding a volkswagen bug was a very subtle way of having some fun with the material but at the same time for a film like this that puts in this level of detail i just know all of this was placed here for a reason and it was starting with the smaller stuff let's just talk about the dragonflies there's this blog post from emmett brady that goes pretty in depth about a lot of this so i'm gonna be referencing it a

lot but dragonfly supposedly in european folklore are referred to as the devil's darning needles upon doing some more research one article states they were also reputed to sew up the mouths of naughty children hence the devil's darning needles and make people blind and deaf eye pokers and ear cutters which just saying is exactly the kinds of acts done in coraline it's the core conflict of the film another bug used is the praying mantis used at first as a photo stand but later turning evil as it functions as a machine used by the dad to attack

coraline mantids are usually looked at as harmless creatures sometimes people make music about them they're pretty wise just look at kung fu panda but coraline turns that idea on its head for the sake of horror using the trustworthiness of a mantis as a means of control putting other father in a violent position then there are the beatles and the cockroaches which simultaneously play such a big role in such a small role at the same time they function as most of the furniture in this bug room almost like henchmen for other mother brady's explanation for this

is that cockroaches and beetles are often always around but we don't see them which i guess is why they make for great furniture replacements furniture is also lifeless giving it a sense of immortality which lines up with cockroaches and the idea that you can't kill them which also lines up with other mothers intentions of trying to live forever and lastly there is of course the spider which is kind of the core of this entire thing i'm getting at anyone who has seen the movie remembers the web scene like i mentioned earlier and that this entire

time other mother was a spider or a monster spider or she's a spider that's the point it doesn't take much research to find that the meaning of spiders in folklore is not at all far away from what they are meant to represent in coralline on worldbirds.org it said that spiders and dreams represent fear freud believed that dreaming of spiders represents the mother that devours her children which she does through possessiveness or guilt when you dream of spiders you are dreaming of webs ancient knowledge language intricacy and creativity the circle of life transmutation feminine power and

creation keep in mind coraline typically encounters other mother in this universe when she's dreaming is that not exactly what the other mother does to coraline in the film i also think the other bugs within the story are all working towards the spider but i feel like this is pretty obvious considering their numerous attempts at harming coraline and the button eyes that they have the spider thing is weaved through the entire story as the opening credits start with her essentially injecting this quote unquote evil stuffing into the coraline doll the way a spider injects poison into

its prey the way other mother has only ever seen eating a bug and her plates are consistently empty the way she lacks the vision the way a spider does how she uses surroundings as a means of luring rather than emotional attachment but as usual i gotta ask why it's definitely cool that there are all these creative ways that the film implemented bugs into the story but why did they do that but i mean it's creepy but there's gotta be a cooler reason than that i do think bugs are weaved through the story to serve a

greater purpose especially when taking into consideration the devouring mother trope i don't doubt the core theme of the film is about a mother-daughter relationship but i think it uses the idea of bugs prey and power dynamics as a means of driving that idea home coraline is in a sense a movie about control the way a dog owner can still own their dog in the afterlife the way an abusive relationship and work schedule can own coralline's father the way humans take control over animals through banana slug hunting or through circus mice or even the way humans

take control over other humans using a spider and its easily manipulated prey the bug coraline as a means of conveying that there's a small moment in the film that never feels fully explained or expanded on but that leaves me with an eerie feeling it's when coraline and weibi are going about their night and stop mid-conversation as they see a bright balloon mysteriously floating through the sky and into the top floor they drop everything and without saying a word follow said balloon as if they're moths wandering towards the light completely uncontrolled which is much more unsettling

when you take into consideration that other mother is in control of this world and she likely put that balloon there as soon as coraline began to question the morality of weibi's stitchings all of that happening at the same time really makes it feel like coraline is the bug in the situation in a blog post by lottie mcguire she writes that in fairy tales insects are usually called upon to do impossible tasks similar to how the bugs are treated in the other world which is true other mothers sends all these other bugs out to lure coraline

towards her and she survives on this control the only reason she's really alive is from stealing the souls of other children the same way a spider survives only on control through creating webs and stealing the lives of other bugs but spiders can't help that you know that's just the way they are we can't we can't fix spiders which i think is the same case for someone as abusive as other mother whereas coraline's real mom is just emotionally neglectful other mother loves coraline not for coraline but for herself in an insecure validating way which is crazy

when we recall the beginning where other mother refills coraline with bad stuffing and that introduces another horror within the film that coraline is inherently her mother but that's not to say the film doesn't end victorious in some way as coraline throws the hand down the hole and kills the other mother as well as the doll i think it's also worth quickly mentioning that coraline's real mother is specializing in gardening which further proves the point that if she's studying or examining bugs and the way they interact or even disrupt her environment the garden that's almost the

exact same way other mother looks at coraline as a disruption or something to be used rather than loved but to wrap things up i can admit that there isn't some secret subplot with bugs that i wish existed within the film where maybe the cockroaches have a backstory we don't know about but i do think bugs are a crucial part of what this film wants to say that power dynamics within nature no matter how miniscule also exist in a form just as violent within households and that's all i have to say about it thanks for watching

make sure to check out coraline and form your own opinion and before you head out i want to give a quick thank you to this week's sponsor squarespace now squarespace if you didn't already know is a place where you can go online to build your brand whether that be through an online store a blog a portfolio you name it they have a wide array of award-winning designer templates to make whatever you do make look amazing and they have 24-hour customer service to walk you through any issues you run into but the best part about it

all is that if you go to squarespace.com carsten you can get 10 percent off of your first purchase there's really no reason not to give it a shot uh so thanks again squarespace for sponsoring this video thank you guys for watching and i'll see you all in the next one [Music] you