Anna [from Who is Lacy to Olivia Rodrigo?]

Who is “Lacy” to Olivia Rodrigo?

***Trigger Warning***

Weight, BMI, Eating Disorders

Now, don’t come for me. It’s one thing to call-out anorexia in a mean, disparaging body-shaming way, and another to have both eyes and concern. NOT mentioning the elephant in the room is stigmatizing. Personal opinion of weight aside, Olivia herself says she struggles with self-image.

Pale and sallow complexion: A reduced intake of crucial nutrients like iron and B vitamins can result in anaemia, which manifests as a pale and sallow complexion. Iron is essential for producing haemoglobin, a protein transporting oxygen throughout the body. When iron levels are insufficient, the skin’s oxygen supply diminishes, leading to a lack of colour and vitality in the complexion.

Olivia says, “I see you everywhere” and I think she’s talking about strict societal beauty expectations/examples. So we’re going on a side journey:

I know the BMI chart is controversial. We could argue the pros and cons all day and really waylay this post, but that’s for a different day. I’m using it as a way to standardize different height/weights. Also, I’m not trying to shame anybody on either end of the spectrum, or in the middle, so just be aware of random article snark. Thirdly, I’m also using random Google height/weight info so take the accuracy with a grain of salt. I’m trying to compare apples to apples and give some sort of reference point for celebrity/model BMI and thus all of us. The point is, women (and men in a different way, also to be discussed on another day) are held to impossible beauty/body standards, and have been throughout the decades.

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

1900 The Gibson Girl

1910 The ideal female form is depicted as a tall and slender woman. She has a voluptuous bust and wide hips, exaggerated by way of corseting. Women of the Edwardian Era used Belladonna, a highly poisonous and even lethal plant, drops to make their pupils dilate, making the women look aroused (I’m not making this up, promise). They have also smeared their faces with lead cream to make them look pale.

1920s Flapper

The female form changed in this decade from exaggeratedly feminine to exaggeratedly boyish. Androgyny is the look of the day, short hair, bras tightened to flatten girls chests, dieting and exercise.

1930s/1940s = war and depression

Short hair remained but skirts became longer and showed off natural waists without corsets. Emphasized shoulder width was common with a trend towards practicality lead by war rationing, un-elaborate jackets and simple blouses.

1950s Post-War

The hourglass figure returned and women aimed to become more feminine and curvy. With an end to rationing, women were able to get the glamour model look. Taking full advantage of the latest beauty products, women of this era never left home without looking perfect.

The Sexual Revolution 1960s

The sexual revolution brought back two separate trends. The start of the 60s the super skinny look; the thin androgyny of the flapper returned with an almost pre-pubescent appearance. The end of the 60s however brought back the fuller figured woman with the long straight hair of the Hippy era.

1970s Thin is In

Thin won out and the 70s were the start of the dangerous slimming culture. Long hair became common and minimal make-up made for a natural look.

Fitness reigned in the 80s

Women preferred a toned rather than muscular body and aerobic exercise was part of a woman’s daily life. Women need to be slender, toned and tall.

A lot of the women in all of these decades had body dysmorphia and eating disorders (many told later in life, after their peak fame). I think it’s particularly interesting to look at poster-gal for the modern fitness movement, Jane Fonda:

It just goes to show what you see on the surface is not necessarily the reality of the situation. Jane Fonda looked like she had it all, while she was secretly suffering. I think it shows the audience to view these perfect images and celebrity personas through a critical lens [critical as in skeptical, or as in we don’t know the whole context] before we fashion our bodies and lives after the unattainable capitalistic images we are sold.

Baywatch 1990s

The ideal female figure became even more exaggerated in TV and film.

Heroin Chic

Models became more and more waif like and moved from slender to boney.

Kate Moss – BMI 16.0

Calista Flockhart – BMI 15.6

Remember how scandalized people were about how “voluptuous” J-Lo was??!

Men face different pressures.

As you can see, they are not usually as thin as women:

but their bodies are required to have unrealistic muscle mass.

Size Zero 2000s

Keira Knightley – 17.2

Twenty years ago models weighed, on average, 8% less than the average American, but now weigh 23% less.

Miley Cyrus – BMI 18.4

Today, the average woman has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 26-28

whereas models range from 15-16, which is dangerously underweight.

Celebrities are slightly better than models with an average of 17-20, a borderline healthy BMI.

OF COURSE a teenage girl would be inundated with images of unattainable perfection. Especially those trying to make it in the industry. It’s not surprising at all that Olivia might interpret every celebrity she saw as feminine, thin, and beautiful and desire that for herself. Sidenote- we are ALL bombarded by these images and have a lot of un-learning to do.

And I think that’s exactly who the Lacy in the song is- Olivia’s own negative self-talk. The voice telling her she’s not good enough. 

Lacy = The romanticized, coveted image of perfection that this patriarchal society lionizes. 

That Olivia manifests. 

Look at the lyrics again through that lens and tell me what you think in the comments!

Sources:

https://visual.ly/community/Infographics/health/bmi-real-women-vs-celebrities

http://www.stat.ucla.edu/~vlew/stat10/archival/SP01/handouts/celeb.html

https://www.boredpanda.com/most-beautiful-women-edwardian-era-1900s

Mental Health [from Who is Lacy to Olivia Rodrigo?]

Who is “Lacy” to Olivia Rodrigo?

Here is an interesting thing about Olivia’s writing:

https://people.com/olivia-rodrigo-gets-depressed-when-shes-not-writing-songs-8407967#:~:text=Songwriting%20is%20a%20therapeutic%20practice,she’s%20not%20writing%20songs%20daily.

OK, so we know the songs are personal. And the writing process is releasing depressed feelings onto the page.

Olivia is an advocate for Therapy, and destigmatizing talking about it openly:

Olivia writes about the content of her therapy sessions:

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/olivia-rodrigo-reveals-therapists-reaction-brutal.html/embed/#?secret=jujDlLfqLg#?secret=h1R5rgQgtq

When asked directly who “Lacy” is about this was Olivia’s answer:

All the songs are about ME. And I think she’s being (mostly) honest.

Lacy is not about Taylor Swift or Sabrina, or a lesbian love interest. It’s not an actual real-life person at all.

Read the lyrics of this more overt song (same subject matter, in my opinion) to see what I mean:

Dear Insecurity

Brandy Clark showed me this song (both her & Olivia’s) is assuredly about self-esteem and perception:

Dear insecurity
Oh, we meet again
Don’t try to flirt with me
You’re not really my friend
But you take up half this bed
Livin’ rent-free in my head

Oh, insecurity
You show up in my mirror
Point out the worst in me
You whisper in my ear
That my lips are way too thin
Too many miles on my skin

If I can’t find a way to get you gone
Can we find a way to get along, along, along?
You’re careless, and you’re cruel, and, oh, you’re mindless
Maybe you could try a little kindness
Instead of hurtin’ me

Oh, insecurity
Now where did you come from?
Your immaturity
Is the thing I can’t outrun
You’re a mean girl, you’re a bully
And I hope you’re havin’ fun

Hey, insecurity
You try on all my clothes
It just occurred to me
That you may live in my phone
You tell me I don’t fit in
Push me close to quittin’

If I can’t find a way to get you gone
Can we find a way to get along, along, along?
You’re careless, and you’re cruel, and, oh, you’re mindless
Maybe you could try a little kindness
Instead of hurtin’ me

‘Cause insecurity
This time feels like love
She’s really sure of me
So, please don’t fuck this up
If you cut in on this dance
I may never get another chance

I’ll never find a way to get you gone
Wish I could find a way to know you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong
You’re careless, and you’re cruel, and, oh, you’re mindless
Maybe you could try a little kindness
Instead of hurtin’ me (instead of hurtin’ me)

Why you hurtin’ me, insecurity?

Take-home point: Brandy has personified insecurity.

Back to Olivia’s “Lacy”

Same same:

Did I ever tell you that I’m not doing well?

Ooh, I care, I care, I care

But it takes over my life

Smart sexy Lacy, I’m losing it lately
I feel your compliments like bullets on skin

You got the one thing that I want

Lacy, oh, Lacy, it’s like you’re out to get me
You poison every little thing that I do
Lacy, oh, Lacy, I just loathe you lately
And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you
Yeah, I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you

Are you picking up what I’m (we’re: Brandy, Brandie, Olivia, and I) are putting down???

Lacy is the NAME of Olivia’s personal insecurities.

Exercise was Lacking in 2023

Depression does a lot to ruin energy and motivation. It became more difficult to get off the couch, let alone complete any kind of physical exertion. 

I can tell you when we did so well on core-strength it was due to building it into our work schedule: First break we would do 1-3 min of abs. Last break we would do twisty-screw core exercise for 1-2 min. That’s it. Once you just put it in the routine, it’s pretty easy and efficient to get it done.

If you have love handles, saddlebags, or thick thighs like I do, incline is the best way to melt them off! Once I get the fancy treadmill in working order again, I’ll resume this, because it’s way easier than trying to target these areas (all kitchen).

ugh! Look how good we got at doing strength work! Damn dropping this really hurts. To make it a habit again we have to do 5-10min for 7-10 days in a row. I swear, even a little bit helps build it into a habit. You don’t have to do a full 30 min or anything. Just get it going.

What I’m saying is without the mental health component in place, it’s extra-harder to get the fitness in the routine. I suggest CONSULTING A DOCTOR and building the foundation so that you can build the motivation on top of it.

Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: folklore ~ mad woman

mad woman

What did you think I’d say to that?/Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?/They strike to kill and you know I will/You know I will…/…Every time you call me crazy/I get more crazy/What about that?/And when you say I seem angry/I get more angry/And there’s nothin’ like a mad woman/What a shame she went mad/No one likes a mad woman/You made her like that/And you’ll poke that bear ’til her claws come out/And you find something to wrap your noose around/And there’s nothin’ like a mad woman…/…But no one likes a mad woman/What a shame she went mad/You made her like that

***Trigger Warning***

institutionalization, “medical” abuse, torture

https://time.com/6074783/psychiatry-history-women-mental-health/

https://www.fountainhouse.org/news/being-lgbtq-was-long-considered-a-mental-disorder

Alanis Morissette: Such Pretty Forks in the Road Album Review

Ablaze: I always feel intellectually elevated by Morissette’s lyrics. She uses complex words that are still accessible. This is a love song from mother to children. I like how she addresses each child, the boy and the girl, but it’s not sexist. She likes different things about them and wants different things for each, but not once is there a heteronormative view.

Reasons I Drink: This song is very catchy, and I like to see a matured, even keeled, yet still highly relatable human version of Alanis.

Diagnosis: A quiet piano-driven song with beautiful violins peppering in to evoke emotion.  I like how she’s still fiercely independent. She is saying she’s the one who has to live with this, and “…  call it what you want I don’t even care anymore.  Call me what you need to make yourself more comfortable.”  It’s such a powerful lyric and sentiment about embracing your mental status, no matter what others think or say about it.

Missing the Miracle: I don’t like how this song starts–a little too saccharine in the singing. It seems to be a poem.

Losing the Plot:  I like the darkness of this song.  The music itself has the wonderful deep bass sound that drives home the fact Morissette is digging deep emotionally and lyrically.  The piano trails off, which allows the listener to tune into the lyrics–it makes the song more thoughtful.  I also like the sentiment and word order of, “I am reaching the end of super-womaning.”  This might be one of Morissette’s best songs of her career (top 5).

Sandbox Love:  Too light for me.  It’s a little superficial musically and too optimistic(?) lyrically.  I see what she was trying to do here, but I think the song would have benefitted from more variation, and some heavier instrumentation somewhere.

Her:  I have to listen a 4th time to figure out what this song is about and what it’s saying. 

Nemesis:  Another song with darker music tones–I really like the sound she’s going toward.  

Pedestal:  I like the message and symbolism throughout this song.  And the strings are beautiful and melancholy, which fits the vibe nicely.  Now that I’m hearing a bridge, I think that’s maybe what those lighter songs I didn’t care for needed.  They needed something to break them up a little.  This bridge adds a sense of desperation, drama, and emotion.  

I feel like half of this album is my favorite.  It’s a more mature version of Morissette, though she’s still got that edge I’ve always loved.  She is honest and emotional, independant, yet in this album, there’s more vulnerability then I remember on prior works.

But then half of the songs fall into the “trite” category.  Maybe a little too saccharine for my liking.

Bipolar Mate

I noticed that a post about bipolar depression was on my recently read list (I’m suspicious that person was looking for bisexual) and everything has changed since then.  The post was really frustrated and worried and helpless.  So I thought I should write an update.

Bipolar is still in both Cool and my daily lives.  Each day, we go through mood numbers verbally to check in with each other.  We rate mood, energy, anxiety, irritability, and love.

Mood is from 1 (suicidal) to 10 (manic psychosis).  Luckily, those numbers hang around 5 (average) to 4 (blah) and 6 (feeling real good) mostly.

Energy is ranked from usually 3 (dozing off) to 7 (fidgety, hyped-up, restless).

Anxiety and irritability are ranked 0 (none) to 3 (very bad).

We add our love points for the day (how many hugs, verbal I<3Us, etc).

The whole scale sounds a lot more complicated than it is, and when you do it every day, it goes really fast.  Lately, we’ve been going through our numbers when we do our 1 min wall-sit.

Aside from just keeping tabs better on a day to day basis, we have this binder.  Which has been a real life-saver.  In it, we have the various cycles that a bipolar person can experience:  Mania, depression, anxiety, mixed, flat, etc, etc…  Anything that changes the above numbers and may come with symptoms.  Cool writes each paper, with me contributing input and helping brainstorm.

Here’s an abridged version of what one might look like:

Mania

-everything moves too slow

-half-assing chores

-unfocused/distracted

-selfish

-bigger fashion risks

-more talkative

this usually goes on for 20-ish things that usually happen during Cool’s specific mania.  This is a key point–it’s not just symptoms out of a book.  We’ve paid attention to many manias over time, and noted the things she personally goes through.

And when I start to notice things are off, or symptoms are ramping up, I will tell her to get the binder.  And she will read each thing and say yes or no it’s happening right now.  And I count as she does.  Then at the end, we see the percent.

Exp:  She has 8 symptoms of 24 commonly experienced on her list.  8/24= 33%

Which on a science exam is not a lot, but considering it’s a third of all the symptoms she gets that we could think of, it’s enough to necessitate a medication change, and for sure to employ some strategies.

That’s the 2nd part of each of those pages.  For each page with a list of feelings and behaviors common to Cool’s specific cycling, we have 1 full of strategies known to help her.  These were taken from books, forums, and anywhere else she could find.  The more the better.  Then, it was just about her trying them, practicing them, and sticking with them and adding more until relief of symptoms.

So that might look like:

Depression Help

-watch a comedy

-go for a long walk

-call someone to talk

-wear favorite outfit

-pet the kitties

-play a game

And really, it comes down to medication.  But using the strategies give us both some sense of control and something we can at least try.  And we both think the more she practices the strategies, the more they help her feel better.

So those are two huge things that have made a big difference for Cool’s mental health, my stress levels, and our relationship as a whole.  We are working as a team, and things are going pretty well most of the time.

Fat-Positive is Negative

Yeah, I said it.  Unpopular, un-p.c. opinion–but I stand by it.

I listened to Lizzo because it’s fun, and feminist and I totally get behind that!  It’s a ‘you go girl!’ moment where I see role-model for young girls. But is she an entirely good role-model?

I also watched Shrill because I think Aidy Bryant (name/sp?) is funny on SNL.  And I saw her do stand up with a pad of paper and she was hilarious.  I wanted to see what she’s doing with her talents.  But the show was kind of depressing, which is a sad commentary about how our society makes overweight people feel.  [and we should stop that].  But then her boss was made to look like a villain because he cared about the health of his employees.  And the whole fat-positive movement in the show rubbed me the wrong way.

Fat-positivity is what I call enabling. 

Let me back track just a second.

Kids should not be bullied.  Not anyone, not chubby-trons.  Hefty adults should not have to tolerate back-handed complements, or taunts, or trolling.  People don’t have a right to stigmatize others.  Not for mental illness, sexuality, weight, anything, really.  Mind your business, take care of you.

People that are “other” in some way should be allowed to love themselves.  And to one extent or another all of us are a little bit “other” in some way, many ways.

So there’s that.  I’m anti-bullying.

But, people we have taken it too far on the spectrum, shunning bulling, past neutrality, into enabling behavior known as fat-positivity!  It’s gone too far.  Fat is nothing to normalize or champion.  It’s a health concern.  Really.

Some people are chubby kids, and it’s a genetic trait that they will easily put on weight.  Yes, some medications and disorders can contribute to being overweight.  Also, Americans are inundated with advertising and marketing encouraging us to consume calories.  It’s an epidemic.

And yet, calories are calories.  Nobody has it harder than anyone else calories in, calories out.  You have to balance the two–and it IS possible.  For I’d say most everyone, except in very extenuating circumstances (a small minority).  Lifestyle choices are within your control.  Yes. They. Are.  It might not be easy changes to make.  Changing your ways might be difficult to adhere to.  But it CAN be done.

Things that we do not celebrate:

Mental Illness.  It can’t be helped.  You’re born with it, genetically predisposed to it.  We shouldn’t stigmatize people who suffer with mental illness.  Yet, we also don’t throw a party about it.  Society agrees people should do whatever they can to manage it (see the psychiatrist/psychologist, take medication, use strategies to manage symptoms)

Addiction.  It’s a disease.  But it’s not useful to society, and it’s detrimental to health.  People shouldn’t be criminalized (for drugs alone) or stigmatized–they are sick.  But we do want people to go to rehab, get off substances, and help themselves make better choices.

STIs (STDs if you’re old-school).  They are common.  It can be tricky and high-maintenance to prevent getting them.  But having one can impact other individuals and society at large.  People shouldn’t be called disgusting whores or dirty johnsons if they get one (or more), but I think we can all agree we would like people to treat STIs they have, refrain from spreading them to other sexual partners through abstinence, condoms, etc, and warn others prior to engaging in sexual acts.

Those things are all health concerns that we should not bully people over, but at the same time must be dealt with or consequences occur.  If we were to have mental illness positivity and just encourage people to live as they are and embrace their bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, instead of medicating it what would happen?  Well, it’s ultimately not good for the individual as being untreated can lead to inappropriate or dangerous behaviors, possibly even death to others or themselves.  Same with addicts–“Just champion and embrace your drug use!” we’d say. Then, all the crime, and downward spiral which isn’t good for anybody.  And STIs, well we’ve seen what happens when those health concerns are ignored and it’s no good.

Also, all of these health problems lead to complications, symptoms, consequences.  When medical bills are already spiraling and health insurance is a whole big thing–shouldn’t we do everything we can to alleviate the problems we can control?

Being overweight exacerbates other health problems.  This is science.

According to the Center for Disease Control, People who have obesity, compared to those with a normal or healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following:^1,2,3

• All-causes of death (mortality)
• High blood pressure (Hypertension)
• High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Coronary heart disease
• Stroke
• Gallbladder disease
• Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)
• Sleep apnea and breathing problems
• Some cancers (endometrial, breast, colon, kidney, gallbladder, and liver)
• Low quality of life
• Mental illness such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders^4,5
• Body pain and difficulty with physical functioning⁶

1. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html

People die earlier when they are over their BMI.  Ralphie Mae and John Candy might have lived longer if they had not been grossly obese.  And Chris Farley and Elvis Presley had drugs in the mix, but their obesity made their health status even worse.

That’s not a fate I want to get behind.  I’m not saying you have to be a size zero.  But everyone should be giving up vices, managing their health status, and aspiring to a healthy lifestyle.  For their own health and happiness.  And I refuse to be stigmatized for saying so.

Bears Don’t Live on Deserted Islands: My Analysis of “Swiss Army Man” [Spoiler Warning]

For my birthday, we went to an Independent theater and saw the Sundance Film, “Swiss Army Man.”  Let’s just get all talking/jokes about farting out of the way now–that’s not really the central theme of the movie–or this blog.  When you’re watching this movie, you have to “buy in” very early or you’ll hate it.  The film is like one of the whimsical paintings I like, but in a film format.  The reality is altered/fanciful, the shots are jerky, the characters (one is a literally dead guy) in their own little world where physics and time aren’t invited.  You could watch the entire film, and just feel like it was a random string of crazy events.  BUT after much thought, I found a linear plot and meaning.

The supporting evidence:

-When Hank first sees the body, and rides him out in the ocean, then the film cuts back to him with his face on the sandy beach.  Is it a new beach?  Is he somehow back at the same beach?

-random garbage appears in the place–all the time.  Everywhere they are.  I know the ocean has trash, but THIS MUCH???

-Hank looks scruffy as if he’s been in this deserted place for a long time.  His beard is long and he’s dirty.  Yet, he has no survival skills.  He doesn’t know how to make tools to hunt or fish with and he eats bad berries so he doesn’t have a good grip of foraging.  How has he survived this long without having any skills?

-toward the middle of the film, a (grizzly?) bear attacks.  Where is this place where a tropical white sand beach is attached to the woods?

-they travel, travel, travel and end up in the love interest’s back yard

-there are space/time descrepencies regarding the island, such as at the end when Hank is back in society, they are both in the yard with other people, then everyone runs through the forest, but finally everyone is back at the beach.  and Manny goes back to the ocean.

-After Hank is discovered, he rides the body down one hill behind her back yard–and there are his crafts and trash-projects!  He has been right behind her house the whole time-creeper.

_____

Given these factors, I decided there is no physical island in the movie at all.  And that fact changes the whole movie doesn’t it?  We’re not just in suspended disbelief–this is a perspective story.  Hank’s POV.  The island is a metaphor for how Hank feels/Hank’s thoughts.  He is on a self-imposed deserted island because he feels weird/lonely/stigmatized by society.  This is a movie like the 6th Sense or Memento–we are watching through the lense of whatever mental illness (anxiety/depression, love-obsessed stalker, anti-social personality, skitzophrenia???) Hank has.

Let’s re-examine the above factors:

-When Hank first sees the body, and rides him out in the ocean, then the film cuts back to him with his face on the sandy beach.  Is it a new beach?  Is he somehow back at the same beach?

*Hank was in the middle of committing suicide when the film opens, and he sees a dead body.  A lot of people with mental illness are at risk for suicide.  Seeing the dead body, somehow gives Hank something else to think about other then how he feels.  The body makes him interested in something so he changes his mind about suicide.  Then, as Hank’s mind settles a little, and he doesn’t feel so alone, we see Hank “leaving the deserted island” via the body.  But there is no real personal connection between Hank and this body (yet) so the exit off the island is brief and Hank wakes up back on his deserted island, isolated the way it all started.

-random garbage appears where Hank is

*I won’t go into the more obvious symbolism of trash in the movie, but I’ll talk about how the trash proves location.  At the end, Sarah recognizes her own diary in Hank’s belongings/crafts.  It’s the same diary she happened to be writing in when Hank took the pic of her on the bus.  It shows that Hank has been behind her house, squirreling away her trash the whole time.  All the crafts and stuff are made from her trash!  And that has a more creepy/sinister vibe.

-toward the middle of the film, a (grizzly?) bear attacks

*I don’t know everything about bears, but I’m pretty sure they never live on tropical deserted islands.  This was the primary reason I “got” the film.  The terrain in this deserted changes from beginning to end of the film.  We start out at white sand beaches, go through the forest, over bodies of water, hear a road, then we’re in a back yard.  If all Hank had to do was walk, then why was he so desperate to commit suicide at the beginning?  Also, I wouldn’t think you’d make the effort to kill yourself in a deserted island situation–nature would do it for you.  You’d soon starve, or dehydrate.  If you were desperate on an island, and no longer cared if you lived or died, wouldn’t you just make some sort of last ditch heroic effort to get back to people?

-Hank looks scruffy as if he’s been in this deserted place for a long time.  His beard is long and he’s dirty.  Yet, he has no survival skills.  He doesn’t know how to make tools to hunt or fish with and he eats bad berries so he doesn’t have a good grip of foraging.  How has he survived this long without having any skills?

*Really, Hank didn’t have to know survival skills because the desertion was in his head.  He was physically camping near Sarah’s house and scrounging in her garbage.  Which is why Cheetos and alcohol make it to the deserted place, when in reality it would be implausible for one of those items, and probably impossible to get enough trash to literally survive upon.  Also, the beard.  In the beginning, on the island, Hank’s beard is long and scruffy.  As he and Manny open up and gain a camaraderie–Hank is clean-shaven.  Yet we are never shown how.  I think the hair is part of feeling like an outcast hermit so when he has someone else, Hank no longer feels like that and the symbol of being outcast hermit also just disappears.

-they travel, travel, travel and end up in the love interest’s back yard

and

-there are space/time dependencies regarding the island, such as at the end when Hank is back in society, they are both in the yard with other people, then everyone runs through the forest, but finally everyone is back at the beach.  and Manny goes back to the ocean.

*You start to notice that the more intimacy that is gained between the dead body and Hank, the less deserted the island becomes (we go from isolated white sand beach, to forest, to water, see bears, hear cars, and finally see a little girl in a back yard).  The entire film is about these two buddies traveling back to society.  It takes the whole time!  Yet, at the end, Hank rides Manny’s body out of Sarah’s yard, down one hill, through some water and he’s back on the white sand beach.  It shows how Hank started out in self-imposed isolation in his mind (but physically camping behind Sarah’s house), then as he found an ally, left that isolated place his mind had created.  The more they talk, the more secrets come into the open, and the more comfortable Hank gets with being “other/weird.”  His mind is now a forest.  Not quite the isolation or loneliness of a deserted island, but still removed from society.  Then, Hank and Manny are best friends and understand each other.  Hank’s mind has reintegrated with society and he will take a chance and talk to Sarah.  But then, he sees his father, who is ashamed.  He sees Sarah is alarmed, and the world is a scary place again where Hank is the weird one.  All the progress he made with Manny recedes and his mind takes him back out of the yard, through the forest, on the isolated white beach.  And with the exit of Manny into the ocean–to an altered reality.  It’s (the physical location is actually inside Hank’s own mind) cemented when we see the change in Hank’s father demeanor.  When Hank’s mind is back in reality (he is physically and mentally in a yard) his father leans against the truck–ashamed at what has happened and who his son is.  But when Manny goes back into the ocean, and hank is arrested the father smiles.  It’s because Hank’s mind has gone back to his safe place, and in it Hank can fantasize his father is happy and proud of him–because it’s not reality anymore.  Hank is free of societal restrictions on the island/in the ocean fantasy.

-After Hank is discovered, he rides the body down one hill behind her back yard–and there are his crafts and trash-projects!  He has been right behind her house the whole time-creeper.

*This is the biggest clue the audience is given to Hank’s mind/physical body being different.  When we watch the movie, yes everything is strange, but the shows, and crafts, books, and reenactments are normalized.  We aren’t repulsed by any of it, because we bought in.  When we are out of Hank’s head at the end, and see the same items through the lens of Sarah’s perspective, the crafts and trinkets suddenly look garish and creepy.  She realizes he’s back there doing weird stuff with her garbage.  She knows some random stranger saw her on the bus, took a cell phone pic, found out where she lives, and is now camping there are doing strange projects with her garbage.  She looks horrified.

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So even though I, also, sat in that theater and said, “What the fuck?”  as the lights came back on–I liked the movie.  The more I thought about it, and discussed the plot after the movie, the more it made sense.  And when it made sense, it suddenly had a linear plot that was more likable than that string of random happenings.  I like a movie you have to think about.  And Swiss Army Man has no shortage of metaphor’s, symbols, and discrepancies to make the audience do just that.  I recommend you give it a chance and watch the film–just do me a favor and stop with all the fart jokes.