Main Thematic Questions
What is the point of telling stories when the world is crumbling around you?
Can we resist overemployment?
Whose stories get to be told and by whom?
Motifs
TIME
In the play, times passes in blinks of an eye. Characters discuss the nature of time and a Hindu theory of cosmic time. Characters look back in time as they attempt to create stories from their own experiences. They feel the pressure of time from those outside the writers' room like Victor, Jeff, and Max.
"Morning is wiser than evening." —Annie Baker, The Antipodes |
OUROBOROS
An ouroboros is an ancient circular symbol of a snake or dragon swallowing its own tail. It can symbolize the cosmos, the idea of infinity, the interconnectedness of the universe, unity with the divine, or the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
In the play, the characters cycle through stories about creation, stories about death, and stories about crossing a threshold or becoming someone new. "Rebirth is about deciding to change and become a better person." —Annie Baker, The Antipodes
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MONSTERS
In the play, the characters work to develop a narrative about monstrosity. They tell stories about myth and fairytale monsters. They recount monstrous experiences in their past. Some treat others in a monstrous manner. They are caught in a monstrous commercial production system that pries them open, extracts their stories, and then abandons them.
"All the women in my family are a little bit monsters." —Annie Baker, The Antipodes |
EGGS
Eggs contain potential and represent creation. The characters want to crack, or break open, their ideas to find the life of the story inside. The kind of femininity associated with eggs is dismissed and even derided by some men in the writers' room, both in their stories and in how they relate to Eleanor and Sarah. This reflects many women's experiences in Hollywood.
"Her ovary just tied itself in a knot and then it exploded." —Annie Baker, The Antipodes |
Header Image: Michael Maier / Atalanta Fugiens