Hello to everyone out there fighting the good fight and where ever you may be. A couple of interesting images have popped up on the Falling Skies Facebook page recently and I wanted to comment on them. As you can see by the title of this blog post I'm interested in all things "Shadow".
Let's take a look at the above image. Here we have the iconic statue of Abraham Lincoln as it sits in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.. I guess we have to be glad the Overlords decided not to incinerate the Memorial although it does seem to have suffered a little battle damage.
Along with the battle damage we can see some graffiti, "You can't shoot us all" and "Die Skitter". The first is a bit fatalistic in a sense. Imagine seeking victory or mere survival by relying on the odds that not everyone can be killed. Sounds a little desperate. The graffiti to the right of Lincoln is a bit artistic, (maybe Banksy survived the apocalypse) we have a Skitter head being held aloft at the end of a bayonet with the rifle itself is gripped by a bloody hand. The clenched fist (our bloody rifle hand) is an historic symbol of defiance so it shouldn't be a surprise to see it here. (I wonder if the bullet holes are all that remains of where the artist once stood.)
So what is interesting?
Behind Lincoln is the superimposed relief of an Overlord. Actually, it looks digitally imprinted behind Lincoln. Would a graffiti artist do this? I would think not. This seems to be the work of Earth's invaders the Espheni. One could speculate that if the Memorial became a source of inspiration or a rallying point then the Espheni would want everyone to know that you could not even look at one of America's most treasured sites without being reminded who their real leaders are.
Additionally, Lincoln was know as the "Great Emancipator" the President that freed the slaves from their bondage and reunited the Union. Again, the Espheni wants the message to be loud and clear. There will be no emancipation or freedom for anyone. Earth's servitude and bondage will continue under their constant watch. The new Lincoln Memorial makes that abundantly clear.
If I were to retain any sense of optimism about this picture it would be to speculate that the graffiti artist and his message came after the Espheni desecrated the Memorial.
The spectral shadow reappears in our next picture. Here the silhouetted outline of an Overlord is much less defined than the Lincoln Memorial one. Was this the work of the Espheni or did a resistance fighter paint this? What's eerie is the disembodied arm of an Espheni or Skitter extending from the doorway seemingly completing the graphic rendition of the Overlord.
"We can still prevail" is painted in large letters along the wall and a target like symbol in red is painted over the Overlord shadow. Did the Espheni paint themselves on the wall to remind Earth's survivors that they are everywhere? Or did a resistance fighter paint the Espheni and then "target" him?
Take notice of the "Gas mask" sign that is hanging center left in this picture. Was this a shelter to provide relief from the invasion? Or is there a more grim and sinister meaning to the mask? If you look further to the left we can see inside the wall. In the deep background we can see what looks to be some sort of fireplace or oven. This is where our story takes a dark turn. What if this tableau represents some sort of charnel house of horrors? There is blood over the doorway to the far right, is this where the victims and survivors were flung to their fiery doom? Does the bloody doorway symbolize the last gasp of the downtrodden?
Who are our downtrodden?
Was this "Charnel House of Horrors" employed by the Espheni or are the humans using it to rid themselves of their alien victims? Either way it would represent a grim turn by the writers of Falling Skies.
Alternate theories are welcome, let me know what you think or if I have missed something.
Next up; Have the Falling Skies writer ratcheted up the sexual quotient to their show?
Hi Dave!
ReplyDeleteYay! It's almost time for new Falling Skies! I really like this Ad campaign. So I wonder about the shadows of the overlords. Why shadows and not more detailed images? If the overlords drew them then why not make them more menacing, flanked by weapons and such. Why would they leave Lincoln's statue intact? Certainly looming over him is suggestive, but outright oblitherating him would be a show of dominant force. I'm thinking that people drew/painted them. Perhaps the reason they are only shadows is that not many humans have gotten close enough to an overlord to see the details and lived. The other thing those shadows sort of remind me of are remnants of a being that has been oblitherated by an explosion, there was an image like that in Battlestar Galactica and another in Iron Man 3 on walls where a bomb went off. I don't really think that is what these are, but perhaps that is what the artist meant to evoke. All that will remain.
The shadows are certainly an effective and unsettling choice. Haunting, elusive, indistinct and menacing, yet without substance.
"Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick, a shadow on a wall, and a very small man can cast a very large shadow." - Game of Thrones. Perhaps that is true of aliens as well. The overlords loom large now, but if their minions and weapons are stripped away then how powerful are they really?
I can't wait until we have an actual episode to discuss! - Lynne
Lynne, part of my thinking about leaving the Memorial intact was that the Overlords were too busy consolidating their gains and enslaving parts of humanity to go around destroying empty buildings. I never was impressed with their numbers and we know they've enslaved other races so I would imagine they don't have time to blow up everything in their path. Add to this I've always thought they were on the run and now that the new aliens have arrived I think this bears that out. So much to conquer, so little time!
DeleteI don't see why someone would paint an Overlord behind Lincoln but I can see it for the second picture. I wonder if we'll ever get an explanation.
Another thing that came to mind about the Overlord "shadows" was the shadows or imprints left behind by the victims of the Hiroshima bombing. Their dark outlines were literally seared into sidewalks and buildings. I was going to make that part of the blog post but I thought I was getting too gloomy already. As you said, "All that will remain".
Nice Game of Thrones reference. I'm still a little raw from the last episode. Another post coming soon and, yes, a real episode too!