The Star of Ishtar |
Watchman Comment: Stanley Kubrick, I believe, was a cinematic genius. His movies: "2001, A Space Odyssey" and "Clock Work Orange" were way ahead of their time and so was his last movie "Eyes Wide Shut" Think about the title it perfectly describes American society at present. Most Americans have deliberately buried their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge the evil being perpetrated by their corrupt leaders.
The Vigilant Citizen wrote the outstanding article below.
“Eyes Wide Shut”
was promoted as a steamy, suspenseful movie starring the “It” couple of the
day: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. While the actors were prominently featured
in the movie, it is everything around them that told the true story of “Eyes
Wide Shut”. Stanley Kubrick’s attention to detail and symbolism gave the movie
an entire other dimension – one that cannot be seen by those who have their
eyes wide shut. This multiple-part series will look at the hidden symbolism of
Kubrick’s final film.
I remember when I first watched Eyes Wide Shut, back
in 1999. Boy, did I hate it. I hated how slow everything was, I hated how
Nicole Kidman tried to sound drunk or high and I hated seeing Tom Cruise walk
around New York looking concerned. I guess I reacted the same way critics did
at the time the movie came out and thought: “This movie is boring and there is
nothing hot about it.” More than a decade later, equipped with a little more
knowledge and patience, I re-watched the movie … and it blew my mind. In fact,
like most Stanley Kubrick films, an entire book could be written about the
movie and the concepts it addresses. Eyes Wide Shut is indeed
not simply about a relationship, it is about all of the outside forces and
influences that define that relationship. It is about the eternal
back-and-forth between the male and female principles in a confused and
decadent modern world. Also, more importantly, it is about the group that rules
this modern world – a secret elite that channels this struggle between the male
and female principles in a specific and esoteric matter. The movie however does
not spell out anything. Like all great art, messages are communicated through
subtle symbols and mysterious riddles.
Stanley Kubrick unexpectedly died only five days after submitting
the final cut of the movie to Warner Bros, making Eyes Wide Shut
his swan song. Considering the fact that Eyes Wide Shut is
about an occult secret society that eliminates those who cross its path, some
theories arose about Kubrick’s death and its suspicious nature. Did he
reveal to the public too much, too soon? Maybe.
Let’s look at the main themes of Kubrick’s last creation.
The Modern Couple
The stars of Eyes Wide Shut were the “It” couple
of 1999: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Those who were expecting the movie to be
a sort of voyeuristic experience showing hot scenes of the couple were probably
very disappointed. The audience rather got a cold, egoistic and profoundly
unsatisfied couple, one that seems to be tied together not by pure love, but by
other factors, like convenience and appearances. While the couple is very
“modern” and “upper-class”, the forces that keep it together are the result of
basic, primal and almost animalistic behavior. If we look at the instinctive
behavior of humans and animals, males primarily look for females that have good
child-bearing qualities while females look for a strong provider. Remnants of
this behavior still exist today as males tend to display wealth and power to
attract females while females showcase their beauty to attract males. In Eyes
Wide Shut, the couple perfectly follows that instinctive script.
Tom Cruise’s character is called Dr. Bill … as in dollar bill.
Several times during the movie, Dr. Bill either waves his money or his “doctor
badge” at people to get them to do what he wants. Bill is part of the upper
class and his dealings with people of the lower class are often resolved with
money.
In order to get this taxi driver to wait for him in front of the
elite mansion, Dr. Bill tears up a hundred dollar bill and promises him to give
him the other half when he comes back. Dr. Bill’s motto is probably “Everybody
has a price”. Does his own wife have a price?
Played by Nicole Kidman, Alice lost her job in the art world and
is now fully supported by her husband’s salary. While she lives very
comfortably, Alice appears to be extremely bored with her life as a stay at
home mother. The name Alice is most likely a reference to the main character ofAlice
in Wonderland – a fairy tale about a privileged girl who is bored with
her life and who goes “through the looking glass” to end up in Wonderland.
In Eyes Wide Shut, Alice is often shown staring at the looking
glass – grooming herself or … maybe looking for something more to life.
Alice is often shown
in front of the mirror and making herself pretty. At the beginning of the
movie, almost everyone who talk to her mention her appearance. Her daughter
Helena (maybe named after Helena of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the
world) follows in her footsteps.
Promotional images for the movie feature Alice kissing Bill but
looking at herself in the mirror, almost as if she was seeing an alternate
reality.
While the couple shows signs of fatigue, Bill and Alice put on
their “happy masks” when it is time to attend social events. Like the elite
people they socialize with, there is a big difference between the facade they
put on and reality.
Brushing With the Elite
Bill and Alice go to a classy party given by Victor Ziegler,
one of Bill’s wealthy patients. Judging from Victor’s house, he is not simply
rich, he is part of the ultra-elite. While his party is very elegant and is
attended by highly cultured people, it doesn’t take long for the viewers to
realize that this facade hides a disgusting dark side. Also, small details
inserted by Kubrick hint to a link between the party and the occult ritual that
occurs later in the movie.
The Star of Ishtar |
When entering the party, the first thing we see is this peculiar
Christmas decoration. This eight-pointed star is found throughout the house. The star at Zeigler’s house is nearly identical to the ancient
symbol of the star of Ishtar.
Knowing Kubrick’s attention
to detail, the inclusion of the star of Ishtar in this party is not an
accident. Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war and, mostly,
sexuality. Her cult involved sacred prostitution and ritual acts – two elements
we clearly see later in the movie.
Anita Revel wrote the following about the goddess Ishtar:
“Babylonians gave Ishtar offerings of food and drink on Saturday.
They then joined in ritual acts of lovemaking, which in turn invoked Ishtar’s
favor on the region and its people to promote continued health and
fruitfulness.”Ishtar herself was considered to be the “courtesan of the gods”
and had many lovers. While inspired in bed, she was also cruel to the men that
got attached to her. These concepts will constantly reappear in the movie,
especially with Alice.
During the party, Bill and
Alice go their separate ways and are both faced with temptation. Alice meets a
man named Sandor Szavost who asks her about Ovid’s Art of Love. This
series of books, written during the times of Ancient Rome, was essentially a
“How to Cheat on Your Partner” guide, and was popular with the elite of the
time. The first book opens with an invocation to Venus – the planet
esoterically associated with lust. Interestingly enough, Ishtar (and her
equivalents in other Semetic cultures) was considered to be the personification
of Venus.
Sandor drinks from Alice’s glass. This trick is taken right out
of Ovid’s The Art of Love. It sends Alice a message that
is not very subliminal: “I want to exchange fluids with you”.
Sandor’s name might be a
reference to the founder of the Church of Satan: Anton Szandor Lavey. Is this
Kubrick’s way of saying that this man, who urges Alice to cheat on her husband,
is a part of the occult elite and its decadent ways? The Hungarian man is
apparently skilled in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) as he nearly
hypnotizes Alice with well calculated phrases about the futility of married
life and the necessity of pursuing pleasure.
Meanwhile, Bill is discussing with two flirtatious models who tell
him that they want to take him to “where the rainbow ends”. While the meaning
of this enigmatic phrase is never explicitly explained in the movie, symbols
talk for themselves.
Rainbows Everywhere
Watchman comment: I think Kubrick is warning us about the coming homosexual revolution with the rainbows.
Rainbows and multicolored lights appear throughout the movie, from
the beginning to the end.
The name of the store where Bill rents his costume is called
“Rainbow”. The name of the store under it: “Under the Rainbow”. Kubrick is
trying to tell us something…Something involving rainbows.
As if to emphasize the theme of multicolored rainbows, almost
every scene in the movie contains multicolored Christmas lights, giving most
sets a hazy, dreamy glow.
Almost every time Bill enters a room, the first things we see are
multicolored Christmas lights.
Sometimes Christmas lights are the focal point of attention.
These lights tie together most scenes of the movie, making them
part of the same reality. There are however a few select scenes where there are
absolutely no Christmas lights. The main one is Somerton palace – the place
where the secret society ritual takes place.
Sharply
contrasting with the rest of the movie, Sommerton is completely devoid of
multicolored lights. Everything about this place is in sharp opposition with
the “outside world”.
In Eyes Wide Shut,
there are therefore two worlds: The Christmas lights-filled “rainbow world”,
where the masses wander around, trying to make ends meet and the other world…
“where the rainbow ends”- where the elite gathers and performs its
rituals. The contrast between the two world give a sense of an almost
insurmountable divide between them. Later, the movie will clearly show us how
those from the “rainbow world” cannot enter the other world.
So, when the models ask
Bill the go “where the rainbow ends”, they probably refer to going “where the
elite gathers and performs rituals”. It might also be about them being
dissociated Beta Programming slaves. There are several references to Monarch
mind control (read this article for more
information) in the movie. Women who take part in elite rituals are
often products of Illuminati mind control. In MK Ultra vocabulary, “going over
the rainbow” means dissociating from reality and entering another persona (more
on this in the next article).
The models ask Bill to leave the “rainbow world” (there’s a
Christmas tree right behind them) to indulge in the debaucherous rituals of the
occult elite.
Behind the Curtain
Bill’s flirting with the models is interrupted when Ziegler calls
him to his bathroom. There, we get a first glance of “where the rainbow ends” –
the dark truth about the elite.
Bill meets Ziegler in his gigantic bathroom. The man is dressing
up and is with a naked unconscious woman…who is not his wife.
If we rewind a little, when Bill and Alice first entered the
party, they were welcomed by Ziegler and his wife in a room filled with
Christmas lights. We saw two respectable couples talking about respectable
things in room full of enchanting lights. But when Bill goes “where the rainbow
ends” (notice there are no Christmas lights in the bathroom) we see reality:
Ziegler with a Beta programming slave who overdosed on goofballs. When the woman
gains consciousness, Ziegler talks to her in an odd, paternal matter,
highlighting the fact that he’s the master and she’s the slave. The luxurious
setting of this scene is Kubrick’s way of saying that extreme wealth does not
necessary equal high morals.
Ziegler then urges Bill to keep everything he just saw a secret.
The world “where the rainbow ends” must never be revealed to the outside world.
It operates in its own space, has its own rules and depends on the masses’
ignorance.
Questioning Marriage
While Alice ultimately rejected Sandor’s advances, she was
nevertheless enticed by them. The next day, Alice tells Bill that she could
have cheated on him at the party. When Bill tells his wife that he loves and
trusts her, she completely loses it. She then proceeds to tell him a story
about how she was once ready to cheat on him with a naval officer she met in a
hotel. This cruel story highlights the “Ishtar” side of Alice as she brings up
in her husband feelings of jealousy, insecurity, betrayal and even humiliation.
In short, Alice purposely summoned everything that is negative in relationships
to pop Bill’s “love bubble”. This wake-up call prompts Bill to embark in a
strange journey around New-York city, one that has multiple level of meanings.
That strange night will ultimately lead him to the exact opposite of a
monogamous relationship: Anonymous, masked copulation with strangers in a
ritual setting. Bill’s journey will be further analyzed in the second part of
this series of articles.
The first part of this series about Eyes Wide Shut took
a broad look at Bill and Alice, a modern couple that has the “privilege” of
brushing with the upper-echelon of New York. While everything appears great on
the surface, Kubrick quickly tells the viewers to not be deceived by
appearances and to not be impressed by exhibitions of wealth. Because, behind
the “rainbow world”, exists a dark and disturbing reality, one that Kubrick
exposes in many subtle ways throughout the movie.
While Bill and Alice are simply “guests” in the elite circle, they
are nevertheless fascinated and attracted by it. They see in this lifestyle a
way of fulfilling their dark and secret needs. In the next part of this series,
we’ll look at the occult meaning of Bill’s journey – a story told by subtle
symbols peppered throughout the movie.
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