The power plant smokestacks (or more specifically, the space between them) resemble the female genitalia. Also, notice that more smoke pours from the stacks the angrier Dawn gets. These two observations combined make the smokestacks a symbol of female sexual power.
I knew there was some kind of symbolism going on, and not just some hint at nuclear mutation due to the power plant.
When we first see the stacks Dawn is a little girl, and the smoke/steam is light and calm as it should be, the stacks are also clean and pure. As Dawn's sexuality begins to heat up we see dark thick smoke/steam rising from the stacks. When the sexual tension picks up it becomes very dense and almost black, and the top of the stacks are SUDDENLY now covered in black soot, which probably represents her tainted purity. This continues until the end where she is running away on the highway...the stacks are now very calm, only emitting light tiny puffs, but the blackened filthy soot remains as a reminder of what came before. Dawn is no longer pure, but forever stained by her actions.
This symbolism now seems so obvious to me, I can't believe I didn't see it immediately. Especially since nuclear power plants do not emit such thick billowing clouds of filthy smoke, or leave nasty soot on the stacks. It's a clean looking steam in reality.
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MarshallStax
9 years ago
Good catch. I noticed that there was a change in the towers but failed to note it in such detail. Considering some of the relatively subtle things going on in the script, I'd say the change on the towers as a reflection of Dawn's state is no accident.
All Art is pretense.
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