MovieChat Forums > The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) Discussion > Symbolism of the birds and evolution

Symbolism of the birds and evolution

posted 10 years ago by sean-osullivan
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Hey, I just saw the movie and it really touched me. The dialogue and scenes were amazingly put together. After the movie i was discussing something with someone and I couldn't find a clear answer here on the forums.

When the bird flew against the glass the man said the birds should 'learn' by evolution not the fly into it because of the reflection. And thats how the 'circle' of evolution should go. The woman though put up stickers on the glass to prevent the birds from dieing. The man called it a quick solution and basicly said it would help the birds on the lang run, thus breaking down the circle so the speak. The bird is clearly an analogy for the child and the stickers for the drugs the woman od on right?

My friend disagrees.., what do you guys think?

[–] Alix-in-Wonderland 10 years ago

I don't completely agree. There's clearly a link between the child and the bird, but I think it has more to do with death. They both died suddenly, for no apparent reason other than they just weren't as lucky as the others. So, the bird embodies Maybelle's fears and questions regarding her own fate.

I think the sticker scene has more to do with religion, rather than evolution.
As I see it, the reason Didier get really annoyed by the stickers is that they're an illusion, which doesn't bring true solutions to the problem.
And that's exactly the way he sees religion: as an illusion that'll bring an easy answers and distract people from their fear of death and therefore won't teach them how to cope.
Just as the stickers scare the birds away and don't let them learn how to avoid glass by themselves.

In contrast, Elise is not bothered by this fact. 'Every problem has its solution' she says. Whether that solution is 'good' or not doesn't matter. Religion brings her the confort she needs and the answers she wants. What is important is that it works for her, and not if it's realistic or not. 'If I want to believe that our daughter is a star in the sky, then I believe it.'