August 9th, 2024

TikToker finds clue in Interstellar that changes meaning of whole movie

A TikToker suggests a theory that Joseph Cooper may have died early in "Interstellar," proposing the rest of the film represents his afterlife journey, prompting viewers to reconsider its themes.

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TikToker finds clue in Interstellar that changes meaning of whole movie

A TikToker, known as @Stark_Verse, has sparked a discussion about a potential clue in Christopher Nolan's film "Interstellar" that could alter the film's interpretation. The movie, which features Matthew McConaughey as Joseph Cooper, delves into complex themes such as quantum physics, time travel, and the relationship between Cooper and his daughter, Murphy. The TikToker noticed that a specific piece of footage is reused in two different contexts within the film, leading him to speculate that Cooper may have died in a crash at the beginning. This theory suggests that the remainder of the film could represent Cooper's journey in the afterlife. The TikToker points out various elements in the film that support this interpretation, including references to death and the metaphorical language used by the characters. He argues that the film's layers of meaning can be understood through scientific, philosophical, and spiritual lenses, making it a rich subject for analysis. This perspective has resonated with viewers, prompting them to reconsider the film's narrative and themes.

- A TikToker claims to have found a clue in "Interstellar" that changes its meaning.

- The theory suggests that Joseph Cooper may have died in a crash early in the film.

- The remainder of the film could symbolize Cooper's journey in the afterlife.

- The analysis highlights the film's complex themes of death and time.

- The discussion emphasizes the multi-layered interpretations of Nolan's work.

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By @JohnMakin - 7 months
Fan theories are fun but usually extrapolate far too much off of innocuous (and likely accidental) clues. Post production cuts are often out of the control of the director entirely. If this was the intended meaning, it would have been far more explicit - Christopher Nolan isn't Edgar Allen Poe, he's making blockbuster movies meant for a general audience.
By @gamblor956 - 7 months
The theory doesn't make any sense; unlike The Sixth Sense, the main character in Interstellar interacts with a lot of people. If he's dead, so are they (or they're just figments of his post-death experience).

The journey doesn't make any sense as a post-death experience, since none of the events are tied to his life (before the events of the movie), so there's no deeper meaning to the wave planet, or the ice planet, or falling into the black hole.

Also, Nolan doesn't do meta-contextual films. His specialty is the technical aspects of storytelling (see, e.g., Memento, The Prestige, Dunkirk, and Tenet), not in imbuing deeper emotional meanings into his works. Indeed, one of the big critiques of his films (excluding Dunkirk and Oppenheimer) was that they generally lack any emotional depth.

By @tedunangst - 7 months
And this is why you don't pirate movies, kids. In the actual movie, it's not the exact same footage.
By @jmaker - 7 months
I thought that initial flight sequence was about his prior flight experience where he’d hit a turbulence and had to abandon, which later is referred to at that roundtable scene at the NASA meeting when they begin to mention the gravity clusters.
By @tayo42 - 7 months
> It has amassed a cult following for both theories around its meaning

What kind of meaning? It was a good, fun interesting movie, but overall message and issues it dealt with seemed pretty straight forward?

By @valianteffort - 7 months
Fun theory but I don't buy it. Cooper meets people he never met before in his journey. You'd think if it were a trip into the afterlife he'd see his wife, or more people from his past besides Professor Mann.