Adult Swim is a television network that airs at 8:00 PM on the Cartoon Network channel. However, unlike most cartoons, the ones aired on Adult Swim are not for children—they’re for adults. But that’s not all there is to the media on Adult Swim. Adult Swim specializes in the eerie, the disturbing, and unsettlingly real (like analog horror – check out this article if you’re interested!). And, in October of 2020, a new film aired on Adult Swim, one that was eerie, disturbing, and unsettlingly real. This film is “Opal” by Jack Stauber.
“Opal” by Jack Stauber
“Opal” by Jack Stauber is an incredible short film that delves into deep topics in such a unique and artistic fashion. The film uses the medium of claymation and also has songs inserted within that pull the storyline. Being on Adult Swim and also being a piece by Jack Stauber, the piece is already set to be a deep but uncomfortable piece. It was that, most definitely, but so, so much more. Please watch “Opal” by Jack Stauber before you read onward from here as there will be major spoilers here on out.
The Premise
The story in “Opal” by Jack Stauber follows a young girl to whom we are introduced to as Opal. In the opening, Opal appears to be around a family consisting of a mother, father, and grandfather, supposed to be hers. The house is simple but neat, and quite comforting as well. Opal sits at a table with a burger sitting on a plate in front of her. Immediately, the trio begins to sing for Opal.
We see you, Opal,
your troubles are miles away.
We see you, Opal,
and in our eyes you’ll stay.
Going to the Strange House
After the small song, the parents encourage and praise Opal. Delighted by the positivity, Opal begins dancing on top of the table. But while dancing, she looks out the window and sees a shadowy house directly across the street. The father immediately tells Opal to disregard the house, speaking as if they have spoken about this before. Opal is then sent to bed.
Once the parents left Opal to sleep, she looked out the shadowy house across the street. Suddenly, strange apparition and noises erupt from the upper attic space of that house. Amongst the music, if you listen close enough, you can even hear the cries of a child. Opal is pulled by this appearance, and she can’t help her curiosity. So, instead of heeding the father’s wishes, Opal sets off to the house.
Opal slowly makes her way across the street and to the house. On the doorstep, she looks at the large, intimidating appearance of the house. Suddenly, the porch lights turn on. Startled, Opal rushes into the house. The house is dark, even more shadowy than its outward appearance. The darkness is isolating, but Opal is not alone. For, before her, is a man.
The Grandfather
The man is an old man, a grandfather. He sits in front of a TV with his back to Opal. Opal tries to leave the house but she makes a grave mistake—stepping on paper. The man is instantly altered by the noise, and turns around to look directly at Opal. He tells her to bring him his cigarettes and that she shouldn’t hide them from him. The old man tells her that it’s evil to help people who don’t need help, to whom he is referring to we can infer to be his own self. Importantly, he calls Opal (or at least who we know to be Opal) Claire. The old man then breaks out into song, singing about how easy breathing seems for those he sees on TV, a TV he’s glued to daily.
After the music segment, however, the old man starts to notice something weird about Opal (or Claire). He claims she isn’t Claire, and starts trying to chase her out of the house. Opal is terrified by the old man’s actions and she runs up the stairs. Here, she is confronted with a door, one that seems to be admitting the same aura she saw in the attic. However, as she advances towards the door, she is stopped by a man. A man in a room of mirrors.
The Father
Opal turns to face a man in a room. However, her view of the man is blocked by the mirror right in front of his face. Mirrors as such seem to be encircling him as well, completely obstructing his view of anything but himself. The man starts talking, and talking, and talking.
He tells Opal seemingly pointless things. He tells her how much he enjoys his own appearance, telling her that he’s glad he doesn’t have some parts of her own physical appearance like her ankles. He tells her that he is small and growing and that Opal could sacrifice some time to focus on him. He then tells her that Opal keeps treating him like a stranger, something that seems to offend him. The man starts talking about people being negative to him, referencing that he is just growing again.
The man then also also has his own song, talking about his own beauty and how he wants others to recognize him. However, as his song ended, Opal sees the old man coming towards her up the stairs. She runs to the door she was originally headed to as the mirror man calls out for her to come back, breaking one of his mirrors in doing so. Opal makes it to the door in time, entering the room before she is caught.
The Mother
Just when Opal left the room, a hand grabbed her ankle and dragged her down. We see that the owner of this hand is an awfully ungroomed woman. She starts talking to Claire about the relationship between them. She tells Claire that they are both the same, both equally weak and powerless to their situations. As she speaks, there is an evident echo and wavering of speech, and when seeing Opal from her perspective, she sees it shakily and in double.
This woman then sings her own song. She sings about how a mother needs a daughter, someone who she can rely on and find comfort in. Throughout, there is imagery of drugs and pills, a hint to what the woman might be. At the end of her song, the camera zooms into the mother’s eye. Here an extremely fast and chaotic sequence ensues; there appears to be a phone dialing 911, a woman hitting another person, and a woman screaming.
After her song, the woman begins speaking to Opal again, dragging an alcohol bottle over her body. However, her speech becomes increasingly hysterical, and at the last moment, Opal escapes her grip.
The Finale
She runs up to the attic door, and closes it behind her with a chair to hold the knob. She looks out the window in front of her. Here, she sees a large billboard advertisement. There is a girl like Opal depicted with a burger in front of her, surrounded by a loving mother, father, and grandfather. The billboard text read, Opal’s Burgers.
Just then, the old man, the man, and the woman that Opal saw throughout the house begin banging at her attic door. Opal is terrified but frozen—there is nowhere left to run. A strange sequence begins here. The old man’s eyes, the man’s mirror, and the woman’s pills are replaced with Opal’s face.
Opal finally reaches her snapping point. She screams and kneels on the ground, folding her body as if to curl into herself. She covers her ears and squeezes her eyes shut, trying her best to block the chaos out of her perception.
When Opal opens her eyes, she’s back where she was before. The happy mother, father, and grandfather stand before her, covering the image of the strange house she was in. They serenade her once more, hands in air to celebrate her existence.
We see you, Opal,
your troubles are miles away.
We see you, Opal,
and in our eyes you’ll stay.
And as the piano instrumental continues, the camera zooms out. It zooms out from the family, out from Opal’s head, out from the attic she’s within, out from the house; out to see the Opal’s world in its full and true form.
The Analysis
As you can imagine, there’s a lot of unpacking to do with Opal because the film is just filled to the brim with figurative imagery, language and complexity. Let’s start with an analysis of each character within the short film.
Opal vs. Claire
The life we see Opal, or actually Claire, living in in the beginning of the film isn’t her real one. Actually, the shadowy house she enters is her home and the people who inhabit it are her family. Just as everyone in that house calls her, Opal is actually Claire. But where did the name, “Opal” come from?
Well, if you remember, the very end of the film showcased a billboard advertisement for a fast-food place called “Opal’s Burgers”. That is where that first family came from. They don’t actually exits—they are a creation of Claire’s imagination. The only thing that Claire sees outside of her own family is that family in the advertisement. The only happiness she sees is in that family in the advertisement. So, when it all gets too much for her, Claire disassociates from her reality into the one she made up, the one where her family actually loves her. That is why in the very end, we see the family zooming out from inside Claire’s head. That is where they reside because they are purely a product of her imagination.
Claire adopted the name of Opal in her own imagination because “Opal” is the only child she sees receiving that sort of love. So, in her mind, “Opal” is the only child that would be capable of receiving that familial love. “Claire” would forever be doomed to the abusive environment she was born in, and hence, could not be the subject of such affection.
The Grandfather
The grandfather is the first old man we see when Claire enters the shady house, and the first form of abuse we see in the film. The grandfather is blind. He wears black glasses representative of those worn by blind people, and hence, the common assumption is that he cannot see. He appears to have dementia as well as he doesn’t recognize Claire towards the end of their interaction.
The grandfather is also smoker. It’s quite evident with his first line being to ask Claire to bring him his cigarettes. It is also evident that Claire is aware about how bad his smoking gets as he warns her hiding his cigarettes. He makes it clear that he does not appreciate Claire caring for his health when he tells her it is “evil to help people who don’t need help”. This also further demonizes Claire’s attempts at doing good, making her feel insecure in her ability to do good.
The Song – “Easy to Breathe”
Now, like for every character, the grandfather’s individual song reveals a lot about his character, the issues he faces, and how that impacts his relationship with Claire. Let us take a look at the lyrics:
Tell me
Why does it sound so easy to breathe on TV?
I can’t see
Why it sounds so easy to breathe
I’m popular here, they all sing to me (La la la la)
Idea salesmen, they want my soul, Claire
They fight over me like dogs
And the girls are singing (La la la la)
They dance too, I assume (Yeah, we do!)
They want my soul as well
I need that smoke, Claire
What the hell is taking you?
And won’t you tell me (La la la la)
Why does it sound so easy to breathe on TV?
Oh, won’t you tell mе (La la la la)
Why does it sound so easy to breathе on TV?
The first line itself reveals the absolute ignorance in the mind of the grandfather. When he says, “why does it sound so easy to breathe on TV”, he is clearly inferring his own ability to breathe, or lack thereof. However, he seems unable to recognize that his chain-smoking is what is causing his inability to breathe properly, like those he sees on TV. It also clues us in to his second addiction—the TV.
Television
When the grandfather sings about the “idea salesman” and the dancing and singing “girls”, he’s talking about the shows and advertisements he sees on TV. He thinks that the people he sees on TV are incredibly obsessed with him because of how much he sees them, claiming they “want [his] soul”. The grandfather is so sucked in the television, so addicted to it, that he is unable to differentiate between the TV and reality. He builds what are almost para-social relationships (a one-sided emotional connection, often with popularized figures) with the characters that appear on the TV screen. Because he watches TV day in and day out, he sees those characters all the time. In turn, he personalizes their appearances and thinks they have some sort of relationship with him.
The Relationship with Claire
The grandfather is incredibly neglectful towards Claire. He never interacts with her unless it is to ask her to do something for him or criticize her for not doing so. He does not care for her at all; he makes it clear when asking a young girl to give him cigarettes and not once asking her how she is herself. The way Claire tiptoes around him, it is clear that she feels unsafe around her grandfather. He is unpredictable for her, not only because of addiction to cigarettes and lack of care for her, but because of his dementia as well. She doesn’t know whether he’ll remember her or not, and she doesn’t want to do anything that would lead him to threaten her as he did in the film.
The Father
Claire’s father is very clearly a narcissist. He is surrounded by mirrors to the point that all he sees is himself. Nothing else matters to him except his own being. Even when he’s talking to his daughter, he can’t look at her; he can only continue to look at his own reflection. That symbolizes his lack of care for those around him and the immense importance he gives to himself over even his own child.
The Narcissism in the Father
If you look at some of the signs of someone with narcissistic personality disorder (as outlined here), Claire’s father fits many of them even with the minimal dialogue we get from him. His first words are asking Claire why she isn’t greeting him as she walks by his room. But more importantly, you can hear a deep voice right after that line saying “look at me”. Jack Stauber is very intentional about his dialogue here. While the father seems to be sounding somewhat nice when beckoning Claire to him, his true intentions (as revealed by the deeper voice), is to force Claire to give him attention. This attention-seeking behavior is incredibly common in those with narcissistic personality disorder.
Soon after, the father starts talking about his appearance and off-handedly (at least he intends it to sound off-handed) mentions how he’s glad he doesn’t have Claire’s ankles. He quickly corrects himself, saying it’s not a big deal but the deep voice then says, “fix it”. This time, the deep voice, which represents the father’s inner voice, is again explaining the intention behind the father’s sugar-coated words. While it seems like the father accidentally mentioned an aspect of Claire he deems unfavorable, he actually wanted it to hit Claire like an insult and make her insecure. This condescension, or grandiosity, is also a central trait in those with narcissistic personality disorder.
Self-Infantilization in the Father
Another thing the father seems to do is infantilize himself, or at the very least, deny any adult responsibilities he has. If we pick up the dialogue where our last analysis ended, he begins talking about how small he is. He says he’s so small, you could hold him in the palm of your hand. He says that he’s growing and developing as a person, on some sort of self-help journey.
This dialogue correlates with self-infantilization as well as Peter Pan syndrome. Both of these explain people who do not want to take upon their adult responsibilities, instead referring to themselves in an almost child-like manner to remove the weight of responsibility. In this case, it is the father’s duty to give his child the healthy life she needs. Instead, he only cares for himself. Worse yet, he asks Claire, his child, to give him the attention and forgiveness that he should be giving to Claire as her father.
The Mother
The mother is arguably the scariest of the three guardians Claire shares a roof with. Like Claire’s grandfather, Claire’s mother is an addict. However, unlike him, she isn’t limited to cigarettes. With the imagery of pills and the alcohol bottle in her hands, Claire’s mother is obviously severely addicted to drugs.
The Toxic Relationship with Claire
But that’s not all there is to her. In the first dialogue we hear from her, the mother is most definitely in an intoxicated state. She is almost venting to Claire, telling her how she believes goodness would one day come to her. The mother tells Claire she should be more considerate to her, essentially asking Claire to act better as her personal therapist. She says she forgives Claire, however, as well as everyone else she claims has done her harm. Then, reflecting on how horrible their situation has gotten she begins to say “I feel terrible for all the things”. However, she immediately switches her dialogue to “I feel terrible”.
This entire beginning monologue reveals the mother’s constant victim mentality. In every line, she removes any responsibility from her own self. When she says that goodness will come to her, she purposefully keeps herself passive in the sentence. She doesn’t believe that she has to do anything to bring goodness into her life; she believes it should walk into her palms. She doesn’t acknowledge the role she’ll have to play in the better means of the entire family’s current situation.
The mother proceeds to blame Claire for not being there for her enough, as if it was Claire’s obvious role to carry her mother’s emotional burden. The forgiveness she gives directly after this is completely unwarranted as there was nothing for Claire to be sorry for. However, it paints a picture to the young child that she has wronged her mother, even though she didn’t, making her feel it is her duty to care for her own mother.
The Song – “Virtuous Cycle”
Again, like all the guardians, the mother also has her own solo song. Hers is, however, significantly shorter than the previous two. Regardless, the lyrics are packed with meaning and revelations to the character of the mother and her relationship with Claire.
Mama needs a little girl to land on
Mama needs a little girl to fall in her arms
Mama needs a mama’s girl to take good care
Mama needs a baby girl to hold her hair
This whole song describes exactly how the mother views her relationship with Claire. She doesn’t see her motherly role as caring for her child; rather, she sees it as being cared for by her child. The mother sees Claire as someone she can lean on, someone she can use as a personal therapist, someone who can carry all her emotional burdens. She doesn’t see it as her responsibility to care for Claire at all; she only sees it as Claire’s responsibility to care for her.
The Symbols of Sight
One incredibly important symbol throughout the film is the symbolism of eyes. Every one of Claire’s family members have an obstructed vision of Claire in some way or another. With the grandfather, he is blind (as evidenced by his glasses) and cannot see Claire. His dementia also impairs his memory of Claire, and hence, his perception and sight of Claire as well. He doesn’t know what Claire really looks like because he can’t even remember her, nor does he care to.
The father can never see Claire because he can only ever see himself, both figuratively and literally. The mirrors that he surrounds himself with entirely obstructs his view of Claire. He says to Claire, “why do people look at me like the way you probably are right now?”. The fact that he had to day “probably” shows, directly from his mouth, that he cannot see Claire. His narcissism prevents him from ever recognizing the needs, emotions, or even just existence of Claire as a human being, let alone his child.
The mother’s vision is deteriorated by her drug usage. As you see in the film, she sees Claire in double vision and cannot properly see her. She does, however, pretend to see and understand Claire. She refers to herself and Claire in conjunction as if she cares about Claire, as if she understands what Claire is experiencing. However she does not at all. All she does with this supposed “understanding” is lump her problems onto Claire, not once recognizing Claire as an individual.
Her Imagined Family
Let’s take a look at the song we hear Claire’s imaginary family sing:
We see you, Opal,
your troubles are miles away.
We see you, Opal,
and in our eyes you’ll stay.
“We see you”. It’s not “we love you”, or “we care for you”. It is “we see you”. That’s all Claire wants her guardians to do. All she wants them to do is see her, not force her into the background of their lives. She is a child who wants to be seen more than anything in a family that sees nothing but themselves.
Conclusion
There is so much to appreciate about “Opal” by Jack Stauber. It is incredibly put together, as all of Jack Stauber’s works are, and is packed with depth and meaning. The film is not direct or blatant about its meaning for a reason—it adds to the depth and beauty of the film, an insight into the experience that Opal represents. The lines between her fiction and reality are blurry because that’s how the experience really is for her. It doesn’t feel concrete or distinguishable. That’s how her mind is protecting her from the abuse she lives through, and that’s how it affects her perception as a whole. “Opal” by Jack Stauber is truly a beautiful film and I hope every one of you gets the chance to experience it.
