#archer graff

(Spoilers ahead and talk of gun violence)

To me, it's very obviously an allegory to gun violence and school shootings in general. The emphasis on a classroom and the fact only one student survived when many school shootings are committed by people that go to the school, the main victims being people that have a higher chances of dying to gun violence (students, police officers, family of school shooters, school staff, and drug addicts), Gladys symbolizing gun violence and how she is hundreds of years old (imo she's as old as the United States itself and/or the amendments), the literal assault rifle hanging above the house in Archer's dream, how Justine is belittled for not protecting the 17 students or seeing signs of their disappearances just like how teachers who's students are killed are persecuted for not protecting them, the questions Alex gets asked about movies and shows telling the students to leave their homes (aligning with "violent video games cause violence"), and the way the memorial for the 17 missing students looks very similar to real memorials left after gun related violence.

But I'm going to reach with some of my points. The way Alex goes about getting the other students items for Gladys is through a list of names. He's shown finding items many of his classmates have but he goes for their names instead, which reminds me of the stereotypical "list of names" people have when they're going to commit a school shooting. The act of Gladys telling Alex not to talk about her or his family also gives the fact school shooters can't tell people what they're going to do in fear of their plan. Finally, the 17 students being the ones to kill Gladys. Gladys herself represents gun violence while the students represent victims to it. The act of them tearing her apart is a symbol to how, eventually, gun violence will end because people will only put up with something for so long.

She tastes milky sour – like the little bodies of children in the dark he’d ignored.

[justine/archer]

Favorite horror movie characters 398/♾️