Leave The World Behind The Noise, is Part 3 of this awesome Netflix movie. Be sure to check out PART 1 and PART 2 of this analysis before you continue if you want to make sense of what will be said. BEWARE, SPOILERS AHEAD!
Part 3 – The Noise
The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.
Garry Kasparov
The Noise Starts
Part 3 opens with Amanda in the forest, head down and ears covered. The noise from Part 2 has subsided and as he opens her eyes she sees her children approaching her. She’s found them and they seem OK (thank heavens!).
By now we have a fairly good understanding of Rose and Archie’s characters but the shot the producers use when their mother finds them in the forest after the noise is very clever. The pair are wearing t-shirts that seem to describe the nature and personality of each sibling.
Archie is wearing an OBEY Eyes Icon II Classic t-shirt. While we love the brand the idea of “obey” as a concept speaks to restriction and containment. Archie loves her sister but he teases her, shames, her and tries to scare her so this attitude aligns with what we see. His energy is very much opposed to Rose’s.
Rose on the other hand is wearing a classic NASA t-shirt. She is attuned to instinctual forces which are primal and operate very much on a non-physical level. She is being led by something that is, quite literally, beyond the physical plane of existence. As the “id” she is the one that is closest to these, quite literally, otherworldly urges and influences. The t-shirt obviously conveys this idea.
Back at the house Clay is yet to return but everyone else is gathered in the kitchen. Rose observes that George is soaking wet and asks why, he doesn’t answer. Probably still reeling from his experience, he hasn’t even heard her as he stares out the window into the yard, back turned to the group.
Archie is complaining about strange feelings in his head and regrets that he didn’t cover his ears sooner and wonders if things are going to be ok. His mother reassures him that it will, but somehow she isn’t too convincing.
Amanda begins interrogating George further now. She is convinced he knows something but he is still elusive although a little less stoic than before. With Ruth as the catalyst helping the conversations between them flow, their relationship has improved a little. When she is in the room with them, Amanda seems more ready to open communication with George.
Amanda continues to demand answers and let’s slip what George confided in her earlier, that he found crashed planes at the beach. Ruth, who was eavesdropping that earlier convo, apparently didn’t hear that part (or did she?) and glares at her father disappointed and betrayed, now realizing he hid this information from her.
Emotions begin boiling over and Ruth and Amanda have a tense back and forth. Amanda is now comfortable saying what she felt from the beginning: distrust for George. She is convinced (rightly) that George is still not being entirely forthcoming with information. Ruth has some choice thoughts to share also. But George, the superego, being moral and rational intervenes to restore some calm and order.
Calmed down a bit Amanda remembers that strange man from Part 1 who was loading supplies into his pickup when she went to the market: Danny. She realizes now that Danny knew something was about to happen and was preparing for the worst. George knows this man who apparently is widely known for this type of behavior.
Clay finally returns at that moment, still shaken. Like the rest, he heard the noise and that is what brought him back to the house. He shows them the red leaflet that was dropped by the plane/drone. It appears to be written in Arabic and no one can read it. On the front is a dangerous looking viper snake with its fangs bared 😬😬😬. Whatever that flyer is saying, it’s not good.
Archie returns to the kitchen, just in time to hear the group speculate on the meaning of the leaflet. Apparently he can translate some of what it means and as expected the message on the red leaflet are not good at all (🤐🤐). Turns out that the message is propaganda. It’s quite a coincidence that Archie knows what it means but somehow it doesn’t surprise us too much.
Propaganda’s purpose is to distort truth. One cannot believe what one sees and hears because propaganda interrupts the flow of real and accurate information. When truth cannot be seen or heard clearly, the very nature of reality is called into question.
What Exactly Is the Noise?
The Noise, although not conclusively explained in the movie, is literally a weapon meant to disorient the people and destabilize the world of the characters, this is the clear intention of the parties responsible. As part of their “master plan”, the Noise, along with the other strangeness, will bring about the changes desired.
Later in the film a character “Danny” speculates as to the source of the sound. He speculates that it is the same phenomena behind the “Havana Syndrome” but he is only guessing. In the Book upon which the movie is based, there is speculation that it comes from planes flying high overhead. But these are only theories, nobody is certain.
It is possible however that the Noise heralds the stages of a theorized Plan which, as George explains later, has 3 parts: ISOLATION, CHAOS and COUP D’ETAT. The first blast of the noise signals the start of isolation, the second blast of noise signals the start of chaos and the third blast of noise signals the coup d’etat but we never get to actually hear the third blast of noise during the film. Given the final scenes of the movie however we see that a coup d’etat is exactly what will happen sooner or later so this is plausible.
In the Bible book of Revelation, we see the device of Noise or Sound being used to herald the alleged stages of a period of history known as the Great Tribulation which, like the movie, is characterized by widespread upheaval in nature and the human world. Very much like the Noise in the film, the book of Revelation predicts that near the end of history, a series of 7 Trumpet blasts will sound and each blast will herald a new trial that human beings must endure. The parallels are undeniable!
Yet another interpretation of the loud Noise that they hear is a symbol of the misinformation that will distort their perception of reality. Its deafening tone will disorient them and impair their ability to see, hear or feel their way out of the situation. Clay’s earlier challenge understanding what the Spanish speaking lady was saying demonstrates the helplessness that comes when you can’t understand what is going on around you, all you hear is noise.
We’ve already established that the brain and the psyche are linked so any change in one will affect the other. The “cyberattack” was the trigger and the result is transformation within the brain and psyche (the self, the EYE and the I, the visible and the invisible). As such, we can expect the 5 physical senses to be affected. The transformation has a disorienting effect.
Now that we add false information in the mix, it begs the question: Can one really trust what one is seeing and hearing? In a time of turmoil and chaos and transformation, when we are lost, who shall we turn to? Who lead us rightly? Who will restore the Light?
The short answer is: Rose! The id.
The “Other” Noise
A user on Reddit posted a theory about another noise that comes on at about 34 minutes and 20 seconds into the movie, during the outer space scene. It sounds like white noise static but spectrogram analysis of the noise reveals that there is a hidden message in the weird sound:
The message is a well known quote from Albert Einstein. It could be a hoax but there are other theories about hidden messages in strange sounds in Sam Esmail’s other work like Mr. Robot, so it’s plausible. Also it perfectly matches the theme and narrative of the film.
No Exit
Clay and family have now resolved to leave the residence and head to Amanda’s sisters house in New Jersey. The civilized world is collapsing, there is now no doubt about it. George tries to stop them but Ruth seems to think it is a good idea. Stubbornly George is still in denial about his wife possibly perishing in a crash but Ruth seems convinced of the worst.
In the car heading away from Long Island, Amanda appears to still be in denial about the true seriousness of the situation. Somehow, despite all she’s seen and heard she thinks that things are OK in the outside world. She says “we’ll look back on this one day and laugh, I guarantee you”. Clay, the mediator, is not prepared to argue with her and merely agrees, always wanting to please her.
What we’re seeing from Amanda here is a performance, partially not to scare the kids. She knows and believes in her heart that something is seriously wrong but, returning to “the world”, she puts her mask back on; the mask she uses to survive. This is not her true self!
Rose is the first to hear sirens (no surprise), a sign of danger! Nobody else seems to be able to as the others struggle in vain to hear it. Soon, they encounter a backlog of brand new, all White, Self-Driving Tesla Model 3 electric cars on the road ahead. They cannot proceed further because there doesn’t seem to be an alternate path.
Amanda with her quick thinking pieces together that there is going to be more danger soon (Rose beat her to the punch), even before Clay does. The pile up ahead of them is caused by rouge Teslas with malfunctioning auto pilot, very very bad combination.
Before long another white Tesla comes speeding up the road behind them. Amanda rushes to the car while Clay foolishly tries to flag down the Tesla thinking it’s another human behind the wheel. This time it is Amanda in the drivers’ seat and its Clay on the passenger side. He barely manages to get in, still protesting, as Amanda swerves out the way just in time. The incoming Tesla slams into the pile. A narrow escape!
More rogue Teslas are coming down the road at a rapid pace and Amanda’s great driving skills allows them dodge these as she speeds back up the way they came, thus saving her family. She has no choice but to head back to George’s house. There is no way off the island. Isolation!
Back at the house, George answers the door and sees the family of 4 standing outside. We get the impression that he is not surprised and expected that they would return.
That’s it for Part 3, Leave The World Behind The Noise. Click HERE for Part 4.
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