The Pink Opaque plays a key role in A24's I Saw the TV Glow, but what is the meaning behind the cryptic in-universe television series?
Alongside other newly streaming movies like Civil War, I Saw the TV Glow recently made its way over to Max.
As a result, a whole new audience has had the opportunity to witness Justice Smith's Owen and Brigette Lundy-Paine's Maddy become obsessed with a badass TV show and question their identity along the way.
The themes and meaning behind I Saw the TV Glow heavily link to the trans experience, which is largely thanks to The Pink Opaque.
What Is The Pink Opaque in I Saw the TV Glow?
The Pink Opaque is a television show in I Saw the TV Glow, centering around best friends Isabel and Tara as they fend off against monsters of the week.
Together, the two use their unique psychic bond, signified by the pink outlines of ghosts on the back of their necks, to battle the forces of evil sent by the nefarious Mr. Melancholy.
The young adult series is a clear allusion to the hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a similar female-led fantasy show that features a whole lot of teenage drama and fighting evil-doers.
I Say the TV Glow main characters Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) are captivated by the show, which is abruptly canceled after Maddy runs away from home.
Years later, Maddy is back in town and tells Owen that she ventured into the world of The Pink Opaque itself. Owen returns home to watch the show's Season 5 finale after Maddy insists he does so, revealing the grim fates of Isabel and Tara at the hands of Mr. Melancholy.
The villain taunts Isabel by threatening to trap her in the Midnight Realm, a snow globe with imagery of Owen inside. As the episode closes out with Isabel being buried alive, Owen is left mortified and screaming that the reality around him is not his home.
But luckily, Season 6 is not an impossibility. The next day, Maddy tells Owen more about her time away. After her new life led to a cycle of monotony, she decided to bury herself alive. Rather than meeting with a terrible fate though, Maddy woke up as Tara in The Pink Opaque. Tara, now the vessel for Maddy, searched for where Isabel was buried but was unable to locate her.
That led to Maddy coming back to the Midnight Realm where Owen was trapped, to save him by returning Owen to his true self. This would require him to bury himself as Maddy, a prospect that proves too freaky for Owen to go through with. After Maddy departs without him, Owen is left wondering whether he truly was meant to be someone else.
The Deeper Meaning Behind The Pink Opaque
Owen and Maddy's connections to The Pink Opaque largely serve as a metaphor for the trans experience.
The obsession that Owen feels towards the show demonstrates how he feels much safer in the comfort of The Pink Opaque rather than confronting the reality of his own gender identity, more willing to accept a fictionalized world than grapple with reality.
When he returns to watch The Pink Opaque years later via streaming though, he is met with a more watered-down, corny version of the show than he initially fell in love with. This could convey how Owen is no longer able to use The Pink Opaque as a coping mechanism to escape his inner turmoil. Reality has come-a-knocking.
The in-universe series is also particularly significant in reflecting the "egg crack" moment. This refers to when a trans person becomes aware that their gender identity does align with the gender that they have been assigned.
This is shown in I Saw the TV Glow through the presentation that Tara and Isabel are the real identities of Maddy and Owen, respectively.
While Maddy escapes the Midnight Realm and finds her true self as Tara, Owen/Isabel's ability to do so is thwarted by Mr. Melancholy, who can be interpreted as representing many factors preventing Owen from coming out, including self-doubt and society at large.
This leaves Owen unable to come to terms with his gender identity after several decades, until the very end when he looks inside himself and is filled with euphoria.
While some may see the film's final moments as tragic for Smith's character, director Jane Schoenbrun confirmed that I Saw the TV Glow's ending was intended as a hopeful outlook for Owen as he finally takes a few more steps to figure out who he is.
Hopefully, the messaging of the film, as well as the increased trans representation and storytelling in other media like Nava Mau's role in Baby Reindeer or Misia Butler's empowering story in Kaos, will help viewers feel safe in their gender identities.
I Saw the TV Glow is streaming now on Max.
