Nemo Addict Theory
We all love Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo, the lovable story of a father’s journey to save his son…from addiction to drugs. I have a theory about the underlying story of this Pixar classic that gives new meaning to the characters and their journeys.
The story begins with the initial incident and the cause of Marlin’s issues, the tragic death of his fish-wife. Prior to this they are starting a new life in the undersea version of the suburbs; it is the ideal life style, nice anemone in a quiet reef, kids on the way, domestic perfection. That is Marlin’s dream, and when it is tragically ripped from him his mind cannot handle it so he lapses into this protective mode and is doing everything he can to attempt to salvage and protect what he can.
This is where the surviving son Nemo comes in. Marlin doesn’t see Nemo as a separate being; he views Nemo as his last connection to his lost love and is doing everything beyond reason to protect him. Due to this sheltering and objectification Nemo has the natural urge for new experiences and excitement. This is illustrated when he jumps out of bed and runs outside into the big bad world eager for his first day of school.
When they arrive at school Marlin learns that they are going to the drop off. The drop off represents a physical and metaphorical transition from sheltered suburbia to the big and dangerous city. When Nemo and his new friends arrive at the drop off they play a game of how far out you can go. In this situation the drop off is a metaphor for drugs themselves and the world of drugs.
At first Nemo’s friends start harmlessly experimenting with drugs, none of them appear to be in immediate danger. Nemo is cautious to enter that world at first but eager to prove himself as one of the cool kids he decides to take that leap. Just as he is about to go over the edge, Marlin catches them and scolds him for taking on more than he can handle. It is this conversation that pushes Nemo to take the action that he does. Years of Marlin’s overprotection gives him the urge to rebel coupled with the need for an escape from his boring, sheltered suburban existences.
This is what causes him to go too far with experimentation. When Nemo swims out the drop off is once again metaphoric for sinking deeper into the world of drugs he goes in deeper and deeper and in an attempt to save him Marlin calls out for him to return to safety and just as it looks as if he can make a safe return the diver appears. The diver, later revealed to be a dentist, at this point is an anthropomorphism of addiction.
When he captures Nemo this is when Nemo descends into a point of dependency almost beyond help, a point where he is not only out of touch with but is completely removed from the outside world. Marlin, despite his issues, is a good father and decides to go after him into the abyss. This is the point in which the drop off becomes a physical disconnect. It literally represents the physical transition from suburban to the urban world and causes him to descend into the world of drug use.
Then mine and everyone else’s favorite character is introduced, Dory! Dory is an ex-addict. This is illustrated by her short term memory loss. What Dory represents is a character that is incredibly mentally damaged by her years of abuse. She is not currently using but has literally become trapped inside that world, despite her efforts to get out. This is why through the movie Dory, despite her mental deficiencies is really more of a guide for Marlin.
Her world is a scary and dangerous world but she is so engrained into it that she is able to navigate through it without being harmed. Such as the connections a former addict might have with dealers and other druggies. Dory is Marlin’s biggest asset in a world he does not belong in nor understand. This brings us to the sharks. What Bruce and his friends represent is a certain kind of recovering addict. After prolonged drug use people’s bodies can sometimes develop a physical dependency on a substance, where it is no longer about feeling good but the body craves it to a point it can suffer severe damage if the drug is withdrawn.
Regardless of the physical dependency there is a mental recognition of the problem and a drive to change it. The best evidence of this is how Bruce, a shark and natural predator, has started a 12-step program for other sharks to stop eating fish. This presents an interesting simile: a physical addict trying to recover cold turkey is like a shark trying to stop eating fish. It is fighting what is or has become their very nature and existence. This further illustrates the hostility and irritability caused by recovery by showing how one sniff of Dory’s blood can send Bruce into a blind, hunger driven rage.
Meanwhile, we find out what happened to Nemo. He awakens in a fish tank in a dentist’s office along with other fish. The tank represents a level of addiction in which the addict enters a maddening and solitary world completely outside of society. Nemo’s removal from the ocean represents a level of drug use and addiction in which he is completely removed from society.
He and the other hardcore addicts or fish in the tank have reached a point in which they are trying to escape but the dentist (the diver from before who represents addiction or a drug dealer) is holding them there. There are lots of clues in the movie that point us to this conclusion. For example all of the fish in the tank are anywhere between nervous or completely insane, from the blowfish who is jumpy and easily exited to Deb the blue fish who thinks her reflection is her sister. There is also Gill who has concocted several fruitless escape plans.
The other fish seem to want to escape but understand the hopelessness of the situation. These are the fish that are made tougher by being able to survive in this level of dependency for so long. It is not uncommon for the new kid to the tank to be killed, this appears to be the fate set for Nemo he can either escape or his dad must save him.
After a run in with jelly fish, Marlin awakens on the back of a sea turtle named Crush. It is obvious to nearly any viewer that Crush is a user of marijuana. What he and the other turtles represent are the benign users of soft core drugs like pot. He is laid back, he doesn’t fear a trip or try to push himself to extreme levels of highness he just goes with the flow and enjoys the ride.
He is not a danger to himself or to others. There is one crucial frame following when Crush says “you’re riding it dude!” where the camera zooms out and the audience is show a large group of sea turtles. This is illustrating that there are a lot more individuals who use certain drugs and are okay, they can fully function in society. Crush and the turtles are stoners, but they aren’t addicts.
Nemo then learns from Nigel the pelican that his father is looking for him and has crossed the entire ocean to help set him free. This gives him motivation to help himself. The only way that Nemo can escape addiction and his overprotective parent is to recognize that he has a problem only he can solve. This weakness that was instilled in him by his own father is what drove him to abuse and the only way he can escape is if he overcomes it himself.
However, by the time this is realized Darla, the ultimate sign of his demise, arrives. Nemo is terrified. The scene in which he is removed from the tank, flops around the office and then plays dead in order to be flushed down the toilet is interpreted as the brush with death that an addict might need to reach that conclusion that the problem is within themselves and they need to solve it. Nemo’s escape down the sink was no coincidence, one needs to reach rock bottom to have the drive to escape, and sometimes everything has to go down the drain for this to occur.
Marlin sees Nemo playing dead and is convinced he has failed in bring his son back, but when they are reunited Marlin realizes that this was never his battle alone. Nemo needed to see his father truly cared and his father needed to see that Nemo was not helpless. That is the only way for this addiction story to end happily.
One final thought for those who stuck around for the credits. The final sequence shown after the film portrays the fish from the tank after having completed their escape plan (to roll out the window in their little bags and into the harbor). They are depicted as floating in little bags into the ocean.
After seeing someone close to them have a brush with death only to escape they simultaneously recognize both their own power and mortality causing further motivation. However, they are unable to escape their individual bags showing that their road to recovery is not over and that while they may be back into the real world they have still not been able to break free from addiction completely.
Credited to Catherine22
Originally uploaded on December 11, 2012
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