Mr. Gibbs I’m afraid that the movie you saw over and over again, this “Shutter Island” does not exist, you have been in fact given internet access to a computer so you could document the various symptoms you have shown in this video of yours. I am in fact apart of a science department in Boston taking a close attention of you and your rare mental sickness called “Theory Fever” (the idea of the name was not mine but it was in fact, Dr. Han) I know this is a lot for you to take in but your real name is Andrew and you had a wife and 3 kids. You have actually been placed in a very specialized containment room in a private location for the past 2 years. Remember who you are Andrew. -Yours sincerely, Dr. Joe Gibbs
its all there actually. ted isnt completely crazy but he has severe trauma and ptsd from Germany. now a subject or experiement on an island for MK ULTRA he is the PERFECT CANDIDATE. this movie is way more than people realise.
One thing that I noticed: in that last moment when Sheehan stands up and calls after him as the guards are taking him away, he calls him Teddy. If he really had known him as Andrew for two years, and if in that moment he really believed (as we are given to understand) that the man was in his right mind, why did he call him Teddy instead of Andrew?
@@colliric I think he was on the ferry from the beginning because they have control of the ferry. So the guy he's suppose to meet on the ferry isn't there and instead it's this guy Chuck
He his violent because of his skill military and such also he was never alone on purpose first time was at ward C which is when Dr Sheean can't blow his cover so he escorts the patient and then the other time is when Teddy doesn't trust him and gets hostile
You are wrong Doctor Sheehan and Cawley don't do lobotomy, the Shutter Island is trying to liberate psychiatry from these methods, find a new way... Because they presumably failed with Andrew, then they had to go back to the old ways, the ways of doctor Naehring, as he strongly disapprove of Cawley methods. That's all
Actually the main guy was trying his hardest not to lobotomize him, he was being pressured by people above him because of how many people DiCaprio’s character has hurt
This was actually what i thought happened when i originally watched it. It looked like they were setting him up like a german experiment to make him crazy by gaslighting him to the fullest extent
Same here. Makes me think that they even gaslit us into believing he was crazy and that they were the good guys, to see from their point of view, despite all of the inconsistencies and evidence against them. Might have been what they did to silence the staff there. They tricked us all.
i watched it for the first time recently but it was prefaced that this movie was the inspiration for a lot of my favourite episodes in detective shows so I think that’s why i assumed it was a double twist ! I also really pushed back on the twist being real just because of “real rachel” cuz it just didn’t make sense to me and it felt like too many deliberate decisions in both plot (kerns) and technicals (camera, script, etc) for me to believe it was meant to be taken as is (sorry for the ramble i have no one irl to be an annoying film grad and talk it out with lol) (side note the show “Perception” has one of these episodes, twist being the detective already has schizophrenia so that was their Dolores i guess but if you like psych and serious but silly detective shows i would reccommend)
Now you can rewatch it a few times and see both sides of him being crazy and not, ultimately just driving yourself to insanity and ending up on Shutter Island yourself. 😂
We can also say that when "Leo" said the line about living as a monster or dying as a good man, Dr Sheehan realises that the experiment worked and just to cross check he calls him "teddy" but "Leo" ignores..!
@@WaniAnimeshwell I think the ending of the movie confirmed that whether teddy was gaslit into being crazy or was infact crazy all along, nonetheless is being lobotomized. But if the mission was to gaslight him into being crazy and it infact worked, there would be no reason for a lobotomy. That’s contrary to the whole purpose of the experiment. If he’s not crazy, then the lobotomy on the other hand comes off as a admirable decision for dying on what you believe.
LMAO my boy Dr. Cawley was literally like: "We don't do LOBOTOMY here Andrew. You're just crazy so if you don't stop being crazy, you're gettin' a LOBOTOMY. Which like, we totally don't do! But you're gettin' one!" 😂😂😂
Well....duh?? The facility's target was to prove that Cawley's theory of psychological treatment CAN work and become a reliable alternative to Lobotomy. This was Andrew and their last hope of proving it after incessant failed attempts and when it "failed" again, they had no option but to resort to the surgical process. The movie's ending purposefully leaves the last part ambiguous btw. It's entirely possible that Cawley and his crew reset and give the psychological therapy another shot, it also is possible that something other than the Lobotomy takes place, or perhaps they do go ahead with the Lobotomy after all.
@@alanchavarria5439 I always thought with the themes of religion in this movie, the warden was a theme for the devil. The line, "known you for centuries",... "violent men", was especially unnerving in that light. And then he ends it with, "that's the spirit" maybe having a double-meaning there.
The best twist is that there was actually no twist at all. It was just a straight forward story about how they made a guy think he was crazy so no one would believe him if he leaked details
It's kind of manipulative the way they do that twist. It only works because the film completely leaves out the whole "US Marshal" thing as if he was just a random lowlife visitor who came to the island and therefore no one would follow up on him. Therefore it's much easier to assume he was a crazy guy having a crazy fantasy of being a Marshal.
The most interesting part of this theory is that almost every piece of evidence can really go for either side, depending on how you interpret the details.
Yeah, no. If both sides were truly 50/50 it would kinda suck. The movie tells you two stories and makes you question the main one without providing clear proof for the second. The true strength of this movie is, it respects it's audience and does a lot of stuff subtile. Sometimes simple facial reactions of people give you little hints and make you question the narrative you see. The further into the story to goes the clearer the signs become but also the questioning of his sanity by the main story. The movie doesn't try to present to you two different narratives and you can choose what you feel makes more sense. It presents you two narratives and uses the second to question the first. The aim is to leave you questioning what you saw and in a way replicate the experiance of the main char. What it achieves quite well, imho.
its really is 50 50 though. they don't give you enough information to determine. which is the fact of the story. literally where the movie starts and ends leaves just enough information to start speculating. it up to the viewer to decide what is true and what is not.
The reality where the staff convinced to believe he is an insane murderer to use this technique to create monsters, or the reality where he was a murderer, went insane and after the experiment went well chose to play insane again in order to get lobotomised so he doesn't have to live with the knowledge of killing his wife.
@@Culpride well this theory suggests he is choosing to end as Teddy Daniels, honest to himself rather than be gaslit into living as a monster because it protects Ashcliffs human experimentation.
@@kolbeleonardo1682exactly this theory. He was in reality at the end and he chose to be lobotomized of his own free will because he couldn't live with the trauma of losing his family in such a tragic way. He pretended to be crazy to the doctor until the last line of the film
"Live as a monster or die as a good man" tells me that in that moment he knew that he killed his wife and partially chose to dissociate (I say partially because he is clearly delusional and going through mental breakdowns/ dealing with mental health issues throughout the movie)
for us to still be thinking and consuming hours of content about a movie 14 years after it came out shows how great of a movie it is. well done thank you for this.
I think he was fully aware in the end that he is Andrew, but he’s done experiencing his trauma and is pretending to slip back into Teddy to willingly get lobotomized.
Plus, “to live as a Monster or to die as a good man” is also the strongest thing he could say to dr. Sheen, since HE is the one that will have to live knowing about the monstruosity he’s doing there, while Teddy will be dying as a good man, willingly. “ . Great analysis! Loved the video ❤
thats such a big point for his theory in my opinion. Even if I think the movie is playing with the possibility of both making it kind of an open ending, the more times I watch the movie the more I am like "if I had to bet I'd say they played him". And that would make that last line so much stronger than it already was before. Another thought: The Movie is basically making the viewer being Teddy Daniels when watching it and asking himself the question whats true or not. Thats so artistic. And the answer depends on if you assume everything you see on screen is reality or if you assume they also show some of teddys hallucinations when the theme isnt playing(aka when it isnt obvious).
@BumboyWillynut and I think this interpretation is actually the most heart-wrenching : showing the lengths someone would go to shelter themselves from a pain so severe and to save their self-image. It's the person at war with themselves and that's imo a hell of a stronger war than with any outward forces. Props to the movie for the level of confusion it provokes. It almost felt like we, the watchers, were also living in a psychotic episode.
Dude that ending is so much more chilling with this theory. His hesitation on his last line "...or to die a good man" is to just rub it in his face that he knew all along and the doctors sent an innocent man to the grave.
The message of the movie goes beyond this movie. Leonardo starred in the inception movie right after shutter island. the two movies are some how connected in that the entire shutter island was an experimentation facility for advanced MK inception of ideas, memories, information, identity, believes, etc. what we see in Inception, is already the tested and tried true results from shutter island. You can say that inception all started in shutter island. One thing I noticed was the dreams on this movie slowly helped incept the idea to leo the narrative they were trying to implant on his mind through out the innuendos, symbolism, and scripted scenarios through out the day, the dreams helped bolster and strengthen the inception. in the movie Inception, the way they go about MK ultra incepting ideas into peoples mind is while they are asleep through the means of dream sequence scenario's. This is very strange, because in the early mid 1900's people kept reporting of a "Dream Machine" hacking into their dreams. this is real life reports, hundreds of reports given from so called patients. they swore that they would have dreams that were not of their own, that it felt more like dreams sequences being artificially imprinted into their dream states, and that they could sense it was something else in control. some of the patients reported what the machine looks like, that it looked like a machine with many extending arms protruding out of it and that it had the ability to put both dreams and thoughts into their heads. today, we have the same reports from so called crazy people. psychotronic MK is technology able to manipulate the electrical behavior of our brain via brain chips, sound waves, magnetic waves, radio waves, both remotely wirelessly, and more crude insertions. is this movies trying to tell us something thats going on in real life since long ago? My theory is that the government has already been able to produce A.I driven psychotronics technology able to read minds, imprint thoughts, produce dream sequences, and much more. since a century ago. thats scary to think about.
@@originsdecoded3508agreed ! I believe this 100% but you gotta ask yourself this.. why? Why should they do such a thing ? My personal opinion and I want to say this with the utmost respect possible. I believe they do these sorts of projects and experiments to one test how far they can go to robbing man of their free will and two to be able to create “hosts” or shells that ultimately demons can inhabit. Just like the movie get out.. the devils plan is to set up a “beast system” which will be the new world order, one government, one religion, one leader. Usher in the mark of the beast but people need to willingly accept it. How will this be possible ? Through the constant manipulation and mind control of social media, news outlets, commercials, memes, movies etc the list goes on. There is a power at work behind the scenes and it’s all to eventually get people to give up our free will. I know this is a lot and a curve ball but I welcome a discussion (: blessings
I don't think he knew all along, I think he realized the truth after the doctor explained it to him, but then he faked being crazy because he didn't want to live with the knowledge of what happened to his family
@@originsdecoded3508you have no idea how true what you just said actually is. I was experimented on by this technology, for 4 months, from September until December of 2020. It started after I tried to help a man who came to me with allegations that his neighbors had hacked all of his devices and hid surveillance equipment all throughout his house. In trying to prove to him that he was being paranoid, he suddenly skipped town and then I became subject to the exact experiences he was telling me about. Only I was able to figure out that it wasn’t actually my neighbors who were behind this but it had to be the government due to the sophistication of the attacks and the required technology. I would eventually learn they could read my mind and see what I was imagining in my mind’s eye. They could playback any sound or voice as though I was hearing it but only I would be able to hear it and no one else in my vicinity. They could alter my mood and emotional states. It’s really absolutely insane what they’re able to do with this technology and due to the fact that it seemed to be able to target me everywhere I went I started to think it had to be a satellite platform from a constellation of satellites, as there was a lack of support vehicles to suggest it was a device operating at much shorter range.
This is such a masterpiece of screenwriting and storytelling on screen, it makes the viewer seem like they’re crazy. I don’t think i’ll ever really know if teddy is crazy or not.
Ever since I first saw this movie, I always took the last line to mean that he wanted to die while he still could remember he was Teddy and had not fully given in to the deception that he was Andrew.
From my perspective, it wasn’t that he wanted to “die”, but more so in leveraging the lobotomy as a marker, know that his last moments of consciousness were that of him being a good man.
You almost never know. Some people actually are barely different after lobotomies, and yea some people die or are just basically a zombie@@andrewr8144
I always found weird the fact that its acknowledged there's 66 patients (counting Rachel i always assumed) and Leo being the 67th, but if Rachel never existed that would make him 66th, since he's making up someone who shouldn't be there.
Noyce is part of the 66, not Rachel. Noyce was the only patient to play along with Andrew's delusion for 2 years, because Noyce is nuts. But obviously Teddy cannot have learned about Ashecliffe from Noyce after arriving at Ashecliff, so he pretends they are at Dedham when they talk. Teddy is 67
This FINALLY explains certain scenes to me that NEVER made scenes plot wise. For example I could never figure out how/why he saw the nurse hiding in the cave and why she said all that to him. Everyone said "oh, it was just all in his head" but that never matched his story line/plot they painted in the end. There were multiple times like that in the movie that (no matter how many times I watched it) that just didn't make sense. Finally a theory that makes this movie makes sense!! Thank you sir for all the time and investment u devoted to a very valid and well proven theory.
ALSO! did anyone notice, when he was having a migraine and they were trying to force him to take the medicine, that there was a statue of a piper in the background? Kinda like The pied Piper??? This could be the director trying to tell the audience what's really going on.
The first time I watched this movie I felt insulted when the twist came out. I thought "You honestly expect me to believe they let the most dangerous patient wander around this place living out his delusions and putting everyone else on the island at risk?" I like your theory better and it makes the movie so much scarier because at a certain point anyone can be manipulated and driven insane.
I had the same experience. About a 3rd of the way through I leaned over to my brother and said "It's all in his head." I still enjoyed it but I wished the twist was...twistier. I think this video actually redeems the film, and also makes me feel kind of dumb lol
Leonardo DiCaprio, Sir Ben Kingsley and Martin Scorsese have talked at great length about how difficult it was to film Shutter Island. The problem was that when they started shooting the film, they realized that upon first viewing the audience would have to believe that Dr. Cawley and Shutter Island could be something sinister, but upon second viewing you would have to be able to tell that everyone around Teddy is in on the role-play game, and are trying to maintain the fantasy - though many of the staff and guards are not happy about it.
Exactly what happened to me, at first I thought he’s being set up, but the subconscious clues they left I then proceeded to think on the second and third time watching that the role play was clear. However in the fourth time I see things differently, every time he goes dizzy or has a memory they shine a light in his face first, when he’s given pills it seems untoward etc. very clever film as mind control was used on the viewer, the clever subconscious clues left in the film on the first time viewing had us automatically condemning him on the second viewing. It’s strange but after a few times watching and familiarity sets in you start to see another layer, almost like you see past the role play and notice other things you missed……
Excellent point. Hard to make a film stick together from 2 totally different points of view. But they did an excellent job! I think the main argument against the video's idea that Di Caprio was a target being driven mad by Shutter Island staff is that, were he actually a Federal Marshall, someone would have come to get him following his disappearance on the island. This is not addressed in the movie, so we have to assume this isn't the plot. This would have altered the whole plot and the final irony--- that Di Caprio is actually insane and a patient at the facility.
I’ve watched this movie about 20 times and each time I pick up on something else that I missed before. A small piece of foreshadowing, a quick fleeting glance at a character in a crucial moment or something else similar. I’m not convinced of his theory here but it’s nice to hear other people’s thought. I agree entirely with subsequent watches pointing more and more to Dr. Cawley actually being truthful and everything that is revealed by him is what has actually taken place.
@@mysticone1798that's easy, who cares. If you are not somebody's friend, son, dad, husband etc. who cares. Going on with your point, Teddy was after the killer of his wife, Andrew Gladies, that light the fire and found out that he was kept here. He started investigating this place and found out something fishy is going on here. Somebody found out and told to some people and they all made a plan to drag Teddy here and make him go crazy and so, get rid of the problem. Dude, wtf is with your coment, are you for real
2 reasons that I think this is true that I haven’t seen noted: 1. When Doctor Sheehan is first introduced to Teddy Daniels on the boat, he says ‘the man, the legend Teddy Daniels’, the exclusion of the word ‘myth’ is because he knows very well that Teddy Daniels is a real person, and not a myth. 2.When describing the storm in the graveyard, Dr Sheehan warns Teddy that ‘it’s turning into Kansas out here’, which in my opinion is a subtle gesture to the story of the Wizard of Oz, a story where the protagonist is swept away to a fantasy world. Though these two points may seem redundant at face value, I believe both the exclusion of the word ‘myth’ and the inclusion of the word ‘Kansas’ by Scorsese are a least interesting choices. Great video, hope for more of your content!
I'm convinced that Teddy isn't crazy. I say that because of the rain storm. Everyone talks about it around him in the movie so many times all to tell him it never happened, and he imagined it. The storm did happen, I believe when they tried to tell him it was fake, it was the slip-up in the scheme. There are too many events in the movie connected to the storm for it to not have happened.
Agreed. When Cawley started listing off all the things that were in his head, that was a huge red-flag to me. So what parts of the movie actually happened? Did any of it? I guess it could all be in his head, but we don't really have much of a movie if we can't be certain about any of it. And how about Rachel Solando? They have him looking all over the island for someone who doesn't even exist, and for what? That didn't prove anything, except for revealing the fact that they loved messing with his head (as shown throughout the movie over and over).
I think Andrew’s whole fake plan was set up with a storm happening, so when they conducted the experiment on him they had to choose a day which was stormy, the doctors said they have heard the same story for 2 years so for it to actually work they would need it to be as close to what his story is which involves the storm.
OMG I'VE BEEN THINKING THIS FOREVER. I've watched every video about the movie, read every interview, read the book itself twice and literally nothing/no one else agrees. I don't care if you and i are the only crazy ones. Finally I'm not alone.
😂 looks like there will be an island of us before long. Had a few other people comment they had the same thought but no one ever agreed. Nice to not be alone. 😂
I love that there are others. I swear I cannot see how anyone could interpret it any other way. So many contradictions. So much gaslighting. It's kind of crazy how the movie managed to brainwash everyone watching it too. Like midsomar and people thinking it was a happy ending ... Like huh? Similar type of trucking the audience.
@@lolafierling2154 I can see the other side, but it has its flaws which is what lead to this video. Of course there are some things that point the other way too. But some people don't even want to consider the this side, which I guess is because I said they were wrong in the title. Some people just can't handle that. 😂 I just want people to rewatch the movie and atleast consider this line of thinking. And hopefully someone can give me answers on how the storm was supposed to be just in his head. 😅🤣
@marksconplaystasy7328 the book doesn't have the final interaction between teddy/Andrew and chuck/Dr. Sheehan. So we don't get the question about living a monster or dying as a good man. There are a few other differences throughout but that's the main difference that leave the movie to be more ambiguous on where teddy/Andrew is mentally by the end.
The fact that he’s introduced to characters who he knows the face of, and remembered, but every other character is a fresh face, leads me to believe he’s been lead on, and not convinced. Combined with the doctor calling him teddy, which could have been a sign of compassion from the one person he was closest to during the film, who could have gained compassion, the nurse being two characters, and the fact he was never allowed to contact the outside world, I don’t think you can logically explain otherwise. His statement at the end where he faces condemnation affirms for me that in his own mind, he’s faced his situation and would rather die than play along with their game and let them win. It’s the ultimate sacrifice and the only way to prove they couldn’t break him. Wild.
I don't think he faked relapse to prove anything to the docs, I think he does it because now that he is no longer delusional he is burdened by the grief of feeling he is a monster for not saving his family. So he forces his own lobotomy to ease the grief.
"Which is worse: to live as a monster or die as a good man?" The way I always interpreted that line (which isn't in the book) is that Teddy/Andrew is cognizant of the fact that he's actually Laedis, and he's feigning another psychological relapse because he WANTS to be lobotomized. Therefore he gets to fulfill both of the roles he proposed: to live as the "good man" (Teddy) and "die" (be lobotomized) as the monster, Laedis
In all honesty, this was my takeaway from this movie the first few times I watched it. I thought for sure that Teddy was an actual Marshall, and that the facility was being investigated the way many mental institutions were being investigated for malpractice in reality during the 40s and 50s.
Makes sense to me. And considering a lot of the mental institutions were open until like the 90s surely some funny business had to be going on... or no one cared to investigate before then.
I love this because this movie is suppose to be incredibly confusing for people. and this video and your statement is evidence that it really was 😂 they are convincing you for around 2 hours he is the Marshall, then they try to spin you around that he's Andrew, then they bring up the line at the end and now everybody watching is utterly confused 😂 amazing
The message of the movie goes beyond this movie. Leonardo starred in the inception movie right after shutter island. the two movies are some how connected in that the entire shutter island was an experimentation facility for advanced MK inception of ideas, memories, information, identity, believes, etc. what we see in Inception, is already the tested and tried true results from shutter island. You can say that inception all started in shutter island. One thing I noticed was the dreams on this movie slowly helped incept the idea to leo the narrative they were trying to implant on his mind through out the innuendos, symbolism, and scripted scenarios through out the day, the dreams helped bolster and strengthen the inception. in the movie Inception, the way they go about MK ultra incepting ideas into peoples mind is while they are asleep through the means of dream sequence scenario's. This is very strange, because in the early mid 1900's people kept reporting of a "Dream Machine" hacking into their dreams. this is real life reports, hundreds of reports given from so called patients. they swore that they would have dreams that were not of their own, that it felt more like dreams sequences being artificially imprinted into their dream states, and that they could sense it was something else in control. some of the patients reported what the machine looks like, that it looked like a machine with many extending arms protruding out of it and that it had the ability to put both dreams and thoughts into their heads. today, we have the same reports from so called crazy people. psychotronic MK is technology able to manipulate the electrical behavior of our brain via brain chips, sound waves, magnetic waves, radio waves, both remotely wirelessly, and more crude insertions. is this movies trying to tell us something thats going on in real life since long ago? My theory is that the government has already been able to produce A.I driven psychotronics technology able to read minds, imprint thoughts, produce dream sequences, and much more. since a century ago. thats scary to think about.
@@originsdecoded3508 isn’t that the matrix? Yeah they’ve definitely been telling everybody for a long time that this technology is possible but people will call tin foil hats so I just don’t elaborate anymore.
"Yeah we're gonna cure this guy through a super in depth roleplay, but also at some point during this we will remove the guy playing his partner and just gaslight him into believing he never had a partner because this will help cure him of delusions" I mean yeah, that really makes zero sense in retrospect, the only reason they'd want to gaslight him into believing that is because theyre trying to break him. If you've got a guy who's actually having delusions and you actually did all this to help him, then why fuck with him halfway through and give him another delusion to wrestle with.
Amen Tomas. Cawley was so out of line in that scene--He knew exactly who Teddy was talking about. The only defense that I've come across for Cawley in this scene is "Well, he was getting impatient that the role-play wasn't working, so he slipped up for a second". But then why does he double-down shortly after... "Tell me again about your partner"? There's no excuse. He was messing with the poor guy and doing the exact-opposite of what any half-decent psychiatrist would do if he was really trying to bring a patient back to reality.
@@mylesmarkson1686I think it's to add mystery to the movie. The role play is far fetched but any other interpretation is even more far fetched. He's on an island looking for someone who killed his wife whose name is an anagram of his own?
@@coryc9040 Wrong. There is, in the movie, absolute proof that this "theory" is true. The one piece of evidence that no one noticed. "Who is 67?" If Rachael Solsndo wasn't a patient, and he was, then there should have only been 66 patients total, because he would have replaced her. There would be no 67th patient. They kept implying that *he* was 67... but that's not possible because Rachael wasn't a patient. Which means he really *is* being gaslight and made to be insane. He really *is* a US marshall, and he really was investigating them.
@@mylesmarkson1686 i thought the anagram for the movie title was "truths and lies" which would make sense with the two possible endings that the movie has.
Interesting that the big reveal from Collie (about Leo’s character not having a partner but being alone) takes place while the Doctor is blowing big puffs of smoke in Leo’s face, directly after Leo mentioned not smoking anymore. Also alluding to how the Doctor is clouding Leo’s memory, vision, and mind.
I don't need the mist to be more of a mind fuck than it is... that movie has me so messed up every time I think of it... Stephen King himself said he wishes he would have thought of that ending
@@PolterGibbst I noticed that your analysis of Shutter Island intriguingly parallels the complex concepts we explore regarding our existence and the notion of the 'matrix reincarnation soul trap' theory (Wayne Bush). Consider this: Instead of being humans, if we are indeed powerful creative beings in our original essence, yet not omniscient or omnipotent, and our desires or naivety led us into this world, then manipulations and deceptions could become the tools to reshape our reality. Just as Teddy in "Shutter Island" navigates a labyrinth designed by those around him, convincing him of his madness to prepare for another mind wipe, we too might be ensnared in a cosmic charade. The tactics employed to confuse Teddy, making him doubt his sanity and rush into a decision, mirror the predicaments many face at death's door via near-death experience cases. They're presented with choices, seemingly of their own volition, but perhaps orchestrated by a larger, controlling AGI of some sort of a matrix. I believe that both options Teddy faces, crafted by the system, ensure his continued entrapment within the cycle, regardless of his choice. (In our case, the cycle of reincarnations, samsara) Perhaps your dissection of "Shutter Island" could be revealing more than just the plot's intricacies; it might be highlighting the methods employed to convince some of us of our limited human condition. By compelling Teddy to question everything he believes, the narrative exposes how one might be led to underestimate one's true essence. I hope that the reflection on Teddy's journey encourages others to scrutinize their own perceived realities and question the very foundations of their beliefs and the nature of their existence, while continuing to be hardcore sceptics and without losing their minds of course :)
Thank you. I watched this film with my dad one late night, and we were constantly on edge, waiting for an answer. Then when it ended, we discussed it. He took the side that Teddy never existed, while I said it's a huge setup. I watched the film like 3 times since to try and find prove that I am not crazy, which is actually an entirely crazy thing. I'm glad that this video exists, I constantly feel so close to the definitive answer, while never really finding it. Great analysis and really conveys how dense and detailed this film is.
I agree, teddy never existed. He's Andrew who killed his wife. This is why he knew so much about psycho drugs because he's been taking the for two years and knows all the side effects. The "doctor" in the cave hiding.... NOOOOO way she could have hidden and not be found. That was in his head. They found him every time he was alone, how could they not find "Rambo" i mean the doctor Rachel who is not a patient on the run...
So many great points. If all they were doing was "reminding him" that he's Andrew, why stage his partner's death and then gaslight him about even having one? That would only serve to dig someone deeper into conspiracy and madness, not bring them back to reality. Also, the references to how the place was funded and his investigation into the place. The doc saying they don't do those lobotomies, but then that's what happens to him? None of that makes any sense. I see the movie completely differently now.
I remember walking out of the theater and being really annoyed at the "storm was in your head" line. Seemed like a pretty big stretch for the power of hallucinations. Especially for a movie of this quality. Just picturing "Andrew" screaming loudly and cowering from strong winds like they're in a storm when in actuality it was a nice day/night really took me out of it. All these years later, I can finally get some closure on this irritating concept.. and then some! Thank you for all your hard work!
They never say this storm we see in the movie was in his head. (If you look at the screenplay found online, Sheehan explains in the lighthouse that they waited for a real storm to conduct this roleplay.) But for 2 years Andrew has been fantasizing about the investigation, and delusion-ally thinking that a storm was constantly keeping him stuck on the island (instead of the actual incarceration.)
@@paddyoferThey waited for a real storm to conduct the role-play? Do you not realize how ridiculous that sounds? Yeah, let's let the most-dangerous patient have free reign over the entire island, and we'll make sure it all happens during a huge storm to make it even more dangerous and exciting!
@@mylesmarkson1686 its literally in the screenplay you can find online that they waited for the storm. Which makes your comment ridiculous sounding. Free reign?? You need to watch closely,,, he is always under surveillance
@@paddyoferOh yeah, like when he went after the lunatic in Ward C? Or when he was climbing all over the rocks? Sheehan sure was right there the whole time--Wasn't he? Or how about when he stabbed Naehring? Or blew up the car? Or attacked the guard by the lighthouse? I'm wondering if we saw the same movie. And yeah, the idea of allowing the "most-dangerous" patient the ability to do all of this is beyond ridiculous by itself, let alone in a storm in which they would have no control over.
@@mylesmarkson1686 Dude, they had a TRANSCRIPT of his talk with Noyce in Ward C. That was supposed to signal to you that he was under surveillance everywhere, but you missed it. They knew where he was at all times. Of course, IF he was a bad guy, then they risked the guard or Naehring getting seriously hurt, but everyone knows he's not a bad guy as long as you let his delusion play out.
I’ve been in a mental health institute on a few occasions and it’s not difficult to turn someone who’s slightly “not right” into an absolute monster You no longer recognise yourself when you finally leave, nor do your family and friends
@@Psichotica7 Too many! Some really good people who turned into a former shadow of themselves I have seen a few people improve in that place, but the numbers on the success stories are so small
@@Psichotica7 Possibly. But in most cases it also protects other people, as those kinds of institutions require severe cases. Not placing people in there leads to abuse or death in some cases because they thought "it isn't bad enough to put someone in an institution".
13:30 you missed something imo. They do find a note, written with a pen. They never give any patient a pointy object in the asylum, she couldnt have written that herself.
EXACTLY. I don’t think a whole island full of people would go along with his detective fantasy especially if he is “the most dangerous” Gaslighting Gaslighting GASLIGHTING
That's actually why I've always liked this theory better...because the face value theory makes no sense. No one would do that to a mentally ill person.
Seriously! I was always doubted weather it was the “playing games” theory or not because WHY would they actually put him in a ferry at all if he just “resets” whenever they tell him “the truth”
Great breakdown! . Spot on! An alternate reason for Teddys dreams is maybe instead of Teddy mumbling in his sleep 😴 , Teddy instead, is being mumbled to while he’s dreaming. Add on the drugs which induce nightmares. The “doctors,” could have used key words that would help further the illusion the Drs admitted to creating, continuing in to his dreams. Side note: The cave where Teddy meets the real missing patient (former Dr) is an allusion to Plato’s cave). Which is all about perception vs reality. Also when Been Kingsley’s character says “you’re the most dangerous patient here,” he’s referring to his potential to expose the island for what it truly is. “The American experiment.” Which is also a metaphor for all those who seek the truth in a world based on lies. Grace, Peace and Blessings! 👏🙏
I always thought the ending could be one of two scenarios. 1.) He accepts he is a monster and decides its better to die as a man than live on as a monster (paraphrased) 2.) He gets the last laugh after deciding that he would rather die than become a monster of their own creation. Both theories show why the doctor could be upset at his decision to pretend he's "reset"
This is easily the most coherent presentation of a film theory I've ever listened to. In fact, you answered a question for me that I've had for a while: why were they doing the experiments? Clearly I slept part way through the movie because I missed some pretty obvious clues: there being 3 Rachels and 2 of them named Solando; the nurse/crazy lady; the meeting about the storm; and the whole handwriting thing. But Kingsley's smirking throughout the movie made me suspicious of him from the jump. I feel like your video validates what I felt I knew but couldn't figure out. Great frigging video.
Thanks, I figured if I was going to do this theory I would need to go into as much detail as possible. So I made sure to hit every possible point I could and clearly turned out there was a lot more to the theory than what I thought at first. 😅 I'd say it works pretty well, just as well as the basic meaning of the film. Which is why it's so rewatchable.
That is the beautiful thing about the movie. The question should be whether he was cured. The theory crafting is good but priming doesn't take when the victim starts thinking on it deeper. Priming on starts someone on the journey but if they start thinking about it and backtracking, it tends to fall apart. They explain everything in the movie. They did in fact plan and execute the roleplay. They know everything that he will do and think because he has been in the delusion for years. They went through all of his bullshit before and documented everything he has told them. They know the backstory, they know what he will talk about. The reason for everything is that they already have a script and looking for something new. The hearing of Landis disappoints them because it is the same script. The one they are trying to move away from. The reason the movie is good is that you are able to craft this theory. Which is only possible because of the unreliable narrator.
The thing is, that's very IRL what was happening in institutions in their era. Lots of really crazy experiments. From a lot of different agencies. And that's not speculation or paranoia.
@@JacobSantosDevThis is a movie. The creators of the film itself are trying to lead you to one conclusion. This means the film is layered because not only is it about psychosis and gaslighting, the film is structured in a way to lead you to doubt what you watched by the climax. Like this guy said, the film is heavily detailed and the truth is in the details, not in what the actors are saying, or how the film is chronologically and narratively structured. You can't rely on the doctors or teddy, but you can believe what YOU see as a 3rd party spectator (aka the storm is real).
Yeah the smirks and how he always seemed to have little explanations for things that would be irrelevant if Teddy were really Andrew and not an actual US Marshall
@@lucajramirezbThat's the point in which I lost all faith in Dr. Cawley. He knew exactly who Teddy was talking about, and he only says that to mess with Teddy's head. There's simply no other explanation.
I love Shutter Island!! I worked at that State Hospital until 2003 (the doctors' house) was where my office was!! Those pictures were in that building and are factual for the turn of 1900s. If people truly knew what was acceptable treatment.. ya'll would become sick! Truly more terrifyingly than any horror movie
I mean you could also interpret this as doctor shihan being kinda frustrated/sad that it didnt work, thus trying his last attempt in desperation. But i like the "teddy being tricked" theorie alot more just because its so much more plausible given the seemingly healthy "patients" living there (like the water lady or the guy he had beein interviewing back at the mainland in prison)
One thing I always felt was odd was that Ted seemingly at the end had trust towards Shihan. My interpretation of his last words and the way he looked at Shihan was to say "You know the stuff going around here is bad. Would you rather let your legacy come as an accomplice or do the right thing?" I think Ted realized that there was nothing he could do to get out of this situation. If he followed what they wanted, then the methods used on him may be used on others. I think at the end he tried to appeal to Shihan to do the right thing as his last sacrifice. And Shihan final words might have been him being moved by Ted's words. I think Shihan was scared to go against some of the leaders at the island. He might have already seen one of his colleagues lose her reputation and seemingly killed. In addition, he was smoking the same cigarettes as Ted. As the other doctor said, the people in the island was trying to take away people's emotions. Maybe Shihan was self-medicating in order to try to remove some of the guilt and emotions of being a part of the experiments.
@@stevenjamesosma3246 thats a good point, as shihan doesnt seem like the calculated cruel kind of a person lile cauli (prob mispronounced), alltough we didnt see much of his persona as he was always someone else, but trough all that i think we saw enough of shihans character.
I feel like he knew that Andrew knew he wasn't actually Teddy, so when he said "Teddy?" And "Andrew" doesn't answer to the name it confirmed for him that Andrew was aware of what he was doing. The experiment had actually worked, Andrew was no longer living in the Teddy delusion but he would rather be lobotomized than live with the loss of his family
Oooof, that was a good one. Well done! My favourite conspiracy theory is that Kevin from Home Alone, after neglectful childhood and lots of trauma, grew up to be John "Jigsaw" Kramer from the SAW movie series.
One thing that’s always bugged me - how did they make his mind ‘reset’ to thinking he’d not visited the island yet at the start? How did they make him forget he’d just left the island when he was on the ferry?
Yeah exactly.... The fact he's being "reset" isn't what you think it is. He's not resetting the fact that he's in denial about his crime, he's resetting because on some level their brainwashing was unsuccessful and he's trying to remember the truth.
The whole point of the movie is that for 2 years Andrew has been delusional about this "investigation", but whenever he gets close to the real answer (by seeing his intake form, for instance) he just would start over again to protect himself from the truth. So the purpose of the live-action roleplay was hopefuly to keep him from resetting -- and this breakthrough finally occurs in the lighthouse. And he sees the truth.
The brilliance of a youtube movie commentator whose understanding of storytelling is so grand that it makes me forget how frequently he fucking misuses “whenever” even though he’s clearly just doing it to try to kill me
I swear I'm not. 😂 it was after this video that (through the comments) I was informed that this was a thing. After some research it is apparently a regional dialect issue, as everyone I've asked around here couldn't tell me the difference between when and whenever. But now I'm trying to change this life long way of speaking. Definitely harder than I thought 😅 Saturdays video I think I got around half of them correct anyway.
@@MegatronYES it very well could be that too. But I know everyone I asked was older than myself and no one really gave me an answer. Still though I am working on it. Trying to anyway. 😅
This man was not crazy. Every time I come across reviews or Reddit’s 99% of them believe he’s crazy. The government will be able to mind fu** you if you believe he’s crazy. I could point out a list full of details why he’s not. I’m trying to look for one of my reviews I left on another page a few years back so I could copy and paste. Give me a few or a day. I’ll come back to this comment.
* How did he come in a ferry? ⛴ * Why were his cigarettes missing? * Why would she tell him to “shhh” ? * Why has he never worked with him before ? * Why did his partner have a hard time taking out his “gun”? * Why would she tell him to run after the partner left? * Why would his partner question him about George and his reasoning being there if they were supposed to be there for the same thing? At the same time telling him the truth? * Why where they secretly getting him out of his uniform when the storm hit, that’s never given back? * Why did they mistaken 67 patients for 66? * Why have a nurse and the whole facility partake in this role for 1 person? * Why was his “partner” always standing by him or above him to hand him cigarette? * Why would George Noyce say “All your talk I’m here because of you”?! * Why when he decided to go to the lighthouse his partner tried to stop him? * Why did his partner ask “what happen back there”? As if George told him something he wasn’t supposed to know. * Why did his partner leave a cigarette at the edge of the cliff causing him illusions thinking he was down there? (He felt like a rat in a maze what George Noyce said). * Why were the doctor words so real to everything that pointed out after he left and what he was going through? * Why was that man speaking evil and violence to him? * Why did the doctor confront him about George and claim him as schizophrenic? * Why where all the rooms empty when he got there like they took everything out? * Why was he waiting for him? * If he was so harmful why let a doctor roam around with him by himself? (He wasn’t a threat to anyone) * When he grabbed the gun why did Sheen back up but the other doctor didn’t? ( Sheen didn’t know if he had his real gun but the other doctor knew that wasn’t his gun). * They only keep showing Rachel why not the other 2? (Kept thinking about that 1 girl at war). Idk... I just don’t feel like he wasn’t crazy.. 🥺 “To live as a monster or to die as a good man”
Let's go! I'm glad I'm not the only person to have gone down this rabbit hole before. I can see why people would think he was crazy but they obviously have to overlook a ton of things to come to that conclusion. But like Cawley said "you've uncovered a conspiracy and can dismiss everything as lies", this doesn't only apply to the side of him being teddy but also to him being Andrew. And thank you for the list. Glad you were able to find it so quickly.
This man goes by Teddy and not Edward that’s the only thing the doctor has on him and as for his Wife Dolores that anagram could have been made up as Rachel Solando just to fit the narrative the were going for. This man deals with war trauma and he dreams of a little girl that he saw dead in the war. The doctors try to use that little girl as (Rachel Solando) which is supposed to be his daughter. Notice how they claim he has 3 kids but the only one that keeps showing up is the girl from the war. When he first arrived he arrived on a ferry he had a bandage on his head as if they have already done something beforehand and he was nauseous from the water. His (partner) offers him a cigarette after his is missing and they head to the island. Notice throughout this whole movie they had him around water. After one of his dreams he wakes up to water dropping on him. (They wanted to keep this water thing going so it could be more convincing). Throughout this whole movie he’s surrounded by water and given drugs (aspirin). When he arrived to the island the first thing the old lady did was give a gesture and tell him to “shhhh”. She did this because she knew they knew nothing about him and they were trying to validate that he was there to expose them which is why they had one of their own follow him around the island (Dr Sheen). When he Sheen goes to grab a glass of water for a patient that’s being questioned she quickly grabs his note pad and writes “RUN”. She was telling him to run from his partner. Further on when they get trapped in a storm they head to a shed like place and Teddy tells his “partner” the reasoning for him being there. His partner then tells him the truth by saying “what if they were looking into you? All they had to do was fake an escape” just to see if Teddy was catching on or to see if he believes that he’s still solving a case. Everything his “partner” said was true but as a Marshall Teddy still believed he had a duty to attend to. Also Teddy mention George Noyce and how he’s the one that told him everything. Later on he runs into Noyce being back in there and Noyce is trying to have a private conversation. He was supposed to run into Noyce but Noyce was supposed to make him feel crazy not tell him the truth. He told him “he was back in there because of all his talking”. He warns Teddy in a way about his partner by telling him “you never worked with him have you”. And that if Teddy trusted the guy then they have already won. He was not supposed to trust this doctor because this doctor is the one who ran all his information back about how his wife did and the dreams he has. Later he gets into it with his partner at the top of the hill because he wants to see what’s at the light house. He partner notices that he’s very determined and catches on that Noyce had to tell him something so they put a cigarette at the edge of the cliff to make him hallucinate into thinking his partner was down there. He felt like “a rat in a maze”. He then finds the doctor the gives him detail that he never knew before including letting him know that all the staff are on it. Teddy goes in with a different demeanor watching everyone. By then they know he knows the truth and plays as if he never had a partner and he rushed to the light house. The doctor tries to speak about his dreams but only brings up everything that happened on the island. After a while Teddy is upset and goes for his gun but Sheen backs up while the other doctor stand still. That’s because sheen did not know if he had his real gun or not. The doctor then tries to show the girl photo which is supposed to be his daughter but is really the girl from the war. Just notice how they only focus on 1 girl. If he had 3 kids why not focus on all 3? At the end of the movie “to live as a monster or to die as a good man” which means I rather die if I can’t expose the truth or trust anyone with it. To live as a monster is living knowing the truth and knowing you can’t do anything about it because everyone is in on it. Also if they sent him back out there he would not have been himself because they been giving him drugs that control his mind. He would have went out there and committed murder just like George Noyce. This was a mind control thing and the experiment was him. Instead of killing him because he knew all what was going on and they tried to do an experiment to make him think he had kids and killed his wife. This was is what they consider “saving” someone before a lobotomy.
I had my own journey on this watching this video. At first I wasn't paying attention to the intro, so I didn't know if this was going to be a repeat of a 100s of videos essays on this movie, all arriving at the same point. As the video kept going, I realized there was nuance here, but I couldn't tell how it would end. Around the 45 minute mark I had my hands on my head going, "Oh my god, this is a reverse twist of the twist!" I stopped the video, and rewatched one of the original trailers where it plays it straight face saying Teddy is a US Marshal looking to uncover the truth on the island. Which means, that's what they wanted us to think when we went into the movie the first time. Then it ends with the twist and we go "Oh my god, that's crazy!" Then we rewatch it to find all the clues (and watch 100s of video essays on it) for the endings twist. THEN THIS COMES OUT, and it's like "Nah! The twist wasn't a twist; AND THAT'S THE TWIST!" Well done! Very well done! Thank you for this!
One thing I noticed on my first time watching this movie, whenever he was having hallucinations, he was in the presence of water, for example, when he broke the gun his hand was wet, but whenever he was sane, he was in the presence of fire. That led me to believe this theory.
One could say that the opposite is true too actually It’s hard to tell but it’s clear there’s a strict dichotomy between water and fire here in terms of his worldview
I think its the opposite. Fire is dreaming, water is truth. The scene is the cave with the campfire makes this the most clear. if she was real, how did she manage to not only get enough firewood without being noticed, but transport all that firewood and her supplies up to that cave , when it showed teddy/andrew struggling to do so? She didn't even have shoes!
@muddyhobo12 as the first person mentioned, could be interpreted either way. We can also argue about Rachel's resourcefulness, but that's also up to debate. Survivors can do incredible things to survive. I do believe that Rachel was real though. Not only because she apprised him to new information, but he woke up and she was still there. He's catagorically shown waking up to reality.
@@farazqazi3360 agreed i also had a theory that maybe they know shes still alive and are ignoring her. like see how long it takes her to go crazy trying to survive and maybe we could make her another patient too and have a real rachel and not just a fake one. like use that as her trauma that made her go insane or something.
The reason I disagree with your theory is the last scene. Teddy pretends to still be Teddy when talking with Chuck because, in a moment of clarification, he remembered that he was in fact a patient and thinks the lobotomy will fix him. My interpretation of course.
I'm never going to believe that he's not actually who he says he is. I loved your explanation. You really put things in order in a good way and it makes sense that he's actually being experimented on since the beginning.
Agreed. It was weird to me reading about this movie on the internet years later and finding out most people assumed he *was* crazy. I always had the opposite take. But the point is that the movie is perfectly ambiguous.
People who believe he was crazy often cite the ending and how that confirms he was a patient all along. Really the end of the movie, he realizes he is stuck on the island, with no weapon and no way of communication to the marshals office or anyone off island he is stuck there. Instead of going along with their charade he admits defeat and pretends to "slip back" into who he actually is, teddy. Thats the importance of his last words. Hes letting the doctor know hes aware of what their doing and saying while you choose to live here as a monster, i choose to die as a good man. Take me to the lighthouse and be done with it
@@eugenefullstack7613yeah same, I thought he was a marshal and they wanted him gone, maybe he knew something……took me ages to realise he was actually crazy
@@coolcat6103 he's not though, at least some of the most convincing evidence is that he's not, that's the point of this video. IMHO it's perfectly ambiguous (both are true) but if i had to choose, he's being experimented on by authoritarians, he's not crazy
Hope you read this man, I absolutely loved the video, it’s so fun to see someone fully delve into this theory. While I don’t agree with the theory, I think too many people take the ending at complete face value. I think the movie is purposefully open ended for either side to be possible, and that’s what makes it so good! So I just wanted to thank you for making this, and showcasing all your points. It’s really provides such a newfound appreciation for such a great film
I did read this and thank you. It's funny because I agree, I think the movie is so perfectly balanced between the two sides that each time you watch it a new detail could sway you one way or the other. Which was literally my goal with the video is just to get people to go rewatch the movie, that's why I too left it open ended with the final question.
It's crazy how the audience in the sense is Teddy, and 90% of people on first viewing fell under the psychological spells shutter island played on teddy's mind. For a long time I was convinced he was crazy from the beginning, missing all the obvious signs that point to it being a pre-determined experiment. 5 stars, great video. well done sir.
Hmmm, alternate theory shutter island is a level on inception. All of the situation lines up, including the death of the wife in both movies. It possible that he was trapped in the facility until he got rescued during inception.
Him subconsciously creating an anagram of his name is farfetched, but the coincidence that the guy he’s looking for has a name that just so happens to be an anagram of his own?
I appreciate the time he put into this video, it's very entertaining, but the idea just doesn't work. Between the anagrams and the photos of his children, the movie clearly indicates that he's supposed to be crazy. PolterGibbst's idea nearly works because the movie is intentionally framed to make you think he's being gaslit, until the final reveal. Disappointingly, he glosses over the very ending when Teddy reverts back to thinking he's on the case. It was revealed to him that Mark Ruffalo is not his partner regardless of which "interpretation" you subscribe to. So why, in this interpretation, would he treat him like his partner again? More importantly, when they take him off to be lobotomized, Ruffalo tries to stop Teddy and have him repeat what he just said after that ambiguous "hero" line. That part makes absolutely no sense under the interpretation shared here, which is why PolterGibbst left it out despite it being the most memorable part of the film. And, finally, the premise makes no sense. A federal marshal took on a case, went to the island without a partner, and then the hospital is just like, "sorry, he was crazy, we had to lobotomize him"?
This actually changed my brain chemistry. This movie has stuck with me since the day I first watched it. I've watched it over and over to try and catch new things. I always wanted something more and this theory absolutely did that for me. And the storm not being real???? Cmon
If the storm is not real, then the whole movie is not real. So basically we're just watching the imaginings of a mad-man for 2 hours straight. Can I just watch paint dry instead?
I honestly thought this was the story of the movie until I once mentioned it to someone and they said I had it wrong. I was like nah dog I just saw it last night lol. Anyways I watched it again and was convinced I was right. I honestly always thought they gave you the answer, he first meets his "partner" on the boat. This to me proves he's a marshal and got on the boat at someplace other than the island. The answer comes when she explains "they control the ferry". So they sent Chuck on the ferry to meet him and pretend to be his partner. I will never accept he was really on the island the whole time.
The end of the movie only makes sense if he was a patient they were trying to cure, why fake the sadness of their tests not working on curing him? Also the theme of water and fire throughout the movie indicates he was crazy or what was the point of it.
This video is the first I've seen from you, and it's an automatic subscription from me. I have VERY bad attention issues. And you held it the whole time. Thank you for an hour of peace.
Me before this video: "The most heartbreaking story about PTSD and psychosis 😭" Me after this video: "The biggest gaslighting operation ever done in history 💀"
Thaaaaaaaank youuuuuu! Since this movie came out I've been arguing with everyone that Teddy was never crazy, his wife didn't do that, the Rachael in the cave was real, and they were gaslighting him the entire time. Finally, somebody else gets it. Operation paperclip.
@@apiranha1 lol. The cave scene is an artful way to describe what happens in the mind of someone suffering from delusional mental illness. They have an explanation for everything. He's sorting that out in his head.
I highly recommend the book to anyone that's seen this movie, it's AMAZING & of course explains things better. So in the end of both, the role play therapy does actually work, he realizes that he is in fact the Andrew that murdered his wife in the Spring of '52, but he still doesn't want to live as him so he pretends to still be delusional so they'll put him out of his misery (lobotimize him) That's what that final quote is about: he would rather die as a good man than continue to live as a monster.
This movie has stuck with me ever since the first time I saw it. I honestly think this is the best theory video I've seen on it and I will be adopting this as my head cannon.
Right. They’d send the whole world. Of Law Enforcement speaking. But , what if the government was in on this whole deal they were doing on the island. Even going by this videos theory . They could cover up his disappearance. A rogue agent , trying to blow the lid off of what could possibly be a “alpha phase” of MK Ultra like experiments. And one of those experiments being a radical role-play to convince this rogue investigator that he is crazy.
They could say he fell off a cliff looking for the missing patient in the storm. Begs the question why they wouldn’t just kill him to stop him asking questions, unless it was like the ultimate experiment to see if they could drive a trained US Marshall crazy
@@ModernEphemeraPersonally I think this is what they’re hinting at, especially after learning about Noyce and how he wasn’t explicitly violent before the asylum, gets super violent after the asylum and then begs for death over going back. Seems like the idea is the gov gives them the green light to rest if their drugs and manipulation can work on trained operatives to make better military men that can do bidding on command but that’s just my theory lol
@@jaimeemmanuel2620 exactly. That was a real thing! Operation Paperclip. The gov was in cahoots with Nazi Dr's to run these experiments. The gov was helping bc they were using the findings of these experiments.
This is literally one of the greatest stories ever told. We are given almost the exact feeling and experience at the end of the movie, and mostly the whole way through, as the main character. We are doubting ourselves, we are doubting basically every detail were given and in the end, after enough scrutiny of the plot, we are doubting our own sanity. Simultaneously, whichever side of the story you land on in the end, your perspective and conclusion is indicative of what type of thinker you are. Do you ridicule people who watch this movie and think deeper than what the movie obviously wants you to conclude? (Which should easily tell you you need to not be that way as the entire movie is inspiring you to question what it tells you). Would you take the ending on face value and leave believing everything you were told without thinking twice? OR would you consider the clues that were left, do your own thinking and come to your own conclusion? Or at least admit that your up in the air and could see both sides... Basically, can you fathom conspiracies or do you want to stay with the herd? Either way Teddy's last words ring true and to me, hit harder now when we apply it to real life: "..live as a monster, or die as a good man?" Btw, excellent video! Very well done on all counts. :)
This is so obviously the actuality of the story. I can't believe people actually believe what the pretended narrative is!! And it makes the story so so much better! I think the writer does a wonderful job in sorting out the sheep from the critical thinkers. Any deep thinker will know that teddy is actually sane! I wrote this comment on another video before reading your comment. I came to the same conclusion you did!
The ending to me has always been so sad. My theory is that he does remember what happened, but he’s choosing not to and going ahead and getting a lobotomy . He would rather live a life not remembering.
That was my interpretation because his doc who pretends to be his partner calls him by his fake name after he nods for the lobotomy and he acts like “btch I know that’s not my name” and after saying “is it better to live as a monster or die as a good man” it seems like he is saying “I rather lose my being as I know it than to live in this cage for the rest of my life with the fact that my wife drowned our children and I shot her” as a dad of 3 my Solar plexus constricted and imploded into my body when it shows the kids in the lake. The years of holding them watching them play and smile and gone no life to even say bye to and it’s the person you’ve loved more than anything in your life that did it and she did tell you that she needed help, that agony and anguish, I would rather just call it a life and check out than to just sit in a crazy house for the rest of my living life with that reality.
@@DerekJohn yes, but that's not the case. If u see this video he explains pretty clear that's not the truth. They want to make him belive that, so it would be to much for him and choose to die. But that's not the truth.
this is the takeaway I got the first time I watched this movie, but over the years I ended up believing the theories that he was crazy the whole time, but this is a refreshing look at the movie
This just might be one of the best videos on shutter island I’ve ever seen Making a movie recap video about a man being trapped in his own mind thinking everything is a conspiracy only to make it all about how the REAL story IS that it is all a giant conspiracy is such a beautifully layered video concept Hats off
YOu think the original idea of. A man completely resetting and not realizing he is on a ferry he is always on. Gets taken to a place where he doesn't remember a single person he has been around for years. Is a known killer. Is allowed to run around with very little supervision. Allowed the man to literally climb up and down treacherous rocks, even having the doctor climb down, THEN disappear while the patient was climbing down to throw him off.' Randomly plant evidence in random places for him to find(which is weird that he would be good enough to find it as a patient). Then also have the same doctor/partner disappear randomly and then reappear as his partner to "break" him out of it Offer him the paper to see if he resets on the cliffs? See if he ignores them? Then later give them back to him and have all this planned? They get ALL the inmates to play around with him(all crazy people) in an insane asylum. They plan this all during a massive storm (that does actually happen as its evidenced before during and after the event and rain is still on the windows). And he stabs people, GETS ASSAULTED BY INMATES, BLOWS UP CARS, ASSAULTS OFFICERS, and threatens to kill a doctor..... And you think. This entire staff did all of this, just for 1 patient? LOL. You know how much money that would cost the government to do for 1 person???? LOL??? And all to avoid 1 lobotomy over 2 years? And he still gets lobotomized anyway?? Constantly offer drugs/smoking/alcohol to a patient? Change his clothes out for "detective clothing" and then come up with a plan to force him into inmate clothing? ALL of that for 1 person? To avoid doing the very thing you do anyway? Nah man. That is NOT more logical than some dude investigating a killer who just so happens to have changed his name and become a police chief and threw his subordinate into a political espionage government camp to avoid being punished for his own crimes. Its more logical for a criminal to be a criminal and do criminal things during the 40s/50s and a group of doctors in a government run facility to take free test subjects with no legal limits- as opposed to an entire organization to work together with hundreds of moving parts, including inmates/patients, and give an active killer who has already attacked multiple people/nurses/officers/destroyed property, multiple times, freeish reign, during a massive storm, access to the entire island unopposed with tons of weapons he could find along the way. All to maybe get him to realize he killed his wife after she killed his children....... and that he made up everything else... What exactly did they hope to accomplish? If he does come to terms with reality what stops him from un-living himself? He clearly hates his life and lost everything if he was crazy anyway.
Wow! Dude I just got to the end, where you're amazed we got there, and realized an hour and a half went by 😂😂 I legit thought I was in it for 20 mins tops. You rock!
Damn finally someone said it, I thought this the first time I watched the film and was so shocked to see people just unquestioningly taking it at face value - no word of a lie I could not find a single person anywhere who believes he’s actually sane until I saw this today
As someone who's watched this movie at least 10 times (obsessive, I know) I always assumed that this Theory was the truth, and that he wasn't actually crazy & was being manipulated. However the last time I watched it, I tried to see it from the opposite Perspective and see him as crazy and WAW i was blown away by how different it made me feel about this movie and for the first time ever I jumped ship to believing he was actually crazy. The level of detail in this movie is incredible, and the Casting is on point! This film wouldn't have worked with anyone other than DiCaprio - He can be both Good Guy and a Monster at the same time, that's what makes it so special. It's a Paradox, in my opinion. Maybe he's both & Neither?
you are correct, the first time i watch the movie i did get that conclusion that they were playing with him, specially the way they seemed to blaze about things
Mind-blown! This theory turns Shutter Island on its head, transforming it from a story about personal delusion into a chilling exploration of institutional manipulation and psychological experimentation. It challenges everything we thought we knew about the movie and raises profound questions about ethics and the abuse of power. Bravo to the creator for bringing this perspective to light!
It's ironic that was your experience. My experience from the very first viewing of this film when released was that he truly was innocent and was being led to believe he was crazy. The finality of it being that they had won in the end by lobotomizing him.
To live as a monster or die a good man “ , I think that was his surrendering to the circumstances. He could either live as a cold blooded killing machine or have his identity “die” and become a zombie. So he chose the latter
This opened my eyes to not always picking up on clues in movies, just to build a picture of the complete meaning and plot but to actually work with the clues and make me not a complete puzzle, but rather a lego model with different options to be build more of a 2 in 1 or 3 in1 etc. That was one of the most entertaining videos I've watched in a long time and I trully enjoyed every minute of it.
When Chuck is trying to hand the paper that he got from Laedis, when he says "I'll look at it later." the. Paper literally disappears from chuck's hand
This was extra cool!! Someone who doesn’t just reacts to a film, but actually deconstructs it. I can’t wait to see more of these. I miss small details unless I’m reading the script. Now THAT I know how they are constructed and what makes a good script instead of ones that could use a few more rewrites. Thanks for doing this!!!
Water represents the harsh truth in the movie. You can't hide from it, it's everywhere fighting its way in to reach Teddy. Fire represents the evasions and rationalizations that keep Teddy from knowing the truth. The scene where fire is the most prominent is the scene in the cave where he meets Rachel (another defense mechanism). The movie is a battle between the fire and the water. The truth and the lies. Teddy and Andrew. Teddy can't even see a glass of water when he's interrogating a fellow inmate because he chooses not to see the truth. Water does eventually wash the fire out, but the truth is too much for Andrew to carry. He willingly chooses fire once again at the end when he pretends that he reverted back to Teddy. He chooses to kill Andrew once and for all the only way he can. A lobotomy. The top of the lighthouse is where Teddy sees "the light." And it's unreachable unless you travel through the water, becoming saturated by the truth.
I agree. Fancy deepities from the creators to make it interesting. I can not see in any way how this is not a bad attempt to figure out more about and treat his infliction/trauma. How can U.S. Marshals Service send out a "normal" man to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane, then he gets hospitalized there!? That should set off some major alarm bells at the US Marshal Service and would not be preferable to an institute that are trying to hide shady experiments. Unless they are in on it! ;)
@vigintii I ultimately can't appreciate the theory that the video supports because of its transformative effect on the film. This theory takes the entire film and makes it about something that is not. The theory itself is an example of how only thinking on the perceptual level leads to things like elaborate conspiracy theories. It just flat-out ignores the metaphors and real meaning behind such a great film that you can only attain by thinking conceptually. The power of the mind can be a dangerous thing, especially when faced with harsh truths and trauma. But do you confront the reality of your situation honestly and do your best to understand the full context and put in the effort to recover? Or do you try and escape and create a new reality where your lies only lead to more lies and inevitably your own self destruction.
@@johngleue So why does he go to the lighthouse at the end if there are no lobotomies being performed there? To me, that indicates that Cawley was lying and that George Noyce and Cave-lady Rachel were right all along.
@@7PlayingWithFire7At the end of the movie when they were sitting on the steps. If he really was Andrew, and they finally brought him back to reality, why go back to calling him Teddy?
@@IShootFootyCool No because at that point in the movie, they thought they had him cured (and really wanted to believe it). So he should've said "Andrew? Andrew? Please answer me Andrew!"
While it’s true you can’t hallucinate new information you can hallucinate it if you already know the information He has been doing this story for 2 years, the storm, Rachael, he has mentioned it for the past 2 years so even if he doesn’t mention it much in the movie he has been saying it before the entire time, his brain is possibly resetting after 4 days as the story suggests Rachael Solondo isn’t real but his daughter Rachael was definitely real While I agree the doctors had been playing with Teddys delusion his ptsd of his wife’s killing and his children’s death was real I don’t even know if his service in the military was as bad as he claimed just the trauma of his family took over everything in his mind
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Mr. Gibbs I’m afraid that the movie you saw over and over again, this “Shutter Island” does not exist, you have been in fact given internet access to a computer so you could document the various symptoms you have shown in this video of yours.
I am in fact apart of a science department in Boston taking a close attention of you and your rare mental sickness called “Theory Fever” (the idea of the name was not mine but it was in fact, Dr. Han)
I know this is a lot for you to take in but your real name is Andrew and you had a wife and 3 kids.
You have actually been placed in a very specialized containment room in a private location for the past 2 years.
Remember who you are Andrew.
-Yours sincerely, Dr. Joe Gibbs
😂😅 this is now my favorite comment.
What comment?
@@alexfernandez8871 the one from Dr. Joe Gibbs... 😅
So the delusions are more severe than we thought.
Notation needed.
- Doctor Katrina Han.
@@cerebella9676 and here I thought the most elaborate ruse was on the island but instead it is all around me. 🤣😵💫
So… it’s actually a gaslighthouse
🤣
I wish I had thought of that line!😂
lmao...thats TOO funny...cant be on accident!!
@@boost91no, they were making a genuine philosophical statement. And you took it as a joke. What is wrong with you?
gaslighthouse doesn't exist you made it up because you're fkn crazy. . . /s/
The real beauty of this film is that if it started 1 minute earlier or finished 1 minute later, we 'd have an answer. Very very clever
What do you mean?
@@wiiztecwe’d know if he actually got on the boat from where he came from or where he eventually went off to.
Exactly.
@@jaydensantana6369 Are you saying there's a possibility of him not going to the lighthouse to get lobotomized at the end?
its all there actually. ted isnt completely crazy but he has severe trauma and ptsd from Germany. now a subject or experiement on an island for MK ULTRA he is the PERFECT CANDIDATE. this movie is way more than people realise.
One thing that I noticed: in that last moment when Sheehan stands up and calls after him as the guards are taking him away, he calls him Teddy. If he really had known him as Andrew for two years, and if in that moment he really believed (as we are given to understand) that the man was in his right mind, why did he call him Teddy instead of Andrew?
Exactly…. he was really his partner Chuck! Most likely they bribed him to pretend he was his head shrink.
@@colliric I think he was on the ferry from the beginning because they have control of the ferry. So the guy he's suppose to meet on the ferry isn't there and instead it's this guy Chuck
Good observation.
“You’re the most violent patient we have!” So you allowed him to roam FREELY?!? 🤨 This has been my Roman Empire for a long time. 😂
@@Mqmn Bro I thought dude was being profound. I googled it and learn its a TikTok meme. 💀
Also how is he the most violent patient? The dude killed his wife bc she killed their children!! I could think of more violent ppl 💀
@@cindygrapeexactly!! who wouldn’t get justice for their own kids? 😓
Youre a fake thug whos gonna mess with the wrong one soon little boy@Mqmn
He his violent because of his skill military and such also he was never alone on purpose first time was at ward C which is when Dr Sheean can't blow his cover so he escorts the patient and then the other time is when Teddy doesn't trust him and gets hostile
When you know you're going to fail the health inspection so you gaslight the inspector there's no rats by making them think they're the rat.
These are not the Brain Washing Asylums you are looking for ......
😂haha awesome comment and extremely convincing VIDEO😮
and I’ll be calling if I need a great defence in court😅
You summed it up so perfectly and hilariously 😆
"i'm not the f*ckin rat!" 😁
If he actually is an active US Marshall, they wouldn't be able to hide his investigation or disappearance on the island.
It's always been crazy to me that Leo starred in both this and Inception in the same year.
WHAT?! And didn’t receive an Oscar for either and he was phenomenal in both. Two mind-bending and fantastic movies.
And both movies involve an idea being planted in someone's mind...
Given that the first time I watched this, I was half awake, I constantly view them as one and the same.
always haha
Why did I think this movie was so much older than inception??
The single most important clue:
We do no lobotomy here. And at the end they do.
100%
You are wrong
Doctor Sheehan and Cawley don't do lobotomy, the Shutter Island is trying to liberate psychiatry from these methods, find a new way...
Because they presumably failed with Andrew, then they had to go back to the old ways, the ways of doctor Naehring, as he strongly disapprove of Cawley methods.
That's all
HERE the lighthouse... Where he was told that happened..
Actually the main guy was trying his hardest not to lobotomize him, he was being pressured by people above him because of how many people DiCaprio’s character has hurt
When did they say that I thought it was they were gonna be discredited if they failed Andrew
The whole debate boils down to asking yourself what's more likely: That you are crazy, or that the government is trying to drive you crazy.
If a potential answer to a question is that it is the government’s fault, that is always the correct answer
Why not both?
the answer to both questions is Yes.
5 years ago I would say me, but recently I am sure it's government
To anyone that's isn't sure which is more likely I recommend watching the TH-cam series "the history of the CIA" by "Eyes Wide Open".
This was actually what i thought happened when i originally watched it. It looked like they were setting him up like a german experiment to make him crazy by gaslighting him to the fullest extent
Same here. Makes me think that they even gaslit us into believing he was crazy and that they were the good guys, to see from their point of view, despite all of the inconsistencies and evidence against them. Might have been what they did to silence the staff there. They tricked us all.
I mean, that’s literally the point.
Everyone was led to believe that’s the case.
That’s why the ending has a twist.
Same. And I figured that he knew he was being gaslit but also knew he would have no way out of this. So he played along and accepted his fate
i watched it for the first time recently but it was prefaced that this movie was the inspiration for a lot of my favourite episodes in detective shows so I think that’s why i assumed it was a double twist ! I also really pushed back on the twist being real just because of “real rachel” cuz it just didn’t make sense to me and it felt like too many deliberate decisions in both plot (kerns) and technicals (camera, script, etc) for me to believe it was meant to be taken as is (sorry for the ramble i have no one irl to be an annoying film grad and talk it out with lol)
(side note the show “Perception” has one of these episodes, twist being the detective already has schizophrenia so that was their Dolores i guess but if you like psych and serious but silly detective shows i would reccommend)
@@NickDoraRawYup this was my interpretation as well
I could never decide and was of the impression that the movie left it up to interpretation. Nobody has ever fully convinced me he was crazy.
Now you can rewatch it a few times and see both sides of him being crazy and not, ultimately just driving yourself to insanity and ending up on Shutter Island yourself. 😂
Exactly that. The best art is
@@snarklar What? What is it? I have to know.
@@I-J1NX-I
“Ambiguous,” is the word they left out.
@@CorbCorbinhow can you be sure?
The fact that Sheehan called him Teddy and not Andrew at the very end makes me lean more towards this theory
EXACTLY
Damn, now I need to rewatch this masterpiece. Which I’m happy to do 😅
Well, he could've just playing again.
We can also say that when "Leo" said the line about living as a monster or dying as a good man, Dr Sheehan realises that the experiment worked and just to cross check he calls him "teddy" but "Leo" ignores..!
@@WaniAnimeshwell I think the ending of the movie confirmed that whether teddy was gaslit into being crazy or was infact crazy all along, nonetheless is being lobotomized. But if the mission was to gaslight him into being crazy and it infact worked, there would be no reason for a lobotomy. That’s contrary to the whole purpose of the experiment. If he’s not crazy, then the lobotomy on the other hand comes off as a admirable decision for dying on what you believe.
The fact that you kept me completely engaged for an hour and a half is very impressive, bravo man.
Me too! I got half an hour in, then had to go rewatch the movie, I’m back here now, it’s a fascinating video.
You know your theory is deep when the breakdown is as long as a movie
Not if you watch it in on 2x speed
@@Jonathan_Doe_I watched Shutter Island on 2x speed
@BumboyWillynut you are correct dad
Barely over half the length of the movie you've really upset me with This comment terry 😢
@@TH-camenjoyer667 sorry if I ruined your day 😊 hope it gets better ✌️
LMAO my boy Dr. Cawley was literally like:
"We don't do LOBOTOMY here Andrew. You're just crazy so if you don't stop being crazy, you're gettin' a LOBOTOMY. Which like, we totally don't do! But you're gettin' one!" 😂😂😂
Too true. And it's like how he said that he didn't believe in drugs but couldn't stop talking about how beneficial they were.
"And you get a Lobotomy, and you get a Lobotomy and everyone gets a LOBOTOMY!!!.....!!!!....
...which we definitely don't do..."
Well....duh?? The facility's target was to prove that Cawley's theory of psychological treatment CAN work and become a reliable alternative to Lobotomy. This was Andrew and their last hope of proving it after incessant failed attempts and when it "failed" again, they had no option but to resort to the surgical process.
The movie's ending purposefully leaves the last part ambiguous btw. It's entirely possible that Cawley and his crew reset and give the psychological therapy another shot, it also is possible that something other than the Lobotomy takes place, or perhaps they do go ahead with the Lobotomy after all.
I think that Cawley doesn’t like lobotomies but as he is dangerous the Warden and maybe the doctor that looks evil, are proposing the lobotomy
@@alanchavarria5439 I always thought with the themes of religion in this movie, the warden was a theme for the devil. The line, "known you for centuries",... "violent men", was especially unnerving in that light. And then he ends it with, "that's the spirit" maybe having a double-meaning there.
The best twist is that there was actually no twist at all. It was just a straight forward story about how they made a guy think he was crazy so no one would believe him if he leaked details
It's kind of manipulative the way they do that twist. It only works because the film completely leaves out the whole "US Marshal" thing as if he was just a random lowlife visitor who came to the island and therefore no one would follow up on him. Therefore it's much easier to assume he was a crazy guy having a crazy fantasy of being a Marshal.
The most interesting part of this theory is that almost every piece of evidence can really go for either side, depending on how you interpret the details.
I cant believe no one is talking about the coincidence of the lighthouse looking like a penis.
No It cant be
What the fuck are you talking about
Yeah, no. If both sides were truly 50/50 it would kinda suck.
The movie tells you two stories and makes you question the main one without providing clear proof for the second.
The true strength of this movie is, it respects it's audience and does a lot of stuff subtile. Sometimes simple facial reactions of people give you little hints and make you question the narrative you see. The further into the story to goes the clearer the signs become but also the questioning of his sanity by the main story.
The movie doesn't try to present to you two different narratives and you can choose what you feel makes more sense. It presents you two narratives and uses the second to question the first.
The aim is to leave you questioning what you saw and in a way replicate the experiance of the main char. What it achieves quite well, imho.
its really is 50 50 though. they don't give you enough information to determine. which is the fact of the story. literally where the movie starts and ends leaves just enough information to start speculating. it up to the viewer to decide what is true and what is not.
The fact that he actually said "live as a monster or die as a good man" tells me he is living in reality and knows what he is doing
The reality where the staff convinced to believe he is an insane murderer to use this technique to create monsters,
or the reality where he was a murderer, went insane and after the experiment went well chose to play insane again in order to get lobotomised so he doesn't have to live with the knowledge of killing his wife.
@@Culpride well this theory suggests he is choosing to end as Teddy Daniels, honest to himself rather than be gaslit into living as a monster because it protects Ashcliffs human experimentation.
It means the treatment worked and was cured. But he doesn't want it accept reality for what it is and would rather die now knowing the truth.
@@kolbeleonardo1682exactly this theory. He was in reality at the end and he chose to be lobotomized of his own free will because he couldn't live with the trauma of losing his family in such a tragic way. He pretended to be crazy to the doctor until the last line of the film
"Live as a monster or die as a good man" tells me that in that moment he knew that he killed his wife and partially chose to dissociate (I say partially because he is clearly delusional and going through mental breakdowns/ dealing with mental health issues throughout the movie)
for us to still be thinking and consuming hours of content about a movie 14 years after it came out shows how great of a movie it is. well done thank you for this.
If you haven’t read the book I’d highly recommend it, and go into it with an open mind
Holy shit?! This is 14 years old? I though this came out in the late 2010s! Time is passing by too quickly.
It isn't the movie, it's the book!
Mind blowing movie even before the analysis!
I know, almost feel like I first watched this months not years ago. A vastly underrated movie.
I think he was fully aware in the end that he is Andrew, but he’s done experiencing his trauma and is pretending to slip back into Teddy to willingly get lobotomized.
I love that a movie about losing your mind actually makes people who analyse it lose their minds
That's the Kafkaesque genius of it!
The people who see the movie, yes... but this guy right here...
Psychosis is contagious
❤❤❤❤❤
Plus, “to live as a Monster or to die as a good man” is also the strongest thing he could say to dr. Sheen, since HE is the one that will have to live knowing about the monstruosity he’s doing there, while Teddy will be dying as a good man, willingly. “ . Great analysis! Loved the video ❤
thats such a big point for his theory in my opinion. Even if I think the movie is playing with the possibility of both making it kind of an open ending, the more times I watch the movie the more I am like "if I had to bet I'd say they played him". And that would make that last line so much stronger than it already was before.
Another thought: The Movie is basically making the viewer being Teddy Daniels when watching it and asking himself the question whats true or not. Thats so artistic. And the answer depends on if you assume everything you see on screen is reality or if you assume they also show some of teddys hallucinations when the theme isnt playing(aka when it isnt obvious).
@BumboyWillynut and I think this interpretation is actually the most heart-wrenching : showing the lengths someone would go to shelter themselves from a pain so severe and to save their self-image. It's the person at war with themselves and that's imo a hell of a stronger war than with any outward forces. Props to the movie for the level of confusion it provokes. It almost felt like we, the watchers, were also living in a psychotic episode.
Dude that ending is so much more chilling with this theory. His hesitation on his last line "...or to die a good man" is to just rub it in his face that he knew all along and the doctors sent an innocent man to the grave.
The message of the movie goes beyond this movie. Leonardo starred in the inception movie right after shutter island. the two movies are some how connected in that the entire shutter island was an experimentation facility for advanced MK inception of ideas, memories, information, identity, believes, etc. what we see in Inception, is already the tested and tried true results from shutter island. You can say that inception all started in shutter island.
One thing I noticed was the dreams on this movie slowly helped incept the idea to leo the narrative they were trying to implant on his mind through out the innuendos, symbolism, and scripted scenarios through out the day, the dreams helped bolster and strengthen the inception.
in the movie Inception, the way they go about MK ultra incepting ideas into peoples mind is while they are asleep through the means of dream sequence scenario's.
This is very strange, because in the early mid 1900's people kept reporting of a "Dream Machine" hacking into their dreams. this is real life reports, hundreds of reports given from so called patients. they swore that they would have dreams that were not of their own, that it felt more like dreams sequences being artificially imprinted into their dream states, and that they could sense it was something else in control. some of the patients reported what the machine looks like, that it looked like a machine with many extending arms protruding out of it and that it had the ability to put both dreams and thoughts into their heads.
today, we have the same reports from so called crazy people. psychotronic MK is technology able to manipulate the electrical behavior of our brain via brain chips, sound waves, magnetic waves, radio waves, both remotely wirelessly, and more crude insertions.
is this movies trying to tell us something thats going on in real life since long ago?
My theory is that the government has already been able to produce A.I driven psychotronics technology able to read minds, imprint thoughts, produce dream sequences, and much more. since a century ago. thats scary to think about.
@@originsdecoded3508agreed ! I believe this 100% but you gotta ask yourself this.. why? Why should they do such a thing ?
My personal opinion and I want to say this with the utmost respect possible. I believe they do these sorts of projects and experiments to one test how far they can go to robbing man of their free will and two to be able to create “hosts” or shells that ultimately demons can inhabit. Just like the movie get out.. the devils plan is to set up a “beast system” which will be the new world order, one government, one religion, one leader. Usher in the mark of the beast but people need to willingly accept it. How will this be possible ? Through the constant manipulation and mind control of social media, news outlets, commercials, memes, movies etc the list goes on. There is a power at work behind the scenes and it’s all to eventually get people to give up our free will. I know this is a lot and a curve ball but I welcome a discussion (: blessings
I don't think he knew all along, I think he realized the truth after the doctor explained it to him, but then he faked being crazy because he didn't want to live with the knowledge of what happened to his family
True, I don't buy his theory, but it's interesting nonetheless
@@originsdecoded3508you have no idea how true what you just said actually is. I was experimented on by this technology, for 4 months, from September until December of 2020. It started after I tried to help a man who came to me with allegations that his neighbors had hacked all of his devices and hid surveillance equipment all throughout his house. In trying to prove to him that he was being paranoid, he suddenly skipped town and then I became subject to the exact experiences he was telling me about. Only I was able to figure out that it wasn’t actually my neighbors who were behind this but it had to be the government due to the sophistication of the attacks and the required technology.
I would eventually learn they could read my mind and see what I was imagining in my mind’s eye. They could playback any sound or voice as though I was hearing it but only I would be able to hear it and no one else in my vicinity. They could alter my mood and emotional states. It’s really absolutely insane what they’re able to do with this technology and due to the fact that it seemed to be able to target me everywhere I went I started to think it had to be a satellite platform from a constellation of satellites, as there was a lack of support vehicles to suggest it was a device operating at much shorter range.
This is such a masterpiece of screenwriting and storytelling on screen, it makes the viewer seem like they’re crazy. I don’t think i’ll ever really know if teddy is crazy or not.
Ever since I first saw this movie, I always took the last line to mean that he wanted to die while he still could remember he was Teddy and had not fully given in to the deception that he was Andrew.
From my perspective, it wasn’t that he wanted to “die”, but more so in leveraging the lobotomy as a marker, know that his last moments of consciousness were that of him being a good man.
@@iterrorbyte278 Good point, except a lot of people died or never really returned from the lobotomy, so problably the same as death.
@@andrewr8144 good point as well
You almost never know. Some people actually are barely different after lobotomies, and yea some people die or are just basically a zombie@@andrewr8144
You're correct and this is how it's meant to be interpreted in the books.
I always found weird the fact that its acknowledged there's 66 patients (counting Rachel i always assumed) and Leo being the 67th, but if Rachel never existed that would make him 66th, since he's making up someone who shouldn't be there.
Noyce is part of the 66, not Rachel. Noyce was the only patient to play along with Andrew's delusion for 2 years, because Noyce is nuts. But obviously Teddy cannot have learned about Ashecliffe from Noyce after arriving at Ashecliff, so he pretends they are at Dedham when they talk.
Teddy is 67
@@BlitzinMackGaming Answered previously in thread.
Rachel never existed, the 66th patient was him.
@@thememe986So (if Teddy has already been counted) we still don't know who patient #67 is.
@@mylesmarkson1686noyce
One thing that always bothered me about the movie is, if all 3 of his children died, why does he only have visions of 1 of them?
is the vision of his kid? i thought it was of a child he couldn’t save in the war and it haunted him?
@@angiepangie9106 I think that's Jay's point, that it's odd that a man with three dead kids only had nightmares of one.
It's because that was the child he thought was still breathing. The two boys were long dead by the time he got back to the house.
@@senoreverything6366no.
Doesnt mean he wouldnt dream of them. Point remains solod and weird Af@senoreverything6366
This FINALLY explains certain scenes to me that NEVER made scenes plot wise. For example I could never figure out how/why he saw the nurse hiding in the cave and why she said all that to him. Everyone said "oh, it was just all in his head" but that never matched his story line/plot they painted in the end. There were multiple times like that in the movie that (no matter how many times I watched it) that just didn't make sense. Finally a theory that makes this movie makes sense!! Thank you sir for all the time and investment u devoted to a very valid and well proven theory.
ALSO! did anyone notice, when he was having a migraine and they were trying to force him to take the medicine, that there was a statue of a piper in the background? Kinda like The pied Piper??? This could be the director trying to tell the audience what's really going on.
The first time I watched this movie I felt insulted when the twist came out. I thought "You honestly expect me to believe they let the most dangerous patient wander around this place living out his delusions and putting everyone else on the island at risk?" I like your theory better and it makes the movie so much scarier because at a certain point anyone can be manipulated and driven insane.
I had the same experience. About a 3rd of the way through I leaned over to my brother and said "It's all in his head."
I still enjoyed it but I wished the twist was...twistier. I think this video actually redeems the film, and also makes me feel kind of dumb lol
Yeah, I get the feeling no hospoital would get the whole staff and inmates to do this whole elaborate role-play.
I always accepted the ending because the doctor had no way of knowing his dreams unless he was a previous patient
I felt like that too. I thought it was something like this guys theory throughout the whole thing.
@@TheMarlinlaskYeah that's right. They totally wouldn't do that.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Sir Ben Kingsley and Martin Scorsese have talked at great length about how difficult it was to film Shutter Island. The problem was that when they started shooting the film, they realized that upon first viewing the audience would have to believe that Dr. Cawley and Shutter Island could be something sinister, but upon second viewing you would have to be able to tell that everyone around Teddy is in on the role-play game, and are trying to maintain the fantasy - though many of the staff and guards are not happy about it.
Exactly what happened to me, at first I thought he’s being set up, but the subconscious clues they left I then proceeded to think on the second and third time watching that the role play was clear. However in the fourth time I see things differently, every time he goes dizzy or has a memory they shine a light in his face first, when he’s given pills it seems untoward etc. very clever film as mind control was used on the viewer, the clever subconscious clues left in the film on the first time viewing had us automatically condemning him on the second viewing. It’s strange but after a few times watching and familiarity sets in you start to see another layer, almost like you see past the role play and notice other things you missed……
Excellent point. Hard to make a film stick together from 2 totally different points of view. But they did an excellent job!
I think the main argument against the video's idea that Di Caprio was a target being driven mad by Shutter Island staff is that, were he actually a Federal Marshall, someone would have come to get him following his disappearance on the island. This is not addressed in the movie, so we have to assume this isn't the plot. This would have altered the whole plot and the final irony--- that Di Caprio is actually insane and a patient at the facility.
I’ve watched this movie about 20 times and each time I pick up on something else that I missed before. A small piece of foreshadowing, a quick fleeting glance at a character in a crucial moment or something else similar. I’m not convinced of his theory here but it’s nice to hear other people’s thought. I agree entirely with subsequent watches pointing more and more to Dr. Cawley actually being truthful and everything that is revealed by him is what has actually taken place.
@@mysticone1798that's easy, who cares. If you are not somebody's friend, son, dad, husband etc. who cares.
Going on with your point, Teddy was after the killer of his wife, Andrew Gladies, that light the fire and found out that he was kept here.
He started investigating this place and found out something fishy is going on here.
Somebody found out and told to some people and they all made a plan to drag Teddy here and make him go crazy and so, get rid of the problem.
Dude, wtf is with your coment, are you for real
@@stefaniverson2739dude
Did anyone notice that when he ( Teddy )declines the cigarette the doctors starts blowing smoke in his face ?
I completely missed it until it was brought up here in the comments. But there are a lot of things people have pointed out that add to the theory.
What does the book say.?
It's wild on many things are, you even have to watch Gibbs video a few times to catch everything
Wouldn’t the doctor experience the side effects?
@@rachael8078not if he didn't inhale it into his lungs.
2 reasons that I think this is true that I haven’t seen noted:
1. When Doctor Sheehan is first introduced to Teddy Daniels on the boat, he says ‘the man, the legend Teddy Daniels’, the exclusion of the word ‘myth’ is because he knows very well that Teddy Daniels is a real person, and not a myth.
2.When describing the storm in the graveyard, Dr Sheehan warns Teddy that ‘it’s turning into Kansas out here’, which in my opinion is a subtle gesture to the story of the Wizard of Oz, a story where the protagonist is swept away to a fantasy world.
Though these two points may seem redundant at face value, I believe both the exclusion of the word ‘myth’ and the inclusion of the word ‘Kansas’ by Scorsese are a least interesting choices. Great video, hope for more of your content!
I'm convinced that Teddy isn't crazy. I say that because of the rain storm. Everyone talks about it around him in the movie so many times all to tell him it never happened, and he imagined it. The storm did happen, I believe when they tried to tell him it was fake, it was the slip-up in the scheme. There are too many events in the movie connected to the storm for it to not have happened.
Agreed. When Cawley started listing off all the things that were in his head, that was a huge red-flag to me. So what parts of the movie actually happened? Did any of it? I guess it could all be in his head, but we don't really have much of a movie if we can't be certain about any of it. And how about Rachel Solando? They have him looking all over the island for someone who doesn't even exist, and for what? That didn't prove anything, except for revealing the fact that they loved messing with his head (as shown throughout the movie over and over).
I think Andrew’s whole fake plan was set up with a storm happening, so when they conducted the experiment on him they had to choose a day which was stormy, the doctors said they have heard the same story for 2 years so for it to actually work they would need it to be as close to what his story is which involves the storm.
Are you sure? That's how good propaganda can be. Lie lie lie lie over and over and make up things to make the seemingly impossible, possible 🎉
funny thng they tell him the storm was fake and the window behind the doctor is literally wet
@@PlanetaJuegosPC I'm starting to think that the 67th patient at Ashecliffe is Dr. Cawley. That dude is straight up cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!
OMG I'VE BEEN THINKING THIS FOREVER. I've watched every video about the movie, read every interview, read the book itself twice and literally nothing/no one else agrees. I don't care if you and i are the only crazy ones. Finally I'm not alone.
😂 looks like there will be an island of us before long. Had a few other people comment they had the same thought but no one ever agreed.
Nice to not be alone. 😂
I love that there are others. I swear I cannot see how anyone could interpret it any other way. So many contradictions. So much gaslighting. It's kind of crazy how the movie managed to brainwash everyone watching it too. Like midsomar and people thinking it was a happy ending ... Like huh? Similar type of trucking the audience.
@@lolafierling2154 I can see the other side, but it has its flaws which is what lead to this video. Of course there are some things that point the other way too.
But some people don't even want to consider the this side, which I guess is because I said they were wrong in the title. Some people just can't handle that. 😂
I just want people to rewatch the movie and atleast consider this line of thinking.
And hopefully someone can give me answers on how the storm was supposed to be just in his head. 😅🤣
@@PolterGibbstIt is a great theory!! I really like how much thought and evidence you put into it.
@marksconplaystasy7328 the book doesn't have the final interaction between teddy/Andrew and chuck/Dr. Sheehan. So we don't get the question about living a monster or dying as a good man.
There are a few other differences throughout but that's the main difference that leave the movie to be more ambiguous on where teddy/Andrew is mentally by the end.
The fact that he’s introduced to characters who he knows the face of, and remembered, but every other character is a fresh face, leads me to believe he’s been lead on, and not convinced. Combined with the doctor calling him teddy, which could have been a sign of compassion from the one person he was closest to during the film, who could have gained compassion, the nurse being two characters, and the fact he was never allowed to contact the outside world, I don’t think you can logically explain otherwise. His statement at the end where he faces condemnation affirms for me that in his own mind, he’s faced his situation and would rather die than play along with their game and let them win. It’s the ultimate sacrifice and the only way to prove they couldn’t break him. Wild.
I don't think he faked relapse to prove anything to the docs, I think he does it because now that he is no longer delusional he is burdened by the grief of feeling he is a monster for not saving his family. So he forces his own lobotomy to ease the grief.
"Which is worse: to live as a monster or die as a good man?"
The way I always interpreted that line (which isn't in the book) is that Teddy/Andrew is cognizant of the fact that he's actually Laedis, and he's feigning another psychological relapse because he WANTS to be lobotomized. Therefore he gets to fulfill both of the roles he proposed: to live as the "good man" (Teddy) and "die" (be lobotomized) as the monster, Laedis
In all honesty, this was my takeaway from this movie the first few times I watched it. I thought for sure that Teddy was an actual Marshall, and that the facility was being investigated the way many mental institutions were being investigated for malpractice in reality during the 40s and 50s.
Makes sense to me. And considering a lot of the mental institutions were open until like the 90s surely some funny business had to be going on... or no one cared to investigate before then.
I love this because this movie is suppose to be incredibly confusing for people. and this video and your statement is evidence that it really was 😂 they are convincing you for around 2 hours he is the Marshall, then they try to spin you around that he's Andrew, then they bring up the line at the end and now everybody watching is utterly confused 😂 amazing
The message of the movie goes beyond this movie. Leonardo starred in the inception movie right after shutter island. the two movies are some how connected in that the entire shutter island was an experimentation facility for advanced MK inception of ideas, memories, information, identity, believes, etc. what we see in Inception, is already the tested and tried true results from shutter island. You can say that inception all started in shutter island.
One thing I noticed was the dreams on this movie slowly helped incept the idea to leo the narrative they were trying to implant on his mind through out the innuendos, symbolism, and scripted scenarios through out the day, the dreams helped bolster and strengthen the inception.
in the movie Inception, the way they go about MK ultra incepting ideas into peoples mind is while they are asleep through the means of dream sequence scenario's.
This is very strange, because in the early mid 1900's people kept reporting of a "Dream Machine" hacking into their dreams. this is real life reports, hundreds of reports given from so called patients. they swore that they would have dreams that were not of their own, that it felt more like dreams sequences being artificially imprinted into their dream states, and that they could sense it was something else in control. some of the patients reported what the machine looks like, that it looked like a machine with many extending arms protruding out of it and that it had the ability to put both dreams and thoughts into their heads.
today, we have the same reports from so called crazy people. psychotronic MK is technology able to manipulate the electrical behavior of our brain via brain chips, sound waves, magnetic waves, radio waves, both remotely wirelessly, and more crude insertions.
is this movies trying to tell us something thats going on in real life since long ago?
My theory is that the government has already been able to produce A.I driven psychotronics technology able to read minds, imprint thoughts, produce dream sequences, and much more. since a century ago. thats scary to think about.
Why would the government send a martial to investigate it's own top secret projects?@@PolterGibbst
@@originsdecoded3508 isn’t that the matrix? Yeah they’ve definitely been telling everybody for a long time that this technology is possible but people will call tin foil hats so I just don’t elaborate anymore.
"Yeah we're gonna cure this guy through a super in depth roleplay, but also at some point during this we will remove the guy playing his partner and just gaslight him into believing he never had a partner because this will help cure him of delusions"
I mean yeah, that really makes zero sense in retrospect, the only reason they'd want to gaslight him into believing that is because theyre trying to break him. If you've got a guy who's actually having delusions and you actually did all this to help him, then why fuck with him halfway through and give him another delusion to wrestle with.
Amen Tomas. Cawley was so out of line in that scene--He knew exactly who Teddy was talking about. The only defense that I've come across for Cawley in this scene is "Well, he was getting impatient that the role-play wasn't working, so he slipped up for a second". But then why does he double-down shortly after... "Tell me again about your partner"? There's no excuse. He was messing with the poor guy and doing the exact-opposite of what any half-decent psychiatrist would do if he was really trying to bring a patient back to reality.
@@mylesmarkson1686I think it's to add mystery to the movie. The role play is far fetched but any other interpretation is even more far fetched. He's on an island looking for someone who killed his wife whose name is an anagram of his own?
@@coryc9040 Tell me what "Ted Hunts Liars" is an anagram for. And then tell me if that's just a coincidence.
@@coryc9040 Wrong. There is, in the movie, absolute proof that this "theory" is true. The one piece of evidence that no one noticed.
"Who is 67?"
If Rachael Solsndo wasn't a patient, and he was, then there should have only been 66 patients total, because he would have replaced her. There would be no 67th patient.
They kept implying that *he* was 67... but that's not possible because Rachael wasn't a patient.
Which means he really *is* being gaslight and made to be insane.
He really *is* a US marshall, and he really was investigating them.
@@mylesmarkson1686 i thought the anagram for the movie title was "truths and lies" which would make sense with the two possible endings that the movie has.
Interesting that the big reveal from Collie (about Leo’s character not having a partner but being alone) takes place while the Doctor is blowing big puffs of smoke in Leo’s face, directly after Leo mentioned not smoking anymore.
Also alluding to how the Doctor is clouding Leo’s memory, vision, and mind.
I thought the same exact thing
smoke and mirrors
Wouldn't the doctor get affected too if he was smoking spiked ciggies?
He is Teddy and they were messing with him in my opinion. Fun movie to watch and break down
@@TheAndrewSchmidt Not if he doesn't inhale and just holds it in his mouth. Granted some might slip in through the gums, but I bet it's negligible.
Leo: There's a note on the ground with writing on it. I bet it means something to this case.
Gibbs: HE'S JUST SO DAMN GOOD AT HIS JOB
I swear between this and The Mist, you really make these movies more of a mind f*** than they originally were.
That's why I wanted to cover this thriller, this point of view makes it a lot closer to horror for sure
I don't need the mist to be more of a mind fuck than it is... that movie has me so messed up every time I think of it... Stephen King himself said he wishes he would have thought of that ending
@@dubyabalthazar4598 🤣 yeah I can't tell if my video on The Mist made the ending better or worse. But one thing is for sure Mrs. Carmody was correct.
@@PolterGibbst I noticed that your analysis of Shutter Island intriguingly parallels the complex concepts we explore regarding our existence and the notion of the 'matrix reincarnation soul trap' theory (Wayne Bush). Consider this: Instead of being humans, if we are indeed powerful creative beings in our original essence, yet not omniscient or omnipotent, and our desires or naivety led us into this world, then manipulations and deceptions could become the tools to reshape our reality. Just as Teddy in "Shutter Island" navigates a labyrinth designed by those around him, convincing him of his madness to prepare for another mind wipe, we too might be ensnared in a cosmic charade.
The tactics employed to confuse Teddy, making him doubt his sanity and rush into a decision, mirror the predicaments many face at death's door via near-death experience cases. They're presented with choices, seemingly of their own volition, but perhaps orchestrated by a larger, controlling AGI of some sort of a matrix. I believe that both options Teddy faces, crafted by the system, ensure his continued entrapment within the cycle, regardless of his choice. (In our case, the cycle of reincarnations, samsara)
Perhaps your dissection of "Shutter Island" could be revealing more than just the plot's intricacies; it might be highlighting the methods employed to convince some of us of our limited human condition. By compelling Teddy to question everything he believes, the narrative exposes how one might be led to underestimate one's true essence. I hope that the reflection on Teddy's journey encourages others to scrutinize their own perceived realities and question the very foundations of their beliefs and the nature of their existence, while continuing to be hardcore sceptics and without losing their minds of course :)
Mist actually had me crying. That ending messed me up.
Thank you.
I watched this film with my dad one late night, and we were constantly on edge, waiting for an answer.
Then when it ended, we discussed it. He took the side that Teddy never existed, while I said it's a huge setup. I watched the film like 3 times since to try and find prove that I am not crazy, which is actually an entirely crazy thing.
I'm glad that this video exists, I constantly feel so close to the definitive answer, while never really finding it. Great analysis and really conveys how dense and detailed this film is.
I agree, teddy never existed. He's Andrew who killed his wife. This is why he knew so much about psycho drugs because he's been taking the for two years and knows all the side effects. The "doctor" in the cave hiding.... NOOOOO way she could have hidden and not be found. That was in his head. They found him every time he was alone, how could they not find "Rambo" i mean the doctor Rachel who is not a patient on the run...
This was amazing, my adhd self was able to listen to every minute... but now im convinced I'm Andrew Laeddis
😂 yeah that'll happen. Just don't go to the lighthouse.
Would you have any cigarettes ?
I too have ADHD and really struggle listening normally. This has me gripped and watching the entire time.
So many great points. If all they were doing was "reminding him" that he's Andrew, why stage his partner's death and then gaslight him about even having one? That would only serve to dig someone deeper into conspiracy and madness, not bring them back to reality. Also, the references to how the place was funded and his investigation into the place. The doc saying they don't do those lobotomies, but then that's what happens to him? None of that makes any sense. I see the movie completely differently now.
I remember walking out of the theater and being really annoyed at the "storm was in your head" line. Seemed like a pretty big stretch for the power of hallucinations. Especially for a movie of this quality. Just picturing "Andrew" screaming loudly and cowering from strong winds like they're in a storm when in actuality it was a nice day/night really took me out of it. All these years later, I can finally get some closure on this irritating concept.. and then some! Thank you for all your hard work!
They never say this storm we see in the movie was in his head. (If you look at the screenplay found online, Sheehan explains in the lighthouse that they waited for a real storm to conduct this roleplay.) But for 2 years Andrew has been fantasizing about the investigation, and delusion-ally thinking that a storm was constantly keeping him stuck on the island (instead of the actual incarceration.)
@@paddyoferThey waited for a real storm to conduct the role-play? Do you not realize how ridiculous that sounds? Yeah, let's let the most-dangerous patient have free reign over the entire island, and we'll make sure it all happens during a huge storm to make it even more dangerous and exciting!
@@mylesmarkson1686 its literally in the screenplay you can find online that they waited for the storm. Which makes your comment ridiculous sounding. Free reign?? You need to watch closely,,, he is always under surveillance
@@paddyoferOh yeah, like when he went after the lunatic in Ward C? Or when he was climbing all over the rocks? Sheehan sure was right there the whole time--Wasn't he? Or how about when he stabbed Naehring? Or blew up the car? Or attacked the guard by the lighthouse? I'm wondering if we saw the same movie. And yeah, the idea of allowing the "most-dangerous" patient the ability to do all of this is beyond ridiculous by itself, let alone in a storm in which they would have no control over.
@@mylesmarkson1686 Dude, they had a TRANSCRIPT of his talk with Noyce in Ward C. That was supposed to signal to you that he was under surveillance everywhere, but you missed it. They knew where he was at all times.
Of course, IF he was a bad guy, then they risked the guard or Naehring getting seriously hurt, but everyone knows he's not a bad guy as long as you let his delusion play out.
I’ve been in a mental health institute on a few occasions and it’s not difficult to turn someone who’s slightly “not right” into an absolute monster
You no longer recognise yourself when you finally leave, nor do your family and friends
That is a frightening thought. I wonder how many people's lives were unnecessarily destroyed by those institutions.
@@Psichotica7 Too many! Some really good people who turned into a former shadow of themselves
I have seen a few people improve in that place, but the numbers on the success stories are so small
@@shanethrelfall416 I wish more people spoke about these experiences. It is a true abuse of power. Thank you for your comments.
@@Psichotica7 Possibly. But in most cases it also protects other people, as those kinds of institutions require severe cases. Not placing people in there leads to abuse or death in some cases because they thought "it isn't bad enough to put someone in an institution".
@@Ideataster Yeah, there's quite a few cases I can think of just like that actually. It's a sad, tough situation.
I also appreciated the multiple clothes switcheroo to fit the mood during different scenes, nice touch!
13:30 you missed something imo. They do find a note, written with a pen. They never give any patient a pointy object in the asylum, she couldnt have written that herself.
your changing of clothes along with his character was a nice touch haha
Very few comments noticed that lol tbh I didn't noticed until change 4 and I was like I could swear he had a suit on
I can see how it would be easy to miss lol @@danielsmith8837
I like this explanation a lot better than an entire island playing a game with its most dangerous inmate
They'd be to tripped out for that nonsense, you would be correct!
Would be?
EXACTLY. I don’t think a whole island full of people would go along with his detective fantasy especially if he is “the most dangerous”
Gaslighting Gaslighting GASLIGHTING
That's actually why I've always liked this theory better...because the face value theory makes no sense. No one would do that to a mentally ill person.
Seriously! I was always doubted weather it was the “playing games” theory or not because WHY would they actually put him in a ferry at all if he just “resets” whenever they tell him “the truth”
@@Selvinop94 ahhh I thought you had an SP
Great breakdown! . Spot on! An alternate reason for Teddys dreams is maybe instead of Teddy mumbling in his sleep 😴 , Teddy instead, is being mumbled to while he’s dreaming. Add on the drugs which induce nightmares. The “doctors,” could have used key words that would help further the illusion the Drs admitted to creating, continuing in to his dreams.
Side note: The cave where Teddy meets the real missing patient (former Dr) is an allusion to Plato’s cave). Which is all about perception vs reality. Also when Been Kingsley’s character says “you’re the most dangerous patient here,” he’s referring to his potential to expose the island for what it truly is. “The American experiment.” Which is also a metaphor for all those who seek the truth in a world based on lies. Grace, Peace and Blessings! 👏🙏
I always thought the ending could be one of two scenarios.
1.) He accepts he is a monster and decides its better to die as a man than live on as a monster (paraphrased)
2.) He gets the last laugh after deciding that he would rather die than become a monster of their own creation.
Both theories show why the doctor could be upset at his decision to pretend he's "reset"
This is easily the most coherent presentation of a film theory I've ever listened to. In fact, you answered a question for me that I've had for a while: why were they doing the experiments? Clearly I slept part way through the movie because I missed some pretty obvious clues: there being 3 Rachels and 2 of them named Solando; the nurse/crazy lady; the meeting about the storm; and the whole handwriting thing. But Kingsley's smirking throughout the movie made me suspicious of him from the jump. I feel like your video validates what I felt I knew but couldn't figure out. Great frigging video.
Thanks, I figured if I was going to do this theory I would need to go into as much detail as possible. So I made sure to hit every possible point I could and clearly turned out there was a lot more to the theory than what I thought at first. 😅
I'd say it works pretty well, just as well as the basic meaning of the film. Which is why it's so rewatchable.
That is the beautiful thing about the movie. The question should be whether he was cured. The theory crafting is good but priming doesn't take when the victim starts thinking on it deeper. Priming on starts someone on the journey but if they start thinking about it and backtracking, it tends to fall apart.
They explain everything in the movie. They did in fact plan and execute the roleplay. They know everything that he will do and think because he has been in the delusion for years. They went through all of his bullshit before and documented everything he has told them. They know the backstory, they know what he will talk about.
The reason for everything is that they already have a script and looking for something new. The hearing of Landis disappoints them because it is the same script. The one they are trying to move away from.
The reason the movie is good is that you are able to craft this theory. Which is only possible because of the unreliable narrator.
The thing is, that's very IRL what was happening in institutions in their era. Lots of really crazy experiments. From a lot of different agencies. And that's not speculation or paranoia.
@@JacobSantosDevThis is a movie. The creators of the film itself are trying to lead you to one conclusion.
This means the film is layered because not only is it about psychosis and gaslighting, the film is structured in a way to lead you to doubt what you watched by the climax.
Like this guy said, the film is heavily detailed and the truth is in the details, not in what the actors are saying, or how the film is chronologically and narratively structured. You can't rely on the doctors or teddy, but you can believe what YOU see as a 3rd party spectator (aka the storm is real).
Yeah the smirks and how he always seemed to have little explanations for things that would be irrelevant if Teddy were really Andrew and not an actual US Marshall
Why did nobody notice that in the boat scene, Chuck only pretends to light his cigarette? He never lights it or smokes it
He does smoke it in the graveyard when the hide from the storm tho
thats part of the original reasoning of why teddy is nuts.
@@DollaDealz same with crazy lady drinking non existent water
So you are saying he is just imagining all of it nah that is bad theory because then the whole FIM has no premise @@Mengeneful
Zq z q1.
😊@@DollaDealz
I’ve always thought that they trapped him in the thought that he was crazy the whole time, never believed he actually was
especially when they tell him he never had a partner
@@lucajramirezbyeah. Unless I missed it he didn't really touch on that. It's such a huge selling point, they lied he existed.
Agreed, that's the way i always understood this movie
@@lucajramirezbThat's the point in which I lost all faith in Dr. Cawley. He knew exactly who Teddy was talking about, and he only says that to mess with Teddy's head. There's simply no other explanation.
Well you're sadly wrong lol
I love Shutter Island!! I worked at that State Hospital until 2003 (the doctors' house) was where my office was!! Those pictures were in that building and are factual for the turn of 1900s. If people truly knew what was acceptable treatment.. ya'll would become sick! Truly more terrifyingly than any horror movie
Interesting that he called him Teddy at the end too...🤔
Little things like this I didn't even think about when making the video. But yeah seems odd
I mean you could also interpret this as doctor shihan being kinda frustrated/sad that it didnt work, thus trying his last attempt in desperation.
But i like the "teddy being tricked" theorie alot more just because its so much more plausible given the seemingly healthy "patients" living there (like the water lady or the guy he had beein interviewing back at the mainland in prison)
One thing I always felt was odd was that Ted seemingly at the end had trust towards Shihan. My interpretation of his last words and the way he looked at Shihan was to say "You know the stuff going around here is bad. Would you rather let your legacy come as an accomplice or do the right thing?" I think Ted realized that there was nothing he could do to get out of this situation. If he followed what they wanted, then the methods used on him may be used on others. I think at the end he tried to appeal to Shihan to do the right thing as his last sacrifice. And Shihan final words might have been him being moved by Ted's words.
I think Shihan was scared to go against some of the leaders at the island. He might have already seen one of his colleagues lose her reputation and seemingly killed. In addition, he was smoking the same cigarettes as Ted. As the other doctor said, the people in the island was trying to take away people's emotions. Maybe Shihan was self-medicating in order to try to remove some of the guilt and emotions of being a part of the experiments.
@@stevenjamesosma3246 thats a good point, as shihan doesnt seem like the calculated cruel kind of a person lile cauli (prob mispronounced), alltough we didnt see much of his persona as he was always someone else, but trough all that i think we saw enough of shihans character.
I feel like he knew that Andrew knew he wasn't actually Teddy, so when he said "Teddy?" And "Andrew" doesn't answer to the name it confirmed for him that Andrew was aware of what he was doing. The experiment had actually worked, Andrew was no longer living in the Teddy delusion but he would rather be lobotomized than live with the loss of his family
Oooof, that was a good one. Well done!
My favourite conspiracy theory is that Kevin from Home Alone, after neglectful childhood and lots of trauma, grew up to be John "Jigsaw" Kramer from the SAW movie series.
Geilo😅
Lmfao! That’s genius
One thing that’s always bugged me - how did they make his mind ‘reset’ to thinking he’d not visited the island yet at the start? How did they make him forget he’d just left the island when he was on the ferry?
That's the clue he's not crazy. They say he "resets" every time but I don't buy it.
Yeah exactly.... The fact he's being "reset" isn't what you think it is. He's not resetting the fact that he's in denial about his crime, he's resetting because on some level their brainwashing was unsuccessful and he's trying to remember the truth.
The whole point of the movie is that for 2 years Andrew has been delusional about this "investigation", but whenever he gets close to the real answer (by seeing his intake form, for instance) he just would start over again to protect himself from the truth. So the purpose of the live-action roleplay was hopefuly to keep him from resetting -- and this breakthrough finally occurs in the lighthouse. And he sees the truth.
@@paddyoferok Chuck
@@F1nalB0zz Is that you, Teddy?
The brilliance of a youtube movie commentator whose understanding of storytelling is so grand that it makes me forget how frequently he fucking misuses “whenever” even though he’s clearly just doing it to try to kill me
I swear I'm not. 😂 it was after this video that (through the comments) I was informed that this was a thing.
After some research it is apparently a regional dialect issue, as everyone I've asked around here couldn't tell me the difference between when and whenever.
But now I'm trying to change this life long way of speaking. Definitely harder than I thought 😅
Saturdays video I think I got around half of them correct anyway.
@ see I had assumed it was more generational, because I encounter constantly with TH-camrs that are under 30.
@@MegatronYES it very well could be that too. But I know everyone I asked was older than myself and no one really gave me an answer.
Still though I am working on it. Trying to anyway. 😅
This man was not crazy. Every time I come across reviews or Reddit’s 99% of them believe he’s crazy. The government will be able to mind fu** you if you believe he’s crazy. I could point out a list full of details why he’s not. I’m trying to look for one of my reviews I left on another page a few years back so I could copy and paste. Give me a few or a day. I’ll come back to this comment.
* How did he come in a ferry? ⛴
* Why were his cigarettes missing?
* Why would she tell him to “shhh” ?
* Why has he never worked with him before ?
* Why did his partner have a hard time taking out his “gun”?
* Why would she tell him to run after the partner left?
* Why would his partner question him about George and his reasoning being there if they were supposed to be there for the same thing? At the same time telling him the truth?
* Why where they secretly getting him out of his uniform when the storm hit, that’s never given back?
* Why did they mistaken 67 patients for 66?
* Why have a nurse and the whole facility partake in this role for 1 person?
* Why was his “partner” always standing by him or above him to hand him cigarette?
* Why would George Noyce say “All your talk I’m here because of you”?!
* Why when he decided to go to the lighthouse his partner tried to stop him?
* Why did his partner ask “what happen back there”? As if George told him something he wasn’t supposed to know.
* Why did his partner leave a cigarette at the edge of the cliff causing him illusions thinking he was down there? (He felt like a rat in a maze what George Noyce said).
* Why were the doctor words so real to everything that pointed out after he left and what he was going through?
* Why was that man speaking evil and violence to him?
* Why did the doctor confront him about George and claim him as schizophrenic?
* Why where all the rooms empty when he got there like they took everything out?
* Why was he waiting for him?
* If he was so harmful why let a doctor roam around with him by himself? (He wasn’t a threat to anyone)
* When he grabbed the gun why did Sheen back up but the other doctor didn’t? ( Sheen didn’t know if he had his real gun but the other doctor knew that wasn’t his gun).
* They only keep showing Rachel why not the other 2? (Kept thinking about that 1 girl at war).
Idk... I just don’t feel like he wasn’t crazy.. 🥺
“To live as a monster or to die as a good man”
Please do cause this theory was an assurance of what I was witnessing instead of what they were trying to show us.
@@ElleAura12I’m going to explain this movie in words too, just give me a sec. Everyone will have a better understanding of it.
Let's go! I'm glad I'm not the only person to have gone down this rabbit hole before. I can see why people would think he was crazy but they obviously have to overlook a ton of things to come to that conclusion.
But like Cawley said "you've uncovered a conspiracy and can dismiss everything as lies", this doesn't only apply to the side of him being teddy but also to him being Andrew.
And thank you for the list. Glad you were able to find it so quickly.
This man goes by Teddy and not Edward that’s the only thing the doctor has on him and as for his Wife Dolores that anagram could have been made up as Rachel Solando just to fit the narrative the were going for. This man deals with war trauma and he dreams of a little girl that he saw dead in the war. The doctors try to use that little girl as (Rachel Solando) which is supposed to be his daughter. Notice how they claim he has 3 kids but the only one that keeps showing up is the girl from the war. When he first arrived he arrived on a ferry he had a bandage on his head as if they have already done something beforehand and he was nauseous from the water. His (partner) offers him a cigarette after his is missing and they head to the island. Notice throughout this whole movie they had him around water. After one of his dreams he wakes up to water dropping on him. (They wanted to keep this water thing going so it could be more convincing). Throughout this whole movie he’s surrounded by water and given drugs (aspirin). When he arrived to the island the first thing the old lady did was give a gesture and tell him to “shhhh”. She did this because she knew they knew nothing about him and they were trying to validate that he was there to expose them which is why they had one of their own follow him around the island (Dr Sheen). When he Sheen goes to grab a glass of water for a patient that’s being questioned she quickly grabs his note pad and writes “RUN”. She was telling him to run from his partner. Further on when they get trapped in a storm they head to a shed like place and Teddy tells his “partner” the reasoning for him being there. His partner then tells him the truth by saying “what if they were looking into you? All they had to do was fake an escape” just to see if Teddy was catching on or to see if he believes that he’s still solving a case. Everything his “partner” said was true but as a Marshall Teddy still believed he had a duty to attend to. Also Teddy mention George Noyce and how he’s the one that told him everything. Later on he runs into Noyce being back in there and Noyce is trying to have a private conversation. He was supposed to run into Noyce but Noyce was supposed to make him feel crazy not tell him the truth. He told him “he was back in there because of all his talking”. He warns Teddy in a way about his partner by telling him “you never worked with him have you”. And that if Teddy trusted the guy then they have already won. He was not supposed to trust this doctor because this doctor is the one who ran all his information back about how his wife did and the dreams he has. Later he gets into it with his partner at the top of the hill because he wants to see what’s at the light house. He partner notices that he’s very determined and catches on that Noyce had to tell him something so they put a cigarette at the edge of the cliff to make him hallucinate into thinking his partner was down there. He felt like “a rat in a maze”. He then finds the doctor the gives him detail that he never knew before including letting him know that all the staff are on it. Teddy goes in with a different demeanor watching everyone. By then they know he knows the truth and plays as if he never had a partner and he rushed to the light house. The doctor tries to speak about his dreams but only brings up everything that happened on the island. After a while Teddy is upset and goes for his gun but Sheen backs up while the other doctor stand still. That’s because sheen did not know if he had his real gun or not. The doctor then tries to show the girl photo which is supposed to be his daughter but is really the girl from the war. Just notice how they only focus on 1 girl. If he had 3 kids why not focus on all 3? At the end of the movie “to live as a monster or to die as a good man” which means I rather die if I can’t expose the truth or trust anyone with it. To live as a monster is living knowing the truth and knowing you can’t do anything about it because everyone is in on it. Also if they sent him back out there he would not have been himself because they been giving him drugs that control his mind. He would have went out there and committed murder just like George Noyce. This was a mind control thing and the experiment was him. Instead of killing him because he knew all what was going on and they tried to do an experiment to make him think he had kids and killed his wife. This was is what they consider “saving” someone before a lobotomy.
I had my own journey on this watching this video. At first I wasn't paying attention to the intro, so I didn't know if this was going to be a repeat of a 100s of videos essays on this movie, all arriving at the same point. As the video kept going, I realized there was nuance here, but I couldn't tell how it would end. Around the 45 minute mark I had my hands on my head going, "Oh my god, this is a reverse twist of the twist!" I stopped the video, and rewatched one of the original trailers where it plays it straight face saying Teddy is a US Marshal looking to uncover the truth on the island. Which means, that's what they wanted us to think when we went into the movie the first time. Then it ends with the twist and we go "Oh my god, that's crazy!" Then we rewatch it to find all the clues (and watch 100s of video essays on it) for the endings twist. THEN THIS COMES OUT, and it's like "Nah! The twist wasn't a twist; AND THAT'S THE TWIST!" Well done! Very well done! Thank you for this!
😂 I feel like I also went on a journey reading this. Glad you enjoyed it
One thing I noticed on my first time watching this movie, whenever he was having hallucinations, he was in the presence of water, for example, when he broke the gun his hand was wet, but whenever he was sane, he was in the presence of fire.
That led me to believe this theory.
One could say that the opposite is true too actually
It’s hard to tell but it’s clear there’s a strict dichotomy between water and fire here in terms of his worldview
with his supposed wife drowning his kids, I actually always thought that this is way of this knowledge dripping in
I think its the opposite. Fire is dreaming, water is truth. The scene is the cave with the campfire makes this the most clear. if she was real, how did she manage to not only get enough firewood without being noticed, but transport all that firewood and her supplies up to that cave , when it showed teddy/andrew struggling to do so? She didn't even have shoes!
@muddyhobo12 as the first person mentioned, could be interpreted either way. We can also argue about Rachel's resourcefulness, but that's also up to debate. Survivors can do incredible things to survive. I do believe that Rachel was real though. Not only because she apprised him to new information, but he woke up and she was still there. He's catagorically shown waking up to reality.
@@farazqazi3360 agreed i also had a theory that maybe they know shes still alive and are ignoring her. like see how long it takes her to go crazy trying to survive and maybe we could make her another patient too and have a real rachel and not just a fake one. like use that as her trauma that made her go insane or something.
The reason I disagree with your theory is the last scene. Teddy pretends to still be Teddy when talking with Chuck because, in a moment of clarification, he remembered that he was in fact a patient and thinks the lobotomy will fix him. My interpretation of course.
You are absolutely right this theory is just a fan theory, the end of the movie makes it all clear that he was crazy
I'm never going to believe that he's not actually who he says he is. I loved your explanation. You really put things in order in a good way and it makes sense that he's actually being experimented on since the beginning.
Your mother did the best she could. You have to forgive her and let it go
Agreed. It was weird to me reading about this movie on the internet years later and finding out most people assumed he *was* crazy. I always had the opposite take. But the point is that the movie is perfectly ambiguous.
People who believe he was crazy often cite the ending and how that confirms he was a patient all along. Really the end of the movie, he realizes he is stuck on the island, with no weapon and no way of communication to the marshals office or anyone off island he is stuck there. Instead of going along with their charade he admits defeat and pretends to "slip back" into who he actually is, teddy. Thats the importance of his last words. Hes letting the doctor know hes aware of what their doing and saying while you choose to live here as a monster, i choose to die as a good man. Take me to the lighthouse and be done with it
@@eugenefullstack7613yeah same, I thought he was a marshal and they wanted him gone, maybe he knew something……took me ages to realise he was actually crazy
@@coolcat6103 he's not though, at least some of the most convincing evidence is that he's not, that's the point of this video. IMHO it's perfectly ambiguous (both are true) but if i had to choose, he's being experimented on by authoritarians, he's not crazy
Hope you read this man, I absolutely loved the video, it’s so fun to see someone fully delve into this theory. While I don’t agree with the theory, I think too many people take the ending at complete face value. I think the movie is purposefully open ended for either side to be possible, and that’s what makes it so good! So I just wanted to thank you for making this, and showcasing all your points. It’s really provides such a newfound appreciation for such a great film
I did read this and thank you. It's funny because I agree, I think the movie is so perfectly balanced between the two sides that each time you watch it a new detail could sway you one way or the other.
Which was literally my goal with the video is just to get people to go rewatch the movie, that's why I too left it open ended with the final question.
It's crazy how the audience in the sense is Teddy, and 90% of people on first viewing fell under the psychological spells shutter island played on teddy's mind.
For a long time I was convinced he was crazy from the beginning, missing all the obvious signs that point to it being a pre-determined experiment. 5 stars, great video. well done sir.
Oh, we're Teddy alright, and we're all friggin' rats in the maze at this point!
Hmmm, alternate theory shutter island is a level on inception. All of the situation lines up, including the death of the wife in both movies. It possible that he was trapped in the facility until he got rescued during inception.
Him subconsciously creating an anagram of his name is farfetched, but the coincidence that the guy he’s looking for has a name that just so happens to be an anagram of his own?
this is a very good point. the anagrams are too coincidental. unless they have been messing with him for years.
I appreciate the time he put into this video, it's very entertaining, but the idea just doesn't work. Between the anagrams and the photos of his children, the movie clearly indicates that he's supposed to be crazy. PolterGibbst's idea nearly works because the movie is intentionally framed to make you think he's being gaslit, until the final reveal. Disappointingly, he glosses over the very ending when Teddy reverts back to thinking he's on the case. It was revealed to him that Mark Ruffalo is not his partner regardless of which "interpretation" you subscribe to. So why, in this interpretation, would he treat him like his partner again? More importantly, when they take him off to be lobotomized, Ruffalo tries to stop Teddy and have him repeat what he just said after that ambiguous "hero" line. That part makes absolutely no sense under the interpretation shared here, which is why PolterGibbst left it out despite it being the most memorable part of the film. And, finally, the premise makes no sense. A federal marshal took on a case, went to the island without a partner, and then the hospital is just like, "sorry, he was crazy, we had to lobotomize him"?
How do you know that they didn't subliminally feed him that name (just like they fed him the name of Rachel Salondo right from the start)?
@johndjarrell they wouldn't say they lobotomized him, they would blame the storm
HIS WIFE & KIDS DIED FROM THE SMOKE NOT THE FIRE SMH
THATS IMPORTANT
HE EVEN SAYS IT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING
Dude is wearing a jacket and tie with a gas station doo rag on…that’s a good look I might have to try that
😂
That's bandana to us pasty skins
This actually changed my brain chemistry. This movie has stuck with me since the day I first watched it. I've watched it over and over to try and catch new things. I always wanted something more and this theory absolutely did that for me. And the storm not being real???? Cmon
If the storm is not real, then the whole movie is not real. So basically we're just watching the imaginings of a mad-man for 2 hours straight. Can I just watch paint dry instead?
@@mylesmarkson1686watching paint dry sounds about as fun as spending time with you
@@chopchopchillimanIt's a date! What's your favorite paint-color?
@@mylesmarkson1686 you do realize that all movies are basically showing you some mad persons imaginings right?
@@justinmac316 Nope, just this one (if you actually buy into that silly premise in the first place).
I honestly thought this was the story of the movie until I once mentioned it to someone and they said I had it wrong. I was like nah dog I just saw it last night lol. Anyways I watched it again and was convinced I was right. I honestly always thought they gave you the answer, he first meets his "partner" on the boat. This to me proves he's a marshal and got on the boat at someplace other than the island. The answer comes when she explains "they control the ferry". So they sent Chuck on the ferry to meet him and pretend to be his partner. I will never accept he was really on the island the whole time.
The end of the movie only makes sense if he was a patient they were trying to cure, why fake the sadness of their tests not working on curing him? Also the theme of water and fire throughout the movie indicates he was crazy or what was the point of it.
This video is the first I've seen from you, and it's an automatic subscription from me. I have VERY bad attention issues. And you held it the whole time. Thank you for an hour of peace.
Me before this video: "The most heartbreaking story about PTSD and psychosis 😭"
Me after this video: "The biggest gaslighting operation ever done in history 💀"
Thaaaaaaaank youuuuuu! Since this movie came out I've been arguing with everyone that Teddy was never crazy, his wife didn't do that, the Rachael in the cave was real, and they were gaslighting him the entire time. Finally, somebody else gets it. Operation paperclip.
We are in the minority, but we have a much richer view
Bwahhaahahah
How does the cave Rachel survives in an island if she is real? Can you explain? This is what conviced he was crazy from the first watch
@@deathm00n2 fishing perhaps?
@@apiranha1 lol. The cave scene is an artful way to describe what happens in the mind of someone suffering from delusional mental illness. They have an explanation for everything. He's sorting that out in his head.
I highly recommend the book to anyone that's seen this movie, it's AMAZING & of course explains things better.
So in the end of both, the role play therapy does actually work, he realizes that he is in fact the Andrew that murdered his wife in the Spring of '52, but he still doesn't want to live as him so he pretends to still be delusional so they'll put him out of his misery (lobotimize him)
That's what that final quote is about: he would rather die as a good man than continue to live as a monster.
This movie has stuck with me ever since the first time I saw it. I honestly think this is the best theory video I've seen on it and I will be adopting this as my head cannon.
Let's Go! Thank you, like I said at the end, just you making it to the end is awesome enough. Bonus for joining me on the island 😂
If he was an active US Marshall, there is no possible way to hide his investigation or disappearance.
It’s literally said, That it could be possible to cover up the disappearance of a one marshal, but not two.
Right. They’d send the whole world. Of Law Enforcement speaking. But , what if the government was in on this whole deal they were doing on the island. Even going by this videos theory . They could cover up his disappearance. A rogue agent , trying to blow the lid off of what could possibly be a “alpha phase” of MK Ultra like experiments. And one of those experiments being a radical role-play to convince this rogue investigator that he is crazy.
They could say he fell off a cliff looking for the missing patient in the storm. Begs the question why they wouldn’t just kill him to stop him asking questions, unless it was like the ultimate experiment to see if they could drive a trained US Marshall crazy
@@ModernEphemeraPersonally I think this is what they’re hinting at, especially after learning about Noyce and how he wasn’t explicitly violent before the asylum, gets super violent after the asylum and then begs for death over going back. Seems like the idea is the gov gives them the green light to rest if their drugs and manipulation can work on trained operatives to make better military men that can do bidding on command but that’s just my theory lol
@@jaimeemmanuel2620 exactly. That was a real thing! Operation Paperclip. The gov was in cahoots with Nazi Dr's to run these experiments. The gov was helping bc they were using the findings of these experiments.
This is literally one of the greatest stories ever told.
We are given almost the exact feeling and experience at the end of the movie, and mostly the whole way through, as the main character. We are doubting ourselves, we are doubting basically every detail were given and in the end, after enough scrutiny of the plot, we are doubting our own sanity.
Simultaneously, whichever side of the story you land on in the end, your perspective and conclusion is indicative of what type of thinker you are. Do you ridicule people who watch this movie and think deeper than what the movie obviously wants you to conclude? (Which should easily tell you you need to not be that way as the entire movie is inspiring you to question what it tells you). Would you take the ending on face value and leave believing everything you were told without thinking twice? OR would you consider the clues that were left, do your own thinking and come to your own conclusion? Or at least admit that your up in the air and could see both sides... Basically, can you fathom conspiracies or do you want to stay with the herd?
Either way Teddy's last words ring true and to me, hit harder now when we apply it to real life:
"..live as a monster, or die as a good man?"
Btw, excellent video! Very well done on all counts.
:)
This is so obviously the actuality of the story. I can't believe people actually believe what the pretended narrative is!! And it makes the story so so much better! I think the writer does a wonderful job in sorting out the sheep from the critical thinkers. Any deep thinker will know that teddy is actually sane! I wrote this comment on another video before reading your comment. I came to the same conclusion you did!
I am glad I wasn't the only one who thought that they wanted to make him a super soldier and trying to drive him crazy.
I’ve always loved this movie because it successfully tells two stories simultaneously, even at the end.
The ending to me has always been so sad. My theory is that he does remember what happened, but he’s choosing not to and going ahead and getting a lobotomy . He would rather live a life not remembering.
Just look at the video
That was my interpretation because his doc who pretends to be his partner calls him by his fake name after he nods for the lobotomy and he acts like “btch I know that’s not my name” and after saying “is it better to live as a monster or die as a good man” it seems like he is saying “I rather lose my being as I know it than to live in this cage for the rest of my life with the fact that my wife drowned our children and I shot her” as a dad of 3 my Solar plexus constricted and imploded into my body when it shows the kids in the lake. The years of holding them watching them play and smile and gone no life to even say bye to and it’s the person you’ve loved more than anything in your life that did it and she did tell you that she needed help, that agony and anguish, I would rather just call it a life and check out than to just sit in a crazy house for the rest of my living life with that reality.
@@DerekJohn yes, but that's not the case. If u see this video he explains pretty clear that's not the truth. They want to make him belive that, so it would be to much for him and choose to die. But that's not the truth.
that's the prevalent theory... you got it right... which is worse? to live as a monster?...
@@balabala9570 this video is a stretch. Fun but a stretch
this is the takeaway I got the first time I watched this movie, but over the years I ended up believing the theories that he was crazy the whole time, but this is a refreshing look at the movie
This just might be one of the best videos on shutter island I’ve ever seen
Making a movie recap video about a man being trapped in his own mind thinking everything is a conspiracy only to make it all about how the REAL story IS that it is all a giant conspiracy is such a beautifully layered video concept
Hats off
It's so fascinating that this theory works but also that the original idea of what the movie is about can work too.
Yes! That's why this movie is so good, both sides have good pros and some cons. Making it very rewatchable.
The original idea (which I always doubted) would have made for a far inferior movie, nowhere near as memorable, a rather dull premise actually.
YOu think the original idea of.
A man completely resetting and not realizing he is on a ferry he is always on.
Gets taken to a place where he doesn't remember a single person he has been around for years.
Is a known killer.
Is allowed to run around with very little supervision.
Allowed the man to literally climb up and down treacherous rocks, even having the doctor climb down, THEN disappear while the patient was climbing down to throw him off.'
Randomly plant evidence in random places for him to find(which is weird that he would be good enough to find it as a patient).
Then also have the same doctor/partner disappear randomly and then reappear as his partner to "break" him out of it
Offer him the paper to see if he resets on the cliffs? See if he ignores them? Then later give them back to him and have all this planned?
They get ALL the inmates to play around with him(all crazy people) in an insane asylum.
They plan this all during a massive storm (that does actually happen as its evidenced before during and after the event and rain is still on the windows).
And he stabs people, GETS ASSAULTED BY INMATES, BLOWS UP CARS, ASSAULTS OFFICERS, and threatens to kill a doctor..... And you think.
This entire staff did all of this, just for 1 patient? LOL. You know how much money that would cost the government to do for 1 person????
LOL??? And all to avoid 1 lobotomy over 2 years? And he still gets lobotomized anyway??
Constantly offer drugs/smoking/alcohol to a patient?
Change his clothes out for "detective clothing" and then come up with a plan to force him into inmate clothing?
ALL of that for 1 person? To avoid doing the very thing you do anyway?
Nah man.
That is NOT more logical than some dude investigating a killer who just so happens to have changed his name and become a police chief and threw his subordinate into a political espionage government camp to avoid being punished for his own crimes.
Its more logical for a criminal to be a criminal and do criminal things during the 40s/50s and a group of doctors in a government run facility to take free test subjects with no legal limits-
as opposed to an entire organization to work together with hundreds of moving parts, including inmates/patients, and give an active killer who has already attacked multiple people/nurses/officers/destroyed property, multiple times, freeish reign, during a massive storm, access to the entire island unopposed with tons of weapons he could find along the way. All to maybe get him to realize he killed his wife after she killed his children....... and that he made up everything else... What exactly did they hope to accomplish? If he does come to terms with reality what stops him from un-living himself? He clearly hates his life and lost everything if he was crazy anyway.
Original idea works for braindead people who get brainwashed daily
Wow! Dude I just got to the end, where you're amazed we got there, and realized an hour and a half went by 😂😂 I legit thought I was in it for 20 mins tops. You rock!
man im so relieved to see other people as fanatical about this movie as myself, its a phenomenal film
Damn finally someone said it, I thought this the first time I watched the film and was so shocked to see people just unquestioningly taking it at face value - no word of a lie I could not find a single person anywhere who believes he’s actually sane until I saw this today
As someone who's watched this movie at least 10 times (obsessive, I know) I always assumed that this Theory was the truth, and that he wasn't actually crazy & was being manipulated.
However the last time I watched it, I tried to see it from the opposite Perspective and see him as crazy and WAW i was blown away by how different it made me feel about this movie and for the first time ever I jumped ship to believing he was actually crazy. The level of detail in this movie is incredible, and the Casting is on point! This film wouldn't have worked with anyone other than DiCaprio - He can be both Good Guy and a Monster at the same time, that's what makes it so special. It's a Paradox, in my opinion. Maybe he's both & Neither?
I think we're all good guys and monsters at the same time. This movie is all about the human experience.
you are correct, the first time i watch the movie i did get that conclusion that they were playing with him, specially the way they seemed to blaze about things
Mind-blown! This theory turns Shutter Island on its head, transforming it from a story about personal delusion into a chilling exploration of institutional manipulation and psychological experimentation. It challenges everything we thought we knew about the movie and raises profound questions about ethics and the abuse of power. Bravo to the creator for bringing this perspective to light!
It's ironic that was your experience. My experience from the very first viewing of this film when released was that he truly was innocent and was being led to believe he was crazy. The finality of it being that they had won in the end by lobotomizing him.
To live as a monster or die a good man “ , I think that was his surrendering to the circumstances. He could either live as a cold blooded killing machine or have his identity “die” and become a zombie. So he chose the latter
This opened my eyes to not always picking up on clues in movies, just to build a picture of the complete meaning and plot but to actually work with the clues and make me not a complete puzzle, but rather a lego model with different options to be build more of a 2 in 1 or 3 in1 etc. That was one of the most entertaining videos I've watched in a long time and I trully enjoyed every minute of it.
stroke?
"she kinda creeps me out too" cuts to eating a chocolate bar.
perfect reference. instant sub
I did not get it...
@@Pookm2
Lol, me neither...
Please explain the reference
@@skhotzim_bacon I’m thinking it was this:
th-cam.com/video/iV-_5vbVtwU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_vZhhrB9G1x9H5CX
Chocolate!!! Chocolate!! 🍍
You have completely changed his final words for me. Thank you.
yess like die as the good man he knew he was or live as a shell of himself
When Chuck is trying to hand the paper that he got from Laedis, when he says "I'll look at it later." the. Paper literally disappears from chuck's hand
This was extra cool!! Someone who doesn’t just reacts to a film, but actually deconstructs it. I can’t wait to see more of these.
I miss small details unless I’m reading the script. Now THAT I know how they are constructed and what makes a good script instead of ones that could use a few more rewrites. Thanks for doing this!!!
Water represents the harsh truth in the movie. You can't hide from it, it's everywhere fighting its way in to reach Teddy. Fire represents the evasions and rationalizations that keep Teddy from knowing the truth. The scene where fire is the most prominent is the scene in the cave where he meets Rachel (another defense mechanism). The movie is a battle between the fire and the water. The truth and the lies. Teddy and Andrew. Teddy can't even see a glass of water when he's interrogating a fellow inmate because he chooses not to see the truth.
Water does eventually wash the fire out, but the truth is too much for Andrew to carry. He willingly chooses fire once again at the end when he pretends that he reverted back to Teddy. He chooses to kill Andrew once and for all the only way he can. A lobotomy.
The top of the lighthouse is where Teddy sees "the light." And it's unreachable unless you travel through the water, becoming saturated by the truth.
I agree. Fancy deepities from the creators to make it interesting. I can not see in any way how this is not a bad attempt to figure out more about and treat his infliction/trauma. How can U.S. Marshals Service send out a "normal" man to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane, then he gets hospitalized there!? That should set off some major alarm bells at the US Marshal Service and would not be preferable to an institute that are trying to hide shady experiments. Unless they are in on it! ;)
@vigintii I ultimately can't appreciate the theory that the video supports because of its transformative effect on the film. This theory takes the entire film and makes it about something that is not. The theory itself is an example of how only thinking on the perceptual level leads to things like elaborate conspiracy theories. It just flat-out ignores the metaphors and real meaning behind such a great film that you can only attain by thinking conceptually.
The power of the mind can be a dangerous thing, especially when faced with harsh truths and trauma. But do you confront the reality of your situation honestly and do your best to understand the full context and put in the effort to recover? Or do you try and escape and create a new reality where your lies only lead to more lies and inevitably your own self destruction.
@@johngleue So why does he go to the lighthouse at the end if there are no lobotomies being performed there? To me, that indicates that Cawley was lying and that George Noyce and Cave-lady Rachel were right all along.
Him calling him teddy at the end proves your point
Yes!
what when?
@@7PlayingWithFire7At the end of the movie when they were sitting on the steps. If he really was Andrew, and they finally brought him back to reality, why go back to calling him Teddy?
Not really, backs up both theories still.
@@IShootFootyCool No because at that point in the movie, they thought they had him cured (and really wanted to believe it). So he should've said "Andrew? Andrew? Please answer me Andrew!"
While it’s true you can’t hallucinate new information you can hallucinate it if you already know the information
He has been doing this story for 2 years, the storm, Rachael, he has mentioned it for the past 2 years so even if he doesn’t mention it much in the movie he has been saying it before the entire time, his brain is possibly resetting after 4 days as the story suggests
Rachael Solondo isn’t real but his daughter Rachael was definitely real
While I agree the doctors had been playing with Teddys delusion his ptsd of his wife’s killing and his children’s death was real
I don’t even know if his service in the military was as bad as he claimed just the trauma of his family took over everything in his mind