Something sad I've noticed: It's been shown that Claire's mother is the most physically violent with her, since she's the only one to actually grab Claire with some intention of harming her as well as throwing an alcohol bottle at her when she ran away. In Claire's Billboard family fantasy, her billboard mother always has her hands behind her back.
the split second when the dad's mirror turns around also heavily implies Clair is not the only one the mother gets physically violent around (probably the reason he's so obsessed with his appearance is he's trying to undo some kind of major scarring or injury she did to him)
The fact that opals parents only said "we see you" or "hi opal" is indicating that opal can't even imagine getting any sort of love. Her only goal is to be noticed.
True. I also like how the imaginary family and Opal herself (well, Claire, but she still puts herself in the place of Opal) have very big eyes as opposed to Claire's real family who have mostly average human eyes. And the whole symbolism with the eyes and Claire's only form of love is...to be seen.
It says a lot that: 1.) It’s implied in the mother’s song that she did something to the father, that she regrets, but can’t admit to even having done, which we get a single frame glimpse of, when the father’s mirror is turned around during the reveal that Opal is Claire, where we can see his real face. 2.) Claire is so neglected, and clearly malnourished, that she doesn’t even understand what a burger is. She has no idea that you’re supposed to eat them, and just assumes she’s meant to dance with it.
@@Heretowatchvideos123 Its also possible that (depending on where this takes place) she couldnt do it either because she was to scared of soemthing going wrong (and assuming she was already an addict, then this likely was her only chance of getting a healthy child) or because it wasnt an option where she lived. There are likely other reasons, but I dont think she planned to have her daughter act as a support of sorts.
I always thought that the mother song's implied that she had also come from an abusive household and she was just repeating the cycle.. Her song talks about how a mother needs her daughter.(suggesting that she was taught this by her mom) In the very beginning of the song we see a book that seems to be about a man killing a woman. Then we see in her past that it seems like she's calling the phone, while someone is getting killed. (We can assume this is her father killing her mother/abusing her mom) . Then she talks about how people "like them" don't live, but just survive. This suggest that she was taught this was all she could ever be (once again suggesting at generational abuse.) Since the beginning, you see how the family copes with their problems. The book is covered in wine (The mother drinking/drugging herself ) The father covers the mirror with a paper towel. (He's constantly trying to cover up his imperfections) and you see the grandpa snuff out a cigarette with a tv pamphlet (Grandpa uses the t.v. to ignore his problems.) Both interpretations could be right, I just always thought it was weird that they included that book (Serial killer lover). Since everything else was easy to understand. We see their problems and then how they try and correct them.
I think the names for the abused child also kinda have some sort of symbolism. The name “Opal” is similar to the word “opaque”, meaning “something that cannot be seen through”, while the name “Claire” is similar to the word “clear”, meaning “something that is transparent”. It could represent how Claire, calling herself Opal, wants to be “opaque” so that she could be seen by her family instead of being “clear” and getting neglected like she’s straight up invisible
I get what you're getting at, and you are in a way right. Opal means precious stone, while claire means clear. Claire wants to be of value to someone, instead of being see-through. Idk if I'm being nitpicky, but yeah
The idea to make a child see their abusive household as a foreign place rather than a normal family is both horrible and incredible. Many aren’t able to articulate a subject such as this in an understandable light. Hats off to this man for pulling it off so well
Exactly. When children are abused or neglected to them it’s normal and they don’t realize that it isn’t normal usually when they make friends or go to school.
I was a victim of severe child neglect and this short story has given its audience a view of these environments that is extremely accurate. At the very beginning of the short, when clair is fantasizing about a loving family, the imaginary family says things like "there she is" or "hello opal". She has been so neglected, that her idea of a loving family is simply acknowledging the existence of a child. It's truly heartbreaking.
For me I would fall asleep as much as I could and hang out with my dream family. They were so nice to me and always happy to see me saying stuff like. "Haiiii [my name]!" "We missed you" "We were waiting for you" They would ask me to join them in games and everything. I love them so much. Although I didn't have a dream dad take that as you will. I enjoy my dream paradise and it would take a lot for me to ever give it up.
Yeah, so heartbreaking. And I'm sorry that you were a victim of severe child neglect. Are you ok and better now? Just asking. I'm kinda worried, you know?
@@jmrabinez9254 yes I'm doing really good. Me and my brother have our own place now and we've been trying to keep our relationship with our mom healthy but away from manipulation.
I just want to remind y’all, that no matter how far fetched you think this short is, their are households like this. The real disturbing part is knowing these households exist
@taylorhope4651 did u think it was funny this channel is advertising premium factor subscription meal services on a vid about a starving malnourished child?
Opal might just be the most accurate depiction of the effects of child abuse I’ve ever seen. I coped the exact same way that she did when I was a child, running away to my own little imagination land where I was a different person and had people who loved me. Seeing the twist actually made me tear up when I first watched it, because even though it’s not exactly an uncommon thing to happen to an abused kid, I had never seen it actually shown in fiction before.
I feel you friend. I had previously thought I just liked to daydream, when it turned out I was coping, and even use to cope now in adulthood. And same here, I hardly ever saw anything like it depicted as much other than daydreaming. Seeing it here makes me hurt for all of the kids out there that are real and enduring this now.
"And in our eyes you'll stay" is such a good foreshadowing detail. Claire cannot physically be with her fantasy family; she can only stare at the billboard, and Opal's eyes stare blankly back
It also implies Claire can't escape her dark thoughts. The abusive household is directly under the eyes of the billboard family, so "in our eyes, you'll stay" implies that Claire can't get out.
An abused child doesn't know they will survive, they cannot imagine a life beyond their infancy. They can't imagine having autonomy to save themselves. Looking back, it was this taking hold of my own life that set the course of saving my whole family, but it all started with saving myself. Then, all but one of my relatives came to me for refuge. The abuser was left abandoned. I got extremely lucky.
"An abused child doesn't know they will survive, they cannot imagine a life beyond their infancy." This is tragically accurate. I remember being a child and wondering if I'd survive the abuse I endured from my sperm donor and his family.
@@ShadoFoxx Why are you saying sperm donor. A Sperm donor is someone who donates their sperm so that someone else could have a child and not the donor himself. A sperm donor doesn't take part in the parenting.
@thedesensitizedsympathizer5307 Which is probably the intent, as the abuser is most likely to be their father, hence sperm donor. I'm sure you can agree that abusing your child does not qualify as parenting, correct?
Things that I noticed: 1: the father is so focused on himself he is the only one in the short to not call Opal Claire. 2: the lights on the billboard is the same lights in the fake house. 3: the lights that opal get started by are the ones from the billboard. The reason why is because when it gets dark that means it's nighttime and that she needs to go back in the house. that's how much she doesn't like being there. it's also the reason why back in the fake house she cover-ups the lights to make her think that it daytime. 4: the mom was about to say "I feel bad for all the things I've done." But she stopped herself because she would have admitted that she done wrong. 5: the fact that the grandfather doesn't know the own smell of her granddaughter shows how little he cares about her.
To expand on 5, cigarette smoking can also destroy your sense of smell. He's not willing to admit it, but his vice and neglect have destroyed one of his only ways to recognize Claire.
I thought he didn’t recognize her smell becuase she’s been sleep my under the billboard. Remember when in her mind the family told her goodnight? Then she woke up and went to her real house? There is no house across the street so she must of been laying in the grass in the ground
“We don’t live, Claire, We survive” That line hit me like a brick. It hit me so hard. I’ve been surviving all my life. To all my Claire’s/Opal’s out there - We did what we had to.
There's also so many small details, like how Opal's hair on the billboard is in pigtails while Claire's is matted which is often a massive indicator of neglect and emotional issues in children. Also at the beginning where she doesn't seem to even know what to do with the hamburger, so she just holds it, even though she's extremely skinny and seemingly malnourished. As a kid who was neglected, not this severely but still, the small, silent details of this short honestly dig the deepest. And even the big ones, tiptoeing through her own house, being literally grabbed by a family member you want to avoid, and the chase to her room, its far more real than I'd like it to be.
The way she squints to go back to her imaginary place in the end when her real family is banging the door is the same way she was squinting in the start of the film, signifying how this is a daily occurrence for her
As a victim of parentification and child abuse with parents eerly similar to Claire (just reverse the parents' traits) when Claire became her Dad's mirror and her Mom's pills it clicked for me. In such households you don't just become a pseudo-parent to your siblings, you develop unhealthy mechanisms to survive in a hostile environment, your brain rewires itself to find a way to survive and it, unluckily if exposed for long enough, becomes a permanent change. You become a sort of therapist to them (not really, you just tell them what they want to hear) and only show what they like or expect of you, constantly walking on eggshells to avoid a negative reaction in a time when normally you would be finding who you are. It really struck a cord with me and I'm pretty sure it did for many. Btw if you relate to this short film please go to therapy, best decision of my life and made me realise lots of thing about my upbringing.
Feel you. Had a similar thing but it was just the mom and me. The part with the mom surrounded by pills and bottles and some of the things she was saying made me really uneasy. She's dead ❤
I feel like the dad is so obsessed with his appearance and being seen because he is a victim of spousal abuse. His desire to be seen is him thinking that if someone were to recognize his abusive situation, that he feels he'd be saved, someone would save him. But he is so worried that if he DOESN'T cover up all the damage he's suffered, every bruise, every scar, that it might get so much worse for him. He is hiding his pain and trauma with narcissistic mechanisms to the point where he can't stand to look at anyone else but his own carefully sculpted outward appearance in fear he'll see a real reflection of himself in others. Just completely dissociated to cope with his own suffering.
yeah, its sad to realize that if people are abused badly enough/long enough, they can end up in a hole which they'll have trouble leaving, even taking out their suffering on others
i heard a quote "the abused becomes the abuser". not in all cases, but all abusive people have definitely experienced what they've done, being the main reason of generational trauma too. it's no excuse at all, but still unfortunate
It's also good to note that Claire's design is purposeful as well. Her head is oblong because she's evidently malnourished. You pick up hints of this throughout the short: like when she doesn't know what to do with the hamburger so she dances with it. The fact that she's the only one with ill fitted (large) clothes, matted hair and super big eyes. You can also see Opal on the poster board with a rounded head and eyes the correct size unlike Claire. Claire gets neglected in every sort of way and has to figure it out and fend for herself.
Here's a few quirks about Opal's fake family vs Claire's real one: -Grandfather: His only line is a happy "Hi Opal!" = She wants her grandfather to notice her and actually be happy to see her rather than ignore her and only acknowledges her to get his cigs and fuss/yell at her. -Father: Happily talks and touches Opal and seems to lead the 3 = The most attention and safest option Claire recognizes is her father. And thats not saying alot considering his own song makes it seem like he hides in the bathroom much like Claire hides in the attic. Mother: Keeps her hands behind her back unless holding something = Her mother is likely physically violent towards Claire (and likely her Dad too), without her hands present or filled with something, she's less likely to attack Claire, making Claire feel safter. Opal/Claire: Claire feels around the burger acting as if she doesn't understand what to do with it, so instead she dances for their attention = Highly probable Claire is malnourished. This is further strengthened by her gaunt, thin face in comparison to all other characters having "fuller" faces, as well as her body appearing thin. Also random connections I picked up: I believe the Grandfather is her maternal grandfather. Addiction can be hereditary, which can also mean the mother suffered from verbal abuse and neglect from her father. This made her turn to drugs and alcohol for her version of escapism, but also started her descent into being physically violent. The mother's song also sounds alot like she only had Claire cause she thought having a baby might fix her problems, and now she puts the burden of Claire keeping her happy on a child's shoulders. So when Claire can't fix the "problem" the mother either spirals into depressive rants of victimhood or frustration that turns physical. Claire believes the burger is a dancing prop because in the Billboard that looks like what Opal is doing. The grandfather likely has lung cancer considering he coughs up blood. It could also have affected his sense of smell, which is why Claire doesn't "smell right". All in all a haunting film short that proves it doesn't have to be overwhelming beautiful to send a meaningful message.
Now that I see it, It hits close to home. My mother was an alcoholic. It was so bad she began to hide bottles everywhere in the house, and was very defensive when we found one or misplaced her hidden bottles. We tried talking with her, taking her to professional, tried to get her to see her friends and family, but she kept at it, and sabotaged every attempt to help her. "I don't need a doctor I just need family to be aorund me" she repeated. In her last years, her attitude changed and spiraled down as she kept poisoning herself. From an implacable achiever to a shell of her former self, throwing herself on the floor for someone to lift her back up, just to get herself back down for attention. My dad, brother and I couldn't be with her 24/7 as was needed for her to change. Ultimately, in one of her drunk misdeeds she fell from bed, and couldn't recover. We only succesfully got her to the hospital because she couldn't fight her way out anymore. Her liver was destroyed, she caught pneumonia in the hospital, and after a month there, passed away. I knew at some point, weeks before her passing, that she was never going to be the mother I knew for so long, that because of her stance on accepting help, my mother was never coming back. I understand this perfectly, and unfortunately, connect with opal here in the segment of her mother. Even if this happened after I graduated from college, it hit hard. I lived with her still and I was concerned many days when I had to go to work. If this is how it is as a grown up, as a kid it has to be absolutely horrifying and emotionally stunting. However as a result of this, I HATE whiskey and rum. The slightest hint of them repulses me so.
I drink to deal with a mother who loved to force treatment, which involves many drugs more harmful than alcohol, who is a pillhead, and who bitched my dad into the ER that killed him. Because the nature of the human mind is so misunderstood, any treatment in mental health has a "trial and error" way about it, which is to say, they "experiment" until something "works". The Nuremberg Code says forced experimental medicine is a literal war crime. You may as well have given her to literal Nazis.
As a person who comes from a abusive household where the main abuser was the mother, this hits hard. Its common for the abuser of families is the father but women are good at hiding behind the "im too weak and kind to do anything wrong" some people even refuse the concept of a abusive mother
I’ve noticed this issue quite a lot. I’m a true crime fan and I’ve heard so many cases of child abuse turned into murder - a lot of the killers were moms and while most of these cases were closely investigated, the mothers who I remind you, MURDERED their own kids, got lighter sentences. They get lighter sentences than men do which I’m not defending the men who’ve abused and/or killed children, they deserve a harsh sentence but women who’ve abused and/or killed children, they’re not put in isolation due to inmates trying to kill them. They’re treated normally by other inmates. So we’ve basically won but at what fucking cost?? They NEED to suffer in prison. It doesn’t matter what gender you are, harming children has no excuse.
I understand how you feel I was abused during my childhood and every time I remember it, it always gets worse and I realize more of what happened to me, when I look back it always feels dark and horrifying like my life was a stop motion animation, but never let it stop you from living your life
Glad to see this short get more coverage. The misdirection of everyone calling her "Claire" in the real house is so amazing, and makes the reveal that Opal was Claire the whole time so much more devastating. Would love to see a Jack Stauber movie some day.
Something that’s really sad is the fact that Opal’s grandpa says that she doesn’t smell like Clare is really sad since Opal is Clare meaning he doesn’t even recognize his own grand daughter 😢
It’s pretty telling that Claire’s imaginary grandpa exclusively repeats “Hi Opal!” implying all she wants from him is to acknowledge her. She’s probably been yelled at as an intruder by him many times before.
This is a true story, for many people. Its like the perfect artistic representation of what was done to me. The scene where she sees herself as her grandfathers blindness, her fathers narcissism, and her mothers drug addiction, kills me. Its the realization that you exist not as a person, but as an extension of your families failures. Something to be used by all of them. Shes just a way for her grandfather to see. Just a way for her father to look at himself. Just a drug for her mother to calm herself with. So she screams and retreats into her own mind to escape. That is EXACTLY what it feels like.
She probably did, how would she be survive? Maybe she lived in the fake reality for so long, she survived? I don’t know, or she had to find food by herself.
@@seatheaxolotl2109 Yeah. A lot of kids have had to literally make food all on their own. I had a friend who literally raised his little siblings by himself because of his mothers' neglect. He taught himself to use the stove eventually just because he had to, as there was nothing else.
Im sure she knew what to do with the burger, considering that many neglected kids have to make or find their own food. She just did not have a actual burger to eat.
I had a dad who emotionally neglected me. Luckily for me, I didn't have to live with him everyday. He'd come and visit often but that was it. Can't imagine what it's like to be stuck with a neglectful family, with basically nobody to care for you. Y'all are strong af.
As a child being abused my father and thankfully ending up at my moms parents, my grandparents, this short film expresses child abuse so well and some moments reminded of my experience and all of the visuals and the art style just gives me the creeps in a good way. I hope that the number of children being abused will decrease in the future cause it's a horrible and traumatizing , and to this day I still fear my father but not as much as I did beacuse of therapy.
I love how it shows all four characters suffer from a form of escapism/dissociation from reality thanks to the stressors of life. Claire's grandfather is aware he messed his body up, but ignores it and stays in denial by watching TV. Her father (the less evil of all of them) hyper fixates on his appearance because it's all he has control over in his life. The mother, the worst of them all, stays in a perpetual state of intoxication to literally detach herself from reality. That leaves Claire, who escapes her abusive family by dissociating into a false reality with her interpretation of what a perfect family is. I love how it shows what trauma does to people, how abuse can be done in a million ways, and how even the people who do abuse others may not even realize they're doing it because they're so lost in themselves to recognize it. It shows the pain and weight of mental illness, and I absolutely adore every moment of this short.
There is a theory that the dad becomes insecure because he has an accident. In the mother's mindscape(?), there is someone pressing 911 and the mom throws a wine bottle to that person, and that is the dad. When Claire's realised everything, there is a single frame of the dad with a very disturbing face
My dad was a combination of the grandfather and mother from the short. He was addicted to cigarettes, and was also incredibly unnerving to be around, not because he physically abused us, but because he felt like a bomb that could easily go off and BECOME abusive. My mom and i moved out, trying to get away from him, but he STILL won't leave us alone. He constantly berates my mother, tries to manipulate me into leaving the house, or going somewhere. He doesn't care about me, as he ignores me every time i'm sick or in pain (got hit by a car and broke a hand, and he didn't even text) so he really only views me as a tool to hurt my mom. I genuinely hate him so much, but thanks to the pandemic ruining us, we can barely scrape by. I just hope i never have to live under the same roof as him again.
It almost seems like the beginnings of (DID) Dissociate Identity Disorder for poor Claire. The abuse is severe enough to cause intense dissociation. Very intriguing short.
I have DID and I cried the whole time watching this. I suffered for many years like this as the eldest to protect my little siblings. 24 and crying like a baby over this. The whole "this isnt real, i am somewhere else", crying to yourself until you are someone else, somewhere else, so you will calm down. Children should never have to do this to themselves to survive.
Jack Stauber is not only a musical genius, but he's also an unreliable narrator through the lens of his unique visual style. His music videos are absurd and quirky that it feels like a fever dream on a VHS tape, but it does have some kind of deeper meaning when it comes to covering mature topics.
One thing that occurred to me as someone with an ED as a result of emotional abuse: Claire’s imaginary family giving her praise for how she interacts with the burger might also be rooted in her real family possibly criticizing her for how she looks/eats even when she was younger. Things like ‘You’ll get/you are too fat!’ Etc. Like, her dad especially makes digs about her ankles, but even both her grandfather and her mother strikes me as exactly the type who would see her child doing something as simple as wanting a burger and basically destroy her self esteem over it though mean criticism - and in turn Clair would associate wanting to eat it as both a thing of shame and comfort. The shame/fear of being emotionally attacked for wanting something, but also comfort food is a real thing due to the fact that it sparks dopamine and other feel-good chemicals, turning it into a cycle of craving the food to feel those chemicals again. And Claire clearly doesn’t HAVE any other sources of comfort so she might associate the burgers with good feelings- Only in Claire’s case she wouldn’t even be allowed to have that comfort food so she is wasting away while dreaming about being allowed something as small as a burger and being accepted. I think that might be supported by just how malnourished both her parents are, the dad in a probably more purposeful way as he is hinted to be trying to resemble supermodels in magazines, and the mother as a side effect of drug and alcohol abuse. I think the body image perspective is just another layer in the scheme of their abuse.
I love how Stauber puts so much detail into his characters. You can tell he knows exactly what all their backstories are, even though he's only hinting at it. His shorts are funny, deep, terrifying, and heartbreaking all at the same time.
I noticed how Opal went to “the house across the street” not because she was curious, but maybe because she wanted to help her family. She hides the grandpas cigerates, she gives her dad attention, but most of all her goal was to get to the top room, her mom. She wanted to help her mom but didn’t know how and was scared. It’s her mom that she wants to help the most yet can’t cause she’s a little girl, a scared one who shouldn’t have to help.
I think the saddest part of this is that... depending on what Claire eats, she likely will be extremly malnourished until somebody notices it and calls the cops or she will one day just die. Im not even sure if running away is a option for her and theres others factors that could lead her to return to her fucked up family.
I think what absolutely gets me is the sheer pity for the adults family members. Like that's the most common reason why people get trapped in these types of relationships for a long time is because they're a good person and have empathy, and whether these types realize it or not they'll leverage that to continue the toxic relationship. Worst thing about abused kids is that they'll become abused adults, these relationships don't get suddenly cut off once they can leave, it just changes. If there's any hope for Claire is that she gets emotional growth for the aim of her betterment, because being a good person alone won't do it, through no fault or negative of their character it will keep them trapped with their person. And being a bad person will only keep the cycle going...
I have a few theories: Why opal looks like that is because she's malnourished, because if you look at the child on the billboard they're more "healthy" looking and isn't just a mouth and eyes. The reason she dances when given the burger is because she doesn't know how to be grateful for food.
It's hard when you are a helpless child that doesn't have resources like people on the internet to tell you that it's not normal and you don't deserve it. Instead of being surrounded by cowardly adults who ignore child abuse or just assume the child deserves it somehow.
This just reminds of me of my own struggles growing up. My parents sold the house I grew up in earlier this year and the last day they would be there my mother asked me if I was sad that we would no longer see the house. I told her that I really wasn't. I didn't have the heart to tell her the reason was how I never felt welcome in that place. My sister was thrown out at 17. I wasn't even 16 at that time and my stepfather made it very obvious I could be next at anytime. I could barely sleep because I always had to wonder, was this the night I am told to get the **** out? Anytime he wanted to me to speak with him it was a demand that I do something for him, a chance to belittle me or to show me something he was interested in regardless if I had any interest myself. I love my mother so very much but she did not do much to try and help the family compromise. Simply promising that my stepfather would change and do better. Now everyone tells me I need to stop living in fantasies with video games or table top games with my friends. Even though reality has never been a place I felt like I mattered.
I used to watch Opal on repeat so I wouldn’t feel so alone. I thought I was the only one who felt abandoned by my own family. I also have MDD (maladaptive daydreaming disorder) so seeing another kid use daydreaming to get away from their family genuinely got me to cry every time. Jack gave kids like me the chance to be *seen*, and I’ll never forget it
Here's a few things I've noticed. -In the very beginning, we get to see objects associated with each guardian. The mother spills wine on a book called "Serial Killer Lover" (which I'm guessing is her romanticizing toxic love). The father covers a "Fashin" magazine with tissues (insinuating during his song that he was rejected by a modeling company). Lastly, we see the Grandfather put out a cigarette on a list of television programs, which seems self explanatory. -When we are first introduced to the character, "Opal", we can see her wrinkled up face as she switched from reality to disassociation. You can see the father's billboard face become alive after a *click* sound. Throughout the song, there are billboard lights above them and other clues, like how the billboard says "Exit 22-9 Miles" and they sing "Your troubles are miles away". -"Opal" dances with the burger instead of eating it, because on the "Opal's Burgers" billboard the girl is not eating it, but seems to be dancing while holding the burger. The people around her on the billboard seem to praise her for this, so that is why Claire copies what she sees off of the billboard in order to get praised by her imaginary family. -After "Opal" enters the home due to being scared by a truck/train passing by, she is struck by fear upon seeing her Grandfather. At this point she is backing up and reaching for the doorknob to leave the house, knowing it'd be better to just stay outside than deal with her family. -Claire's father comments on her ankles because it is the only part of her that he ever sees. Yet, he still feels the need to pick that apart. At one point, he turns the mirror to her before fixing it and it's still just her ankles in the reflection. -During her father's song, there is a scene near the end where the mirrors are spinning and look like wedding bands while he sings "now I live my nightmare". -The father's room also has the wailing white angelic sound coming from the bathroom because he is also a victim of abuse from the mother. However, this doesn't excuse him becoming an abuser. We can see in the mother's song during the flashback that she hits him after he dials "911". Feel free to reply with some of your interpretations!
as a child, i was trapped for almost 20 years in a place similar to this one, where many nights were spent convinced i would die and dreaming of escape. this film was pretty hard for me to watch, but it really resonated a lot with me and made me feel seen. thank you for covering this. Opal deserves to be talked about.
This short hits hard even for those of us who just had neglectful parents. My speed donor was a verbally abusive ass that used his disability (from an accident) to avoid paying child support. I felt nothing when he passed. My mother was a woman who tried her best but was emotionally abused her whole life and was in turn both emotionally dependent on us kids and neglectful towards us kids. I’m always amazed that we made it to adulthood and can’t say I’ll miss my mother either.
The short is very well made and captures the hopeless feeling of abuse very accurately. As someone who went through something similar, heck, the "mom" even looks like a accurate copy. It makes me sad to think about every single kid out there who struggles with this for real.
For me, the saddest revelation isn't... *(spoilers)* ... - that the weird people are Opal's REAL family (and that "Opal" is actually "Claire"), but that she genuinely didn't recognize them because she had been so engrossed in her fantasy life of being Opal. She didn't visit the 'strange house' because it was time to go home. She went there because it seemed familiar to her and she legitimately couldn't recall why. That's why she was so entranced by it. So when she finally arrived in her actual room and saw the billboard out the window, the realization set on her, and it was just as shocking to her as it was to us. Just like us, Claire had no idea (or rather, she forgot. And purposefully, at that) that she wasn't actually "Opal"...
And, when you realize that, her scream as her rose-colored glasses shatter on the floor just hits you in your very soul, as it becomes clear that her shriek is from her fabricated reality being destroyed right before her very eyes. It's expertly, tragically, wonderfully haunting stuff.
WOOO!! I love jackstauber so much, he can make an old blind grandpa man ranting about his life and not being able to breath and all that into an absolute BANGER. absolutely amazing songs
@@Kylessuperbestfriend i love them all but some i can think of off the top of my head are tea errors, the balad of hamantha, easy to breathe, milk, and dinned is not over!! there’s some i can’t remember the names of too though
I love tea errors , dead height , pizza boy , mindsight , look on , and I understand casue it reminds me of all the melancholy stuff I went through trying to growing up
Despite the upsetting story and cruel themes, one positive thing I took from it is that Claire was able to find a small glimmer of happiness and hope through something as small and insignificant as a billboard. How I enterpreted it is all art has value and has the potential to resonate with others which is something all artists should remember when impostor syndrome starts to take its toll. Even though its an ad and it was made with the sole purpose to sell people fast food, there were artists behind it who put effort into making it something they could be proud of with as much creative freedom as they were permitted.
This hits close to home. My mom rarely hit me but her drinking was a real problem. I remember pouring ber beer down the drain as a kid because she got so fucked up when drinking and partying. It eventually caught up to her. It sucks watching someone you love getting lost in addiction because there's nothing you can do especially if you are a small child. Even as an adult sometimes all you can do os watch someone self-destruct because you tried everything you reasonably can.
@@chocolateaddictedartist5924 Thank you for your kindness. Despite it all she was still a good person. I always had food, clothes and she genuinely loved me. I don't want people to think she was a bad mother, it's just she had her own mental health woes steming from her own abusive childhood and her way of coping was with escapism. Unfortunately her choice of escapism was destructive. Sorry for over sharing I just didn't want to paint her as a bad mother. She's just a victim of a really bad cycle of abuse that took her down a bad road and I just became another casualty of.
@@elliottpak Thank you, unfortunately she passed of hepatitis. She was only 56 years old. She really was a good person at heart it's life delt her a bad hand and she coped the only way she knew how.
it's also important to point out the lyrics the bilboard family sing "we see you, Opal" she just wants to be seen as a person when all of her family is unable to look at her. Also the moment when it looks like her father is going to turn the miror but is in fact just reajusting it to see himself better is briliant. It's all in the eyes.
Opal has so many theories that you can make such as her seemingly loving her narcissistic father the most or atleast feeling the most safe around him. When the other family members are around her eyes are dilating and she’s stressed but with her father, she only seems to show curiosity. A theory I saw about it is that Opal might sometimes watch her father in his own world, also he seems to speak quite a bit in her perfect family. Her father also seems to have been through something traumatic, probably inflicted by Opal’s mother. As the one second we see his face it’s disfigured. So by the looks of it, Opal’s father might be as much as a victim as she is. (Already mentioned in the video) The change the mirrors and how he’s stuck in his own world is his coping mechanism. Also Opal has been so emotionally abused that her perfect family doesn’t say anything about loving her, only that they see her. Heck, the grandfather only says “Hi!” as Opal isn’t her real name. They only say things about them seeing Opal, she doesn’t want love she wants them to see her. Also the reason why she looks so different to her family is because she’s malnourished. When she gets the burger she doesn’t eat it, she dances with it. She doesn’t know what to do with the burger, she’s not thankful because she doesn’t know how to be thankful, Opal hasn’t been giving the chance. Also Opal not speaking could mean she’s been silenced or that she can’t speak. There are no signs she goes to school, meaning she’s trapped in that house. Also the beautiful song is actually crying which makes the ending more heartbreaking, she goes into that house to comfort the person crying only to get up there to find out that she is the crying person, and no ones there for her.
I love how the mirror mans voice briefly deepens and then he fixes the angles of his mirrors as if he fixing the "bad angles" so he can only literally get his "good side"
Fun fact: the teeth jack stauber uses on his claymation animations are real! He asked his patreons to send him their teeth, and he even made a song to thank them but it’s now deleted.
You can also tell that opal is extremely malnourished. With how her family is, nobody would be taking care of her, and she probably wouldn't know how to take care of herself. Theres also another detail that proves this in the beginning, if you pay attention to how she treats the burger, she doesn't really know what to do with it, so she just dances with the burger. There's also the girl on the billboard. Her face is way more fleshed out and bigger than opals.
I'm not sure if I've seen it mentioned anywhere but I feel like the "easy to breathe on TV" thing could also have a metaphorical side to it. Breathing easy is often a phrase used to indicate a lack of stress or a weight lifted and I can imagine he listens to whatever shows on TV and thinks about how the people in them live their lives. As someone with issues and addictions, he can feel stuck on his couch, unable to live a life without his worries. Though maybe that's a bit of personal projection as I struggle with a bunch of mental issues and feel jealous of characters in shows all the time.
It hurts knowing that some people actually experience this, as someone who’s never been neglected or abused by family members, I have no idea what it’s like, I am very thankful for this short film giving me some perspective. Stay strong everyone, I hope that whatever you’re going through gets better and that you get the love you deserve. ❤
Ive never seen anything like this that mentally and emotionally affected me. I grew uo in a traumatic environment with a alcoholic mom, abusive step dad and absent dad.The dissociation, confusion and fear.. beibg viewed as a target to hurt. the ending knowing it just goes on is so relatable to what i had to go through.
Same I relate to this a lot I’m 11 I’m depressed suicidal and now I’m developing PTSD my family hates me and are very stupid I have a broken leg my skin is missing of my back because I had to jump out a moving car on the freeway I am very sick right now I’m hopeless and I have no one for support i don’t cope with my pain nothing works. I make songs I have made multiple songs about my depression and suicidal thoughts I ran away from home but I got caught I am in constant agony I hate my life and tried to kill myself many times….so I guess I can say I’m opal all I do is fantasize because that’s all I have left I lost my sanity, dignity, friends and more I have had depression since I was 6 I am having a identity crisis I’m questioning my reality….l’m in constant agony……if you want to hear some of the songs I made just ask me I will be happy to answer
Opal is haunting. I've commented something similar on the community post, but there's just something about it that's so comforting. There are times where I play Opal for a day or listen to the songs because it's just so good! My family is nothing like Opal's, but her going in her mind to escape it all... It felt so close to home. It's all just a sad reflection of her reality 😭 God, Opal is just a masterpiece.
As someone who went through all kinds of abuse as a child and, as a result, vanished into a fantasy world, I wasn't able to watch the short. Thank you for the review through which I can experience it after all, I appreciate it a lot.
This will be scaryer than all of the mascot horrors, and cash grab slasher films. Because this, this is art! Anyone can understand why this is terrifying. At first it’s the creepy design then just how the charters act but then, then you realize what this short film means and it hits you like you just got hit by a ton of titanium. I’m not going to spoil it but just know it’s sad like really and I hope Opal finds a good job, a happy life and that what happened to her as a kid and that she gets a good therapist.
Maybe working to make it a show also building on the Rugrats comparison with his artstyle (the 3d bits also kinda give me early veggie tales vibes) I find very interesting that Claire kinda looks like Angelica and they both deal with neglected although with Claire it's more extreme and use alota of escapium and fantasy as result But where Angelica lashe's out at everyone clarie lest's everyone lashe out at her Don't know if that was intentional but it's interting regauredless🤔
When this I saw this for the first time, I was just like, "Ok, Jack Stauber animation. Won't be too weird, I'm used to his stuff." Then I watched it all the way through and was like, "Jeez, this is terrifying." But fr, it's such a beautiful work of art. I love Jack Stauber's work.
JACK STAUBER went to my middle School! He graduated way way before me, but My teacher had him as a student in class and she said that he was very kind and well behaved, but incredibly thoughtful. I think it's so crazy to have a local celebrity that I also appreciate
ive been hoping youd do a video on opal for years now! im so glad. this short is a masterpiece in how it portrays families like the one i grew up with, and families of kids i know its heartbreaking and it gives a wide audience a view of what of many many children have to grow up with
this short is very important to me as i am currently growing up in a toxic household and to see it portrayed like this, so real and raw, with good music and amazing style, by one of my favorite creators, it makes me feel comforted in a way. the hiding away in a room and dreaming of a better life is so true
I like that you explore the history to the short/movies being made and not just review it itself. Thank you for taking the time to research and do that.
The thing that gripped me the most about Opal, is her little dance at the beginning. She grabs the burger, and looks at it, unsure what to do. Did she ever eat a burger in her entire life? Does she even know what it is? Her family spurs her on, and instead of eating it, she just does her dance instead.
Just watched the short film and it really hit home with me, especially the part where she goes into her personal imagination world to cope with her struggles with her abusive family.
Hello! My sister is named "opal" and also went through the abuse of opal from the short and also went into the weird house beside our Actual house, and 1 week later she came back and told "i met a weird woman, a grandfather and people in a mirror and a whole human behind a mirror and more monsters identical to the story's creatures and monsters and said that she is actually named `Claire` every time"
Can we talk about how much the music foreshows the big plot twist? At the beginning, the billboard family represents a trio. The mother being the high notes, the father being the medium notes, and the grandfather being the low notes. When Clair releases the family isn’t real, the song changes. With the whole family sound flat, just like the billboard.
Fun fact: at about 11:09 in the short you can see for a brief few frames when the mirror flips that the husband is brutally beaten, which is because of the mom
Its implied she starts dancing at the beginning because she doesn't know what to do with the burger because her family doesn't feed her which is really sad.
Since I watched your video I've been watching "OPAL" every day 1-2 times a day. I love it. I grew up in a home with a parent that was the addition of the mother (alcoholism), father (Narcissistic as hell) and grandfather (always more invested in TV than everything at the point of being angry at me for not watching the news.)... It really resonted with me the escape of Claire because I used to do that when I was little. The anime and games were my salvation. Now I still watch anime and i'm working as a game developer. Guys, it gets better, just dont give up.
This is one of those things that I can appreciate its existence but cannot actually consume (too dark for my taste). It makes me appreciate my family all the more. They never once made me feel like a burden. They always have and continue to make me feel loved and valued. To all the abused kids trapped at home, and the adults who survived it: You didn't deserve that. There's nothing you could've said or done to deserve such treatment. And I truly hope one day you're surrounded by people who love you for you.
The house looks so dark and depressing. It has no color, it's empty, and it just makes you sad. Some people may criticize the visuals for looking so bland, boring, or ugly, but it actually serves to make you feel like you're living in an abusive home.
The line from the first song "we see you opal your troubles are miles away" is true for the place being 9 miles away in her mind she IS Opal not Claire
I wish I didn't fucking watch the short and just watched this video. As a survivor of abuse from the paternal side of my family, this hit home. When the song at the end played and everything zoomed out to show the billboard, I started crying. I know what its like to feel unloved and unwanted, and all of that trauma came back full force. I'm much better now after having not seen these people in over 17 years, but the trauma is still there. This is a masterpiece.
I watched this short not long ago and I became hyperfixated on it and watched it over and over for a few weeks, especially though I didn't experience the direct same abuse as a child, I still was able to resonate within Opal and creating a found family in my head to cope. And as much as I don't like to admit this a whole lot, Mirror Man also resonates with me because I'm sure I have NPD but in a way it helps me realize I also have a better time controlling myself in this regard. Thank you for covering this short and giving Jack Stauber the recognition he deserves beyond the small cult following he has.
This is like if Coraline were actually aimed at adults. A lot went over my head when I watched it the first time, but one thing I picked up on is how close her mother got to apologizing for her actions, but stopped herself from actually owning up to them, because the responsibility and consequences are too much for her to bear.
Bro, I didn't think I could ever relate to a creepy stop-motion character. I grew up with narcissistic parents, and I suspect that several of my other relatives were narcissists as well, such as one grandparent each from both sides. There was so much generational abuse and trauma in my "family" (I use this term loosely, because they didn't care about me, and family is supposed to care about you, so I don't care about them anymore, either), there was not one relative of mine that wasn't at least toxic. This short perfectly illustrates what it felt like growing up: a prison that I'd never escape. When I was younger, I didn't consciously realize what was going on, but I felt just like Claire here. I would daydream constantly, often pretending I was a character in my favorite movie, TV show, book, etc., where I was friends with all the other characters, and we all cared about each other. As I grew older, I started to consciously realize what was going on, and that's when I became severely depressed, even being suicidal. No one helped me. All the adults in my life failed me. Even CPS told me I deserved it and protected my abusers instead of me. Poor Claire!
Just wanna thank you for introducing me to Opal and Jack Stauber in general! Opal is such a tragic masterpiece and deserves its praise and recognition!
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
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Something sad I've noticed: It's been shown that Claire's mother is the most physically violent with her, since she's the only one to actually grab Claire with some intention of harming her as well as throwing an alcohol bottle at her when she ran away. In Claire's Billboard family fantasy, her billboard mother always has her hands behind her back.
i'd noticed it but i hadn't put the two together thats a great bit of piece setting
Why do you suppose the fake mother was shown to always have her hands behind her back? To "prove" to Claire she'd never hurt her?
the split second when the dad's mirror turns around also heavily implies Clair is not the only one the mother gets physically violent around (probably the reason he's so obsessed with his appearance is he's trying to undo some kind of major scarring or injury she did to him)
@@hotaruishere2133 More like, not seeing her arms makes her feel safer?
She isnt real.
The fact that opals parents only said "we see you" or "hi opal" is indicating that opal can't even imagine getting any sort of love. Her only goal is to be noticed.
Her name is Claire, Opal is the kid in the billboard that Claire wishes to be.
@@CyrusLagom I call them whatever the fuck I want
@@CyrusLagomyeah but those were directed at opal, in the beginning song i think
@@another-niko-pfp-holderIt was directed at opal as she wished she was in the place of opal.
True. I also like how the imaginary family and Opal herself (well, Claire, but she still puts herself in the place of Opal) have very big eyes as opposed to Claire's real family who have mostly average human eyes.
And the whole symbolism with the eyes and Claire's only form of love is...to be seen.
It says a lot that:
1.) It’s implied in the mother’s song that she did something to the father, that she regrets, but can’t admit to even having done, which we get a single frame glimpse of, when the father’s mirror is turned around during the reveal that Opal is Claire, where we can see his real face.
2.) Claire is so neglected, and clearly malnourished, that she doesn’t even understand what a burger is. She has no idea that you’re supposed to eat them, and just assumes she’s meant to dance with it.
For 1 I belive that the mother didn't mean to get pregnant, instead of getting an abortion she wants her daughter to be her therapist
@@Heretowatchvideos123 Its also possible that (depending on where this takes place) she couldnt do it either because she was to scared of soemthing going wrong (and assuming she was already an addict, then this likely was her only chance of getting a healthy child) or because it wasnt an option where she lived.
There are likely other reasons, but I dont think she planned to have her daughter act as a support of sorts.
I always thought that the mother song's implied that she had also come from an abusive household and she was just repeating the cycle.. Her song talks about how a mother needs her daughter.(suggesting that she was taught this by her mom) In the very beginning of the song we see a book that seems to be about a man killing a woman. Then we see in her past that it seems like she's calling the phone, while someone is getting killed. (We can assume this is her father killing her mother/abusing her mom) . Then she talks about how people "like them" don't live, but just survive. This suggest that she was taught this was all she could ever be (once again suggesting at generational abuse.)
Since the beginning, you see how the family copes with their problems. The book is covered in wine (The mother drinking/drugging herself ) The father covers the mirror with a paper towel. (He's constantly trying to cover up his imperfections) and you see the grandpa snuff out a cigarette with a tv pamphlet (Grandpa uses the t.v. to ignore his problems.)
Both interpretations could be right, I just always thought it was weird that they included that book (Serial killer lover). Since everything else was easy to understand. We see their problems and then how they try and correct them.
theres an word for this. its called emotional incest. yuck
'I feel terrible that I... I feel terrible' is such a great line to illustrate this
I think the names for the abused child also kinda have some sort of symbolism. The name “Opal” is similar to the word “opaque”, meaning “something that cannot be seen through”, while the name “Claire” is similar to the word “clear”, meaning “something that is transparent”. It could represent how Claire, calling herself Opal, wants to be “opaque” so that she could be seen by her family instead of being “clear” and getting neglected like she’s straight up invisible
Smart
Interesting..
I get what you're getting at, and you are in a way right. Opal means precious stone, while claire means clear. Claire wants to be of value to someone, instead of being see-through. Idk if I'm being nitpicky, but yeah
@@awesomesara3683 2 things can be true at once.
@@awesomesara3683 I'd add that opals tend to be very cloudy. They are milky and can shine with lovely colours, but are hard to see through.
The idea to make a child see their abusive household as a foreign place rather than a normal family is both horrible and incredible. Many aren’t able to articulate a subject such as this in an understandable light. Hats off to this man for pulling it off so well
This video hurt. I never realized how bad my childhood was until this video took the rose colored glasses off😢
It feels like the creator also suffered from it, but I'm pretty sure he didn't
@@Nae_ex Maybe he did who knows, but goddamn I do relate
That's exactly how being in an abusive household is too, you feel like a stranger in a place that's supposed to be home, like you aren't welcome
Exactly. When children are abused or neglected to them it’s normal and they don’t realize that it isn’t normal usually when they make friends or go to school.
I was a victim of severe child neglect and this short story has given its audience a view of these environments that is extremely accurate. At the very beginning of the short, when clair is fantasizing about a loving family, the imaginary family says things like "there she is" or "hello opal". She has been so neglected, that her idea of a loving family is simply acknowledging the existence of a child. It's truly heartbreaking.
@Saberspark1.......... NO WAY! THAT'S CRAZY, SABERSPARK 1 WITH A WEIRD AMOUNT OF PERIODS! so glad we have such generous, definitely human, youtubers.
@@vibery2312aaaaaaaand they’re gone
For me I would fall asleep as much as I could and hang out with my dream family. They were so nice to me and always happy to see me saying stuff like. "Haiiii [my name]!" "We missed you" "We were waiting for you"
They would ask me to join them in games and everything. I love them so much. Although I didn't have a dream dad take that as you will. I enjoy my dream paradise and it would take a lot for me to ever give it up.
Yeah, so heartbreaking. And I'm sorry that you were a victim of severe child neglect. Are you ok and better now? Just asking. I'm kinda worried, you know?
@@jmrabinez9254 yes I'm doing really good. Me and my brother have our own place now and we've been trying to keep our relationship with our mom healthy but away from manipulation.
Child abuse is a terrible thing. But to be honest this mini movie is extremely well made.
Everything made by jack stauber is well made
It’s beautifully constructed, truly
i hate how "mini movie" is a term that is ruined for me X_x
I mean it’s Jack Stauber so
@@criidawgwhy?
I just want to remind y’all, that no matter how far fetched you think this short is, their are households like this.
The real disturbing part is knowing these households exist
It's not even bad as it gets, claire got outta this short bruisless
@@cheezbiscuit4140what
Who would think this is far fetched 😭
@taylorhope4651 did u think it was funny this channel is advertising premium factor subscription meal services on a vid about a starving malnourished child?
@@andreilin113 took me a while i forgot a word
Opal might just be the most accurate depiction of the effects of child abuse I’ve ever seen. I coped the exact same way that she did when I was a child, running away to my own little imagination land where I was a different person and had people who loved me. Seeing the twist actually made me tear up when I first watched it, because even though it’s not exactly an uncommon thing to happen to an abused kid, I had never seen it actually shown in fiction before.
I hope you’re doing better now
@@nicole26nd33nd thank you, I am. My abusive parent was thrown out of my house a few years ago and my family’s been functional ever since
I feel you friend. I had previously thought I just liked to daydream, when it turned out I was coping, and even use to cope now in adulthood. And same here, I hardly ever saw anything like it depicted as much other than daydreaming. Seeing it here makes me hurt for all of the kids out there that are real and enduring this now.
I still daydream to cope, I'm glad things are better. I still got a way to go but at least I don't have to deal with her as much anymore.
😅😅
"And in our eyes you'll stay" is such a good foreshadowing detail. Claire cannot physically be with her fantasy family; she can only stare at the billboard, and Opal's eyes stare blankly back
It also implies Claire can't escape her dark thoughts. The abusive household is directly under the eyes of the billboard family, so "in our eyes, you'll stay" implies that Claire can't get out.
An abused child doesn't know they will survive, they cannot imagine a life beyond their infancy. They can't imagine having autonomy to save themselves.
Looking back, it was this taking hold of my own life that set the course of saving my whole family, but it all started with saving myself. Then, all but one of my relatives came to me for refuge. The abuser was left abandoned.
I got extremely lucky.
i hope that abuser got theripy and is living a better life.
"An abused child doesn't know they will survive, they cannot imagine a life beyond their infancy."
This is tragically accurate. I remember being a child and wondering if I'd survive the abuse I endured from my sperm donor and his family.
@@ShadoFoxx Why are you saying sperm donor. A Sperm donor is someone who donates their sperm so that someone else could have a child and not the donor himself. A sperm donor doesn't take part in the parenting.
@@thedesensitizedsympathizer5307because their abuser wasnt a father to them. The only thing they ever provided was their sperm.
@thedesensitizedsympathizer5307 Which is probably the intent, as the abuser is most likely to be their father, hence sperm donor. I'm sure you can agree that abusing your child does not qualify as parenting, correct?
Things that I noticed:
1: the father is so focused on himself he is the only one in the short to not call Opal Claire.
2: the lights on the billboard is the same lights in the fake house.
3: the lights that opal get started by are the ones from the billboard. The reason why is because when it gets dark that means it's nighttime and that she needs to go back in the house. that's how much she doesn't like being there. it's also the reason why back in the fake house she cover-ups the lights to make her think that it daytime.
4: the mom was about to say "I feel bad for all the things I've done." But she stopped herself because she would have admitted that she done wrong.
5: the fact that the grandfather doesn't know the own smell of her granddaughter shows how little he cares about her.
@Saberspark1.......... Scammer
To expand on 5, cigarette smoking can also destroy your sense of smell. He's not willing to admit it, but his vice and neglect have destroyed one of his only ways to recognize Claire.
I thought he didn’t recognize her smell becuase she’s been sleep my under the billboard. Remember when in her mind the family told her goodnight? Then she woke up and went to her real house? There is no house across the street so she must of been laying in the grass in the ground
At the start for when she enters the house, What did she enter before?
i'm so glad you are covering this short. Jack Stauber is nothing but pure genius. thank you for checking this out
I agree, he makes such fascinating content.
He speaks on child abuse in some other shorts too, my favorite being bumblebees are out
I only know of his work because of the song "it's alright"
I love his music.
@@ShaniaT. loves everything he makes
“We don’t live, Claire, We survive” That line hit me like a brick. It hit me so hard. I’ve been surviving all my life. To all my Claire’s/Opal’s out there - We did what we had to.
God bless you.
I'm so sorry..
Your correct, we did.
There's also so many small details, like how Opal's hair on the billboard is in pigtails while Claire's is matted which is often a massive indicator of neglect and emotional issues in children. Also at the beginning where she doesn't seem to even know what to do with the hamburger, so she just holds it, even though she's extremely skinny and seemingly malnourished.
As a kid who was neglected, not this severely but still, the small, silent details of this short honestly dig the deepest.
And even the big ones, tiptoeing through her own house, being literally grabbed by a family member you want to avoid, and the chase to her room, its far more real than I'd like it to be.
The way she squints to go back to her imaginary place in the end when her real family is banging the door is the same way she was squinting in the start of the film, signifying how this is a daily occurrence for her
finding out about this stuff is how I realised learning to be near silent isn't a skill,
As a victim of parentification and child abuse with parents eerly similar to Claire (just reverse the parents' traits) when Claire became her Dad's mirror and her Mom's pills it clicked for me. In such households you don't just become a pseudo-parent to your siblings, you develop unhealthy mechanisms to survive in a hostile environment, your brain rewires itself to find a way to survive and it, unluckily if exposed for long enough, becomes a permanent change. You become a sort of therapist to them (not really, you just tell them what they want to hear) and only show what they like or expect of you, constantly walking on eggshells to avoid a negative reaction in a time when normally you would be finding who you are. It really struck a cord with me and I'm pretty sure it did for many. Btw if you relate to this short film please go to therapy, best decision of my life and made me realise lots of thing about my upbringing.
Agreed, though therapy is expensive, excapism is free.
You made up a word?
@@jr2904??? what are you talking about.
@@jr2904Parentification is an actual word?
Feel you. Had a similar thing but it was just the mom and me. The part with the mom surrounded by pills and bottles and some of the things she was saying made me really uneasy. She's dead ❤
As someone once said:
All kids deserve parents but not all parents deserve kids
Theres some exceptions. One of them is Stan Lee's daughter.
I feel like the dad is so obsessed with his appearance and being seen because he is a victim of spousal abuse. His desire to be seen is him thinking that if someone were to recognize his abusive situation, that he feels he'd be saved, someone would save him. But he is so worried that if he DOESN'T cover up all the damage he's suffered, every bruise, every scar, that it might get so much worse for him. He is hiding his pain and trauma with narcissistic mechanisms to the point where he can't stand to look at anyone else but his own carefully sculpted outward appearance in fear he'll see a real reflection of himself in others. Just completely dissociated to cope with his own suffering.
yeah, its sad to realize that if people are abused badly enough/long enough, they can end up in a hole which they'll have trouble leaving, even taking out their suffering on others
i heard a quote "the abused becomes the abuser". not in all cases, but all abusive people have definitely experienced what they've done, being the main reason of generational trauma too. it's no excuse at all, but still unfortunate
It's also good to note that Claire's design is purposeful as well. Her head is oblong because she's evidently malnourished. You pick up hints of this throughout the short: like when she doesn't know what to do with the hamburger so she dances with it. The fact that she's the only one with ill fitted (large) clothes, matted hair and super big eyes. You can also see Opal on the poster board with a rounded head and eyes the correct size unlike Claire. Claire gets neglected in every sort of way and has to figure it out and fend for herself.
i also wanted to add that opal’s head shape could be attributed to her mom’s drug use/drinking during pregnancy
@@abra.is.online
True. But I'm also going off her overall malnourished body.
Here's a few quirks about Opal's fake family vs Claire's real one:
-Grandfather: His only line is a happy "Hi Opal!" = She wants her grandfather to notice her and actually be happy to see her rather than ignore her and only acknowledges her to get his cigs and fuss/yell at her.
-Father: Happily talks and touches Opal and seems to lead the 3 = The most attention and safest option Claire recognizes is her father. And thats not saying alot considering his own song makes it seem like he hides in the bathroom much like Claire hides in the attic.
Mother: Keeps her hands behind her back unless holding something = Her mother is likely physically violent towards Claire (and likely her Dad too), without her hands present or filled with something, she's less likely to attack Claire, making Claire feel safter.
Opal/Claire: Claire feels around the burger acting as if she doesn't understand what to do with it, so instead she dances for their attention = Highly probable Claire is malnourished. This is further strengthened by her gaunt, thin face in comparison to all other characters having "fuller" faces, as well as her body appearing thin.
Also random connections I picked up: I believe the Grandfather is her maternal grandfather. Addiction can be hereditary, which can also mean the mother suffered from verbal abuse and neglect from her father. This made her turn to drugs and alcohol for her version of escapism, but also started her descent into being physically violent. The mother's song also sounds alot like she only had Claire cause she thought having a baby might fix her problems, and now she puts the burden of Claire keeping her happy on a child's shoulders. So when Claire can't fix the "problem" the mother either spirals into depressive rants of victimhood or frustration that turns physical.
Claire believes the burger is a dancing prop because in the Billboard that looks like what Opal is doing.
The grandfather likely has lung cancer considering he coughs up blood. It could also have affected his sense of smell, which is why Claire doesn't "smell right".
All in all a haunting film short that proves it doesn't have to be overwhelming beautiful to send a meaningful message.
Now that I see it, It hits close to home. My mother was an alcoholic. It was so bad she began to hide bottles everywhere in the house, and was very defensive when we found one or misplaced her hidden bottles. We tried talking with her, taking her to professional, tried to get her to see her friends and family, but she kept at it, and sabotaged every attempt to help her. "I don't need a doctor I just need family to be aorund me" she repeated. In her last years, her attitude changed and spiraled down as she kept poisoning herself. From an implacable achiever to a shell of her former self, throwing herself on the floor for someone to lift her back up, just to get herself back down for attention. My dad, brother and I couldn't be with her 24/7 as was needed for her to change. Ultimately, in one of her drunk misdeeds she fell from bed, and couldn't recover. We only succesfully got her to the hospital because she couldn't fight her way out anymore. Her liver was destroyed, she caught pneumonia in the hospital, and after a month there, passed away. I knew at some point, weeks before her passing, that she was never going to be the mother I knew for so long, that because of her stance on accepting help, my mother was never coming back.
I understand this perfectly, and unfortunately, connect with opal here in the segment of her mother. Even if this happened after I graduated from college, it hit hard. I lived with her still and I was concerned many days when I had to go to work. If this is how it is as a grown up, as a kid it has to be absolutely horrifying and emotionally stunting. However as a result of this, I HATE whiskey and rum. The slightest hint of them repulses me so.
I hope you and your family are doing better 💜.
I drink to deal with a mother who loved to force treatment, which involves many drugs more harmful than alcohol, who is a pillhead, and who bitched my dad into the ER that killed him.
Because the nature of the human mind is so misunderstood, any treatment in mental health has a "trial and error" way about it, which is to say, they "experiment" until something "works".
The Nuremberg Code says forced experimental medicine is a literal war crime.
You may as well have given her to literal Nazis.
I went through the exact same thing but my mother died due to a head injury after falling while drunk.
You’re brave as fuck
You didn't deserve all that. I hope you're doing good now hun. Try to keep the good memories from before the alcohol in your heart.
One of my favorite subtle lines in this short is when the dad asks Claire "Why do people look at me like the way you *probably* are right now?"
In 12 minutes Jack Stauber manages to describe the characters better than in any film, simply incredible.
As a person who comes from a abusive household where the main abuser was the mother, this hits hard. Its common for the abuser of families is the father but women are good at hiding behind the "im too weak and kind to do anything wrong" some people even refuse the concept of a abusive mother
How so
@@murderman8578some people thought that all females have maternal instincts which is not
Like the spnish ministry of equality.
I’ve noticed this issue quite a lot. I’m a true crime fan and I’ve heard so many cases of child abuse turned into murder - a lot of the killers were moms and while most of these cases were closely investigated, the mothers who I remind you, MURDERED their own kids, got lighter sentences. They get lighter sentences than men do which I’m not defending the men who’ve abused and/or killed children, they deserve a harsh sentence but women who’ve abused and/or killed children, they’re not put in isolation due to inmates trying to kill them. They’re treated normally by other inmates. So we’ve basically won but at what fucking cost?? They NEED to suffer in prison. It doesn’t matter what gender you are, harming children has no excuse.
as a victim of abuse this short never fails to affect me the same way everytime.. so many painful memories
sincerely hope you’re doing better now. stay strong my guy.
@@childeofepickness I'm in a better place now, thank you💖
I understand how you feel I was abused during my childhood and every time I remember it, it always gets worse and I realize more of what happened to me, when I look back it always feels dark and horrifying like my life was a stop motion animation, but never let it stop you from living your life
I agree dude
@@AbrasiousProductionswell I’m happy that you finally escaped that stay strong
Glad to see this short get more coverage. The misdirection of everyone calling her "Claire" in the real house is so amazing, and makes the reveal that Opal was Claire the whole time so much more devastating. Would love to see a Jack Stauber movie some day.
He got blocked once for this.
@@nehemiahpouncey3607why? What happened to make him blocked?
@@LambSauce3 I don't know probably
The company that owns it or adult swim.
Beats me?
Something that’s really sad is the fact that Opal’s grandpa says that she doesn’t smell like Clare is really sad since Opal is Clare meaning he doesn’t even recognize his own grand daughter 😢
It’s pretty telling that Claire’s imaginary grandpa exclusively repeats “Hi Opal!” implying all she wants from him is to acknowledge her. She’s probably been yelled at as an intruder by him many times before.
The refined sense of smell of a terminal smoker.
This is a true story, for many people.
Its like the perfect artistic representation of what was done to me.
The scene where she sees herself as her grandfathers blindness, her fathers narcissism, and her mothers drug addiction, kills me.
Its the realization that you exist not as a person, but as an extension of your families failures.
Something to be used by all of them.
Shes just a way for her grandfather to see.
Just a way for her father to look at himself.
Just a drug for her mother to calm herself with.
So she screams and retreats into her own mind to escape.
That is EXACTLY what it feels like.
The saddest part is. She most likely never even got fed. She had no clue what to do with the burger in her dream besides dance with it.
She probably did, how would she be survive? Maybe she lived in the fake reality for so long, she survived? I don’t know, or she had to find food by herself.
@@seatheaxolotl2109 Yeah. A lot of kids have had to literally make food all on their own. I had a friend who literally raised his little siblings by himself because of his mothers' neglect. He taught himself to use the stove eventually just because he had to, as there was nothing else.
I take it more as she knew what to do with it, but that would break the illusion. So she did the only thing she can do with it, treat it like a prop.
Im sure she knew what to do with the burger, considering that many neglected kids have to make or find their own food. She just did not have a actual burger to eat.
she probably does get fed but probably not anything like hamburgers
I had a dad who emotionally neglected me. Luckily for me, I didn't have to live with him everyday. He'd come and visit often but that was it. Can't imagine what it's like to be stuck with a neglectful family, with basically nobody to care for you. Y'all are strong af.
Im very sorry for you hope ur better ily 🤟
@@Ramenn_ Aw, don't worry. I'm doing a lot better nowadays!
@@mascotwithadinosaur9353 ^ ^
I can imagine it bc I lived in that sort of family, my parents are divorced now but it still left mental wounds and trauma that still effects me
As a child being abused my father and thankfully ending up at my moms parents, my grandparents, this short film expresses child abuse so well and some moments reminded of my experience and all of the visuals and the art style just gives me the creeps in a good way. I hope that the number of children being abused will decrease in the future cause it's a horrible and traumatizing , and to this day I still fear my father but not as much as I did beacuse of therapy.
I am so, so sorry you went through that.. although opal is awesome!
The fact that Claire went to escapism imagining a better family life hit a little close to home for me.
@@robs1981Thank you❤❤
@@discountedalmondsthat moment made me cry and thank to God the fact that I live with my Grandparents from my mom's side
I wish all child abuse could end, but sadly, as long as there are fertile people who enjoy having power over something helpless, it will never stop.
I love how it shows all four characters suffer from a form of escapism/dissociation from reality thanks to the stressors of life. Claire's grandfather is aware he messed his body up, but ignores it and stays in denial by watching TV. Her father (the less evil of all of them) hyper fixates on his appearance because it's all he has control over in his life. The mother, the worst of them all, stays in a perpetual state of intoxication to literally detach herself from reality. That leaves Claire, who escapes her abusive family by dissociating into a false reality with her interpretation of what a perfect family is.
I love how it shows what trauma does to people, how abuse can be done in a million ways, and how even the people who do abuse others may not even realize they're doing it because they're so lost in themselves to recognize it. It shows the pain and weight of mental illness, and I absolutely adore every moment of this short.
There is a theory that the dad becomes insecure because he has an accident. In the mother's mindscape(?), there is someone pressing 911 and the mom throws a wine bottle to that person, and that is the dad. When Claire's realised everything, there is a single frame of the dad with a very disturbing face
My dad was a combination of the grandfather and mother from the short. He was addicted to cigarettes, and was also incredibly unnerving to be around, not because he physically abused us, but because he felt like a bomb that could easily go off and BECOME abusive. My mom and i moved out, trying to get away from him, but he STILL won't leave us alone. He constantly berates my mother, tries to manipulate me into leaving the house, or going somewhere. He doesn't care about me, as he ignores me every time i'm sick or in pain (got hit by a car and broke a hand, and he didn't even text) so he really only views me as a tool to hurt my mom. I genuinely hate him so much, but thanks to the pandemic ruining us, we can barely scrape by. I just hope i never have to live under the same roof as him again.
God!! You WILL grfo of there. This is temporary!! Chin up- it WILL happen. It just may not feel like it rn!
✊✊✊
Claymation has a special unique charm to it, Opal is very well executed
I really like claymation cuz it makes stuff look more "real"
I can't believe they executed Opal...
(joke)
It almost seems like the beginnings of (DID) Dissociate Identity Disorder for poor Claire. The abuse is severe enough to cause intense dissociation. Very intriguing short.
I have DID and I cried the whole time watching this. I suffered for many years like this as the eldest to protect my little siblings. 24 and crying like a baby over this. The whole "this isnt real, i am somewhere else", crying to yourself until you are someone else, somewhere else, so you will calm down. Children should never have to do this to themselves to survive.
Wow I didn’t know that was a thing.
@@gilla2092hey I think I might have this can you please tell me more about it
Hi, system here
You're correct
Jack Stauber is not only a musical genius, but he's also an unreliable narrator through the lens of his unique visual style. His music videos are absurd and quirky that it feels like a fever dream on a VHS tape, but it does have some kind of deeper meaning when it comes to covering mature topics.
he's like a brilliantly disturbing combination of DHMIS and Will Mcdaniel
One thing that occurred to me as someone with an ED as a result of emotional abuse: Claire’s imaginary family giving her praise for how she interacts with the burger might also be rooted in her real family possibly criticizing her for how she looks/eats even when she was younger. Things like ‘You’ll get/you are too fat!’ Etc. Like, her dad especially makes digs about her ankles, but even both her grandfather and her mother strikes me as exactly the type who would see her child doing something as simple as wanting a burger and basically destroy her self esteem over it though mean criticism - and in turn Clair would associate wanting to eat it as both a thing of shame and comfort. The shame/fear of being emotionally attacked for wanting something, but also comfort food is a real thing due to the fact that it sparks dopamine and other feel-good chemicals, turning it into a cycle of craving the food to feel those chemicals again. And Claire clearly doesn’t HAVE any other sources of comfort so she might associate the burgers with good feelings- Only in Claire’s case she wouldn’t even be allowed to have that comfort food so she is wasting away while dreaming about being allowed something as small as a burger and being accepted. I think that might be supported by just how malnourished both her parents are, the dad in a probably more purposeful way as he is hinted to be trying to resemble supermodels in magazines, and the mother as a side effect of drug and alcohol abuse. I think the body image perspective is just another layer in the scheme of their abuse.
I love how Stauber puts so much detail into his characters. You can tell he knows exactly what all their backstories are, even though he's only hinting at it. His shorts are funny, deep, terrifying, and heartbreaking all at the same time.
your profile pic - is that little buddy and Clarence?!
@@jirohaida Yeppers!
I noticed how Opal went to “the house across the street” not because she was curious, but maybe because she wanted to help her family. She hides the grandpas cigerates, she gives her dad attention, but most of all her goal was to get to the top room, her mom. She wanted to help her mom but didn’t know how and was scared. It’s her mom that she wants to help the most yet can’t cause she’s a little girl, a scared one who shouldn’t have to help.
I think the saddest part of this is that... depending on what Claire eats, she likely will be extremly malnourished until somebody notices it and calls the cops or she will one day just die.
Im not even sure if running away is a option for her and theres others factors that could lead her to return to her fucked up family.
Maybe a teacher or bus driver noticed, and the CPS assigned took their job seriously
@@blenderbananalol we all know that CPS doesn’t do their job at all 😂 it’s pathetic
Her parents don't even fucking want her I would've ran away a billion years ago if I was her.
@@ViperPain141 Agreed but, with claire being an only child. She may have more luck and I hate to say that.
I think what absolutely gets me is the sheer pity for the adults family members. Like that's the most common reason why people get trapped in these types of relationships for a long time is because they're a good person and have empathy, and whether these types realize it or not they'll leverage that to continue the toxic relationship.
Worst thing about abused kids is that they'll become abused adults, these relationships don't get suddenly cut off once they can leave, it just changes. If there's any hope for Claire is that she gets emotional growth for the aim of her betterment, because being a good person alone won't do it, through no fault or negative of their character it will keep them trapped with their person. And being a bad person will only keep the cycle going...
This short broke me in a way I didn't know I could break. A soul devastating masterpiece by Jack Stauber.
I have a few theories:
Why opal looks like that is because she's malnourished, because if you look at the child on the billboard they're more "healthy" looking and isn't just a mouth and eyes.
The reason she dances when given the burger is because she doesn't know how to be grateful for food.
Opal is one of my favorite short films. As someone who’s in an abusive house right now, it’s so oddly peaceful and disturbing.
I'm sorry to ask, but how bad is it?
It’s not like Opal’s family, I just get manipulated and screamed at a ton. They used to full-on hurt me physically.
@@lavender9844 I'm sorry for your situation, I hope you can get outta there as soon as possible
@@lavender9844 In a very similar situation, hope you and I get outta here.. Sigh
It's hard when you are a helpless child that doesn't have resources like people on the internet to tell you that it's not normal and you don't deserve it. Instead of being surrounded by cowardly adults who ignore child abuse or just assume the child deserves it somehow.
This just reminds of me of my own struggles growing up. My parents sold the house I grew up in earlier this year and the last day they would be there my mother asked me if I was sad that we would no longer see the house. I told her that I really wasn't. I didn't have the heart to tell her the reason was how I never felt welcome in that place. My sister was thrown out at 17. I wasn't even 16 at that time and my stepfather made it very obvious I could be next at anytime. I could barely sleep because I always had to wonder, was this the night I am told to get the **** out? Anytime he wanted to me to speak with him it was a demand that I do something for him, a chance to belittle me or to show me something he was interested in regardless if I had any interest myself. I love my mother so very much but she did not do much to try and help the family compromise. Simply promising that my stepfather would change and do better.
Now everyone tells me I need to stop living in fantasies with video games or table top games with my friends. Even though reality has never been a place I felt like I mattered.
I used to watch Opal on repeat so I wouldn’t feel so alone. I thought I was the only one who felt abandoned by my own family. I also have MDD (maladaptive daydreaming disorder) so seeing another kid use daydreaming to get away from their family genuinely got me to cry every time. Jack gave kids like me the chance to be *seen*, and I’ll never forget it
Here's a few things I've noticed.
-In the very beginning, we get to see objects associated with each guardian. The mother spills wine on a book called "Serial Killer Lover" (which I'm guessing is her romanticizing toxic love). The father covers a "Fashin" magazine with tissues (insinuating during his song that he was rejected by a modeling company). Lastly, we see the Grandfather put out a cigarette on a list of television programs, which seems self explanatory.
-When we are first introduced to the character, "Opal", we can see her wrinkled up face as she switched from reality to disassociation. You can see the father's billboard face become alive after a *click* sound. Throughout the song, there are billboard lights above them and other clues, like how the billboard says "Exit 22-9 Miles" and they sing "Your troubles are miles away".
-"Opal" dances with the burger instead of eating it, because on the "Opal's Burgers" billboard the girl is not eating it, but seems to be dancing while holding the burger. The people around her on the billboard seem to praise her for this, so that is why Claire copies what she sees off of the billboard in order to get praised by her imaginary family.
-After "Opal" enters the home due to being scared by a truck/train passing by, she is struck by fear upon seeing her Grandfather. At this point she is backing up and reaching for the doorknob to leave the house, knowing it'd be better to just stay outside than deal with her family.
-Claire's father comments on her ankles because it is the only part of her that he ever sees. Yet, he still feels the need to pick that apart. At one point, he turns the mirror to her before fixing it and it's still just her ankles in the reflection.
-During her father's song, there is a scene near the end where the mirrors are spinning and look like wedding bands while he sings "now I live my nightmare".
-The father's room also has the wailing white angelic sound coming from the bathroom because he is also a victim of abuse from the mother. However, this doesn't excuse him becoming an abuser. We can see in the mother's song during the flashback that she hits him after he dials "911".
Feel free to reply with some of your interpretations!
Omg I hadn’t pieced together the wedding band thing and that that’s why there was wailing coming from his room that is heartbreaking
as a child, i was trapped for almost 20 years in a place similar to this one, where many nights were spent convinced i would die and dreaming of escape.
this film was pretty hard for me to watch, but it really resonated a lot with me and made me feel seen. thank you for covering this. Opal deserves to be talked about.
This short hits hard even for those of us who just had neglectful parents. My speed donor was a verbally abusive ass that used his disability (from an accident) to avoid paying child support. I felt nothing when he passed. My mother was a woman who tried her best but was emotionally abused her whole life and was in turn both emotionally dependent on us kids and neglectful towards us kids. I’m always amazed that we made it to adulthood and can’t say I’ll miss my mother either.
The short is very well made and captures the hopeless feeling of abuse very accurately.
As someone who went through something similar, heck, the "mom" even looks like a accurate copy.
It makes me sad to think about every single kid out there who struggles with this for real.
For me, the saddest revelation isn't... *(spoilers)*
... - that the weird people are Opal's REAL family (and that "Opal" is actually "Claire"), but that she genuinely didn't recognize them because she had been so engrossed in her fantasy life of being Opal.
She didn't visit the 'strange house' because it was time to go home. She went there because it seemed familiar to her and she legitimately couldn't recall why. That's why she was so entranced by it.
So when she finally arrived in her actual room and saw the billboard out the window, the realization set on her, and it was just as shocking to her as it was to us. Just like us, Claire had no idea (or rather, she forgot. And purposefully, at that) that she wasn't actually "Opal"...
And also the implication that this keeps happening. This is a never ending cycle of repression and remembering.
And, when you realize that, her scream as her rose-colored glasses shatter on the floor just hits you in your very soul, as it becomes clear that her shriek is from her fabricated reality being destroyed right before her very eyes. It's expertly, tragically, wonderfully haunting stuff.
WOOO!! I love jackstauber so much, he can make an old blind grandpa man ranting about his life and not being able to breath and all that into an absolute BANGER. absolutely amazing songs
SAMEEEE WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE JACK STAUBER SONG? Just so excited because I never would've expected for saberspark to cover this.
@@Kylessuperbestfriendmy favorite is "there is something happening" cuz its so easy to vibe to :)
@@Kylessuperbestfriend i love them all but some i can think of off the top of my head are tea errors, the balad of hamantha, easy to breathe, milk, and dinned is not over!! there’s some i can’t remember the names of too though
I love tea errors , dead height , pizza boy , mindsight , look on , and I understand casue it reminds me of all the melancholy stuff I went through trying to growing up
Also quicksand and baby teeth ( both versions) make me want to lay on the floor and cry for twenty minutes
Despite the upsetting story and cruel themes, one positive thing I took from it is that Claire was able to find a small glimmer of happiness and hope through something as small and insignificant as a billboard. How I enterpreted it is all art has value and has the potential to resonate with others which is something all artists should remember when impostor syndrome starts to take its toll. Even though its an ad and it was made with the sole purpose to sell people fast food, there were artists behind it who put effort into making it something they could be proud of with as much creative freedom as they were permitted.
This hits close to home. My mom rarely hit me but her drinking was a real problem. I remember pouring ber beer down the drain as a kid because she got so fucked up when drinking and partying. It eventually caught up to her. It sucks watching someone you love getting lost in addiction because there's nothing you can do especially if you are a small child. Even as an adult sometimes all you can do os watch someone self-destruct because you tried everything you reasonably can.
I am so sorry you had to experience that as a kid. Wishing you all the best.
@@chocolateaddictedartist5924 Thank you for your kindness. Despite it all she was still a good person. I always had food, clothes and she genuinely loved me. I don't want people to think she was a bad mother, it's just she had her own mental health woes steming from her own abusive childhood and her way of coping was with escapism. Unfortunately her choice of escapism was destructive. Sorry for over sharing I just didn't want to paint her as a bad mother. She's just a victim of a really bad cycle of abuse that took her down a bad road and I just became another casualty of.
@@GrandCorsair Honestly I feel really bad for your mother. I hope she is doing better now!
@@elliottpak Thank you, unfortunately she passed of hepatitis. She was only 56 years old. She really was a good person at heart it's life delt her a bad hand and she coped the only way she knew how.
@@GrandCorsair Dammit that sucks *Gives virtual hugs* I hope your mom is now in heaven
The fact this short says SO MUCH without words, while the small dialogue and lyrcs says just enough is incredible
it's also important to point out the lyrics the bilboard family sing "we see you, Opal" she just wants to be seen as a person when all of her family is unable to look at her. Also the moment when it looks like her father is going to turn the miror but is in fact just reajusting it to see himself better is briliant. It's all in the eyes.
Opal has so many theories that you can make such as her seemingly loving her narcissistic father the most or atleast feeling the most safe around him. When the other family members are around her eyes are dilating and she’s stressed but with her father, she only seems to show curiosity. A theory I saw about it is that Opal might sometimes watch her father in his own world, also he seems to speak quite a bit in her perfect family.
Her father also seems to have been through something traumatic, probably inflicted by Opal’s mother. As the one second we see his face it’s disfigured. So by the looks of it, Opal’s father might be as much as a victim as she is. (Already mentioned in the video) The change the mirrors and how he’s stuck in his own world is his coping mechanism.
Also Opal has been so emotionally abused that her perfect family doesn’t say anything about loving her, only that they see her. Heck, the grandfather only says “Hi!” as Opal isn’t her real name. They only say things about them seeing Opal, she doesn’t want love she wants them to see her.
Also the reason why she looks so different to her family is because she’s malnourished. When she gets the burger she doesn’t eat it, she dances with it. She doesn’t know what to do with the burger, she’s not thankful because she doesn’t know how to be thankful, Opal hasn’t been giving the chance.
Also Opal not speaking could mean she’s been silenced or that she can’t speak. There are no signs she goes to school, meaning she’s trapped in that house.
Also the beautiful song is actually crying which makes the ending more heartbreaking, she goes into that house to comfort the person crying only to get up there to find out that she is the crying person, and no ones there for her.
I honestly don’t understand why people see the animation as terrifying. I think it’s beautiful
It’s very abstract I’ve noticed. The cracker design is all over the place. It makes it very unique in a way. But still very erie
I think it's more of the subject matter that's terrifying.
@@ChaotixIntrovert true! S’pose it’s just my perspective :o]
It's supposed to be terrifying but I love it
I think this sorta art is meant to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.
I love how the mirror mans voice briefly deepens and then he fixes the angles of his mirrors as if he fixing the "bad angles" so he can only literally get his "good side"
Fun fact: the teeth jack stauber uses on his claymation animations are real! He asked his patreons to send him their teeth, and he even made a song to thank them but it’s now deleted.
wait wtf
wait thats just disturbing
*t o o t h*
Teeth represent power, so no wonder
You can also tell that opal is extremely malnourished. With how her family is, nobody would be taking care of her, and she probably wouldn't know how to take care of herself. Theres also another detail that proves this in the beginning, if you pay attention to how she treats the burger, she doesn't really know what to do with it, so she just dances with the burger. There's also the girl on the billboard. Her face is way more fleshed out and bigger than opals.
I'm not sure if I've seen it mentioned anywhere but I feel like the "easy to breathe on TV" thing could also have a metaphorical side to it. Breathing easy is often a phrase used to indicate a lack of stress or a weight lifted and I can imagine he listens to whatever shows on TV and thinks about how the people in them live their lives. As someone with issues and addictions, he can feel stuck on his couch, unable to live a life without his worries. Though maybe that's a bit of personal projection as I struggle with a bunch of mental issues and feel jealous of characters in shows all the time.
That is genius
It hurts knowing that some people actually experience this, as someone who’s never been neglected or abused by family members, I have no idea what it’s like, I am very thankful for this short film giving me some perspective.
Stay strong everyone, I hope that whatever you’re going through gets better and that you get the love you deserve. ❤
The story of Opal made me sad and really hit home, I hope for all who relate to it as well gets the support and help they need
Ive never seen anything like this that mentally and emotionally affected me. I grew uo in a traumatic environment with a alcoholic mom, abusive step dad and absent dad.The dissociation, confusion and fear.. beibg viewed as a target to hurt. the ending knowing it just goes on is so relatable to what i had to go through.
Same I relate to this a lot I’m 11 I’m depressed suicidal and now I’m developing PTSD my family hates me and are very stupid I have a broken leg my skin is missing of my back because I had to jump out a moving car on the freeway I am very sick right now I’m hopeless and I have no one for support i don’t cope with my pain nothing works. I make songs I have made multiple songs about my depression and suicidal thoughts I ran away from home but I got caught I am in constant agony I hate my life and tried to kill myself many times….so I guess I can say I’m opal all I do is fantasize because that’s all I have left I lost my sanity, dignity, friends and more I have had depression since I was 6 I am having a identity crisis I’m questioning my reality….l’m in constant agony……if you want to hear some of the songs I made just ask me I will be happy to answer
Opal is haunting. I've commented something similar on the community post, but there's just something about it that's so comforting. There are times where I play Opal for a day or listen to the songs because it's just so good! My family is nothing like Opal's, but her going in her mind to escape it all... It felt so close to home. It's all just a sad reflection of her reality 😭 God, Opal is just a masterpiece.
As someone who went through all kinds of abuse as a child and, as a result, vanished into a fantasy world, I wasn't able to watch the short. Thank you for the review through which I can experience it after all, I appreciate it a lot.
This will be scaryer than all of the mascot horrors, and cash grab slasher films. Because this, this is art! Anyone can understand why this is terrifying. At first it’s the creepy design then just how the charters act but then, then you realize what this short film means and it hits you like you just got hit by a ton of titanium. I’m not going to spoil it but just know it’s sad like really and I hope Opal finds a good job, a happy life and that what happened to her as a kid and that she gets a good therapist.
As someone who went through a mix of mental and physical abuse growing up, Opal really hit close to home for me. It genuinely hurt to sit through.
The amount of interpretations this has despite its story still being simple to understand is a testament to Jack’s storytelling.
I miss Jack. It's like he just vanished after Opal was released. Hope he's out there doing well.
Maybe working to make it a show also building on the Rugrats comparison with his artstyle (the 3d bits also kinda give me early veggie tales vibes) I find very interesting that Claire kinda looks like Angelica and they both deal with neglected although with Claire it's more extreme and use alota of escapium and fantasy as result But where Angelica lashe's out at everyone clarie lest's everyone lashe out at her Don't know if that was intentional but it's interting regauredless🤔
He made "baby son adoring us" last year
When this I saw this for the first time, I was just like, "Ok, Jack Stauber animation. Won't be too weird, I'm used to his stuff." Then I watched it all the way through and was like, "Jeez, this is terrifying." But fr, it's such a beautiful work of art. I love Jack Stauber's work.
JACK STAUBER went to my middle School! He graduated way way before me, but My teacher had him as a student in class and she said that he was very kind and well behaved, but incredibly thoughtful. I think it's so crazy to have a local celebrity that I also appreciate
ive been hoping youd do a video on opal for years now! im so glad. this short is a masterpiece in how it portrays families like the one i grew up with, and families of kids i know
its heartbreaking and it gives a wide audience a view of what of many many children have to grow up with
her mom says something like "deciding to be a person today are we?" meaning she KNOWS claire recedes into her own world. she doesnt care.
this short is very important to me as i am currently growing up in a toxic household and to see it portrayed like this, so real and raw, with good music and amazing style, by one of my favorite creators, it makes me feel comforted in a way. the hiding away in a room and dreaming of a better life is so true
I like that you explore the history to the short/movies being made and not just review it itself. Thank you for taking the time to research and do that.
I'm so glad you're covering Jack's work, he's one of my favorite artists! It makes me happy to see someone equally as amazed by Opal.
The thing that gripped me the most about Opal, is her little dance at the beginning.
She grabs the burger, and looks at it, unsure what to do. Did she ever eat a burger in her entire life? Does she even know what it is? Her family spurs her on, and instead of eating it, she just does her dance instead.
@Saberspark1............ I already talked to you. Have a word with INTERPOL next time. I'm sure they will be happy to chat.
Just watched the short film and it really hit home with me, especially the part where she goes into her personal imagination world to cope with her struggles with her abusive family.
Hello! My sister is named "opal" and also went through the abuse of opal from the short and also went into the weird house beside our Actual house, and 1 week later she came back and told "i met a weird woman, a grandfather and people in a mirror and a whole human behind a mirror and more monsters identical to the story's creatures and monsters and said that she is actually named `Claire` every time"
Can we talk about how much the music foreshows the big plot twist? At the beginning, the billboard family represents a trio. The mother being the high notes, the father being the medium notes, and the grandfather being the low notes. When Clair releases the family isn’t real, the song changes. With the whole family sound flat, just like the billboard.
Fun fact: at about 11:09 in the short you can see for a brief few frames when the mirror flips that the husband is brutally beaten, which is because of the mom
Its implied she starts dancing at the beginning because she doesn't know what to do with the burger because her family doesn't feed her which is really sad.
Since I watched your video I've been watching "OPAL" every day 1-2 times a day. I love it. I grew up in a home with a parent that was the addition of the mother (alcoholism), father (Narcissistic as hell) and grandfather (always more invested in TV than everything at the point of being angry at me for not watching the news.)... It really resonted with me the escape of Claire because I used to do that when I was little. The anime and games were my salvation.
Now I still watch anime and i'm working as a game developer.
Guys, it gets better, just dont give up.
This is one of those things that I can appreciate its existence but cannot actually consume (too dark for my taste). It makes me appreciate my family all the more. They never once made me feel like a burden. They always have and continue to make me feel loved and valued.
To all the abused kids trapped at home, and the adults who survived it: You didn't deserve that. There's nothing you could've said or done to deserve such treatment. And I truly hope one day you're surrounded by people who love you for you.
THEY TURNED ME DOWN NOW I LIVE MY NIGHTMARE now repeats in my head forever because of this horror short. I'm so glad you're covering it. 😁
"So tell me why does it sound easy to breath on tv" has been stuck in my head
This is honestly one of my favorite Jack Stauber short films. I feel like I can relate but at the same time I can't, it's confusing and I like it 😌
The house looks so dark and depressing. It has no color, it's empty, and it just makes you sad. Some people may criticize the visuals for looking so bland, boring, or ugly, but it actually serves to make you feel like you're living in an abusive home.
If there's an animation technique that fits with dark and disturbing themes, it's stop motion.
The line from the first song "we see you opal your troubles are miles away" is true for the place being 9 miles away in her mind she IS Opal not Claire
I wish I didn't fucking watch the short and just watched this video. As a survivor of abuse from the paternal side of my family, this hit home.
When the song at the end played and everything zoomed out to show the billboard, I started crying.
I know what its like to feel unloved and unwanted, and all of that trauma came back full force.
I'm much better now after having not seen these people in over 17 years, but the trauma is still there.
This is a masterpiece.
It was terrifying to watch but I give kudos since it's not talked about enough about this subject matter. Pretty brilliant.
I watched this short not long ago and I became hyperfixated on it and watched it over and over for a few weeks, especially though I didn't experience the direct same abuse as a child, I still was able to resonate within Opal and creating a found family in my head to cope.
And as much as I don't like to admit this a whole lot, Mirror Man also resonates with me because I'm sure I have NPD but in a way it helps me realize I also have a better time controlling myself in this regard.
Thank you for covering this short and giving Jack Stauber the recognition he deserves beyond the small cult following he has.
This is like if Coraline were actually aimed at adults.
A lot went over my head when I watched it the first time, but one thing I picked up on is how close her mother got to apologizing for her actions, but stopped herself from actually owning up to them, because the responsibility and consequences are too much for her to bear.
this short really resonated with me as a childhood abuse victim myself
Bro, I didn't think I could ever relate to a creepy stop-motion character. I grew up with narcissistic parents, and I suspect that several of my other relatives were narcissists as well, such as one grandparent each from both sides. There was so much generational abuse and trauma in my "family" (I use this term loosely, because they didn't care about me, and family is supposed to care about you, so I don't care about them anymore, either), there was not one relative of mine that wasn't at least toxic. This short perfectly illustrates what it felt like growing up: a prison that I'd never escape. When I was younger, I didn't consciously realize what was going on, but I felt just like Claire here. I would daydream constantly, often pretending I was a character in my favorite movie, TV show, book, etc., where I was friends with all the other characters, and we all cared about each other. As I grew older, I started to consciously realize what was going on, and that's when I became severely depressed, even being suicidal. No one helped me. All the adults in my life failed me. Even CPS told me I deserved it and protected my abusers instead of me. Poor Claire!
Never thought I'd say this, but (censored for youtube) to you, CPS. Nobody deserves it. Hope you're okay now, kid.
Just wanna thank you for introducing me to Opal and Jack Stauber in general! Opal is such a tragic masterpiece and deserves its praise and recognition!