Why I Don't Like People Calling Clark "Violent" or the "Villain"
I feel like I interpreted Clark's behavior after the incident with Kat and Bobby wayyyyy differently than many other audience members.
Disclaimer: Sorry if I overexplain stuff and overexplain what is "bad" behavior. I just want to be clear.
I've seen several people assume that Clark had thoroughly planned, malicious intentions. I dislike this interpretation, as it takes away his depth, and Mary's depth. Their characters revolve around each other, so making one good and one evil makes both characters and the entire movie fall apart. It also seems totally random for Clark to spiral from a average person, into a completely malicious villain.
When Clark knocks Mary out, I interpreted this as Clark not wanting Mary to set off Captain Clark. In his perspective, he wanted to protect Mary, but it is bad to knock someone out, and he is misguided. I did not think his intention was to trick and kidnap her from the start. Some people theorize he purposefully was working together with Captain Clark to trick her, but I see little evidence for this, as Captain Clark is never shown to obey him. Captain Clark is only shown to just not hurt him initially. It feels like a theory that makes his character ridiculously sinister, for little reason.
During the scene at the kitchen table, I've seen people assume he was trying to torment and intimidate Mary. I did not interpret it this way. He was doing an awful thing, keeping Mary tied up, but I dont think he had malicious intentions from his perspective.
When he stabs the still life in the striped shirt, and cuts out pieces of his stomach to eat, I thought he was fascinated about this information. I thought he was excited to share knowledge that is essential to understanding and surviving in the Backrooms. I think he was just in the Backrooms for so long, that he failed to realize how deeply disturbing the violent act comes off to a normal person.
I also interpreted Clark as caring for the three still lifes on some level, as he moved them into what resembles a house, and they are the only human-like companions he has. Despite his care, his relationship with them is misguided and abusive. Despite caring for them, he will use them to get what he wants (food, lights), and holds power over them. Other viewers interpreted this segment as him randomly being violent and enjoying torturing the still lifes, which makes little sense to me.
Some people get hung up by Kat in the fridge, theorizing Clark enjoyed mutilating her and is going to eat her (?). I have no idea why he would act that way. Clark said in the beginning of the movie that some of the only people in his life are his employees. I find it likely he just didn't want to let one of the only people he knows rot, but can't give the body to the police either, because he will be blamed for murder. It's selfish of him to keep her body in the fridge and a bad decision, but not intentionally malicious or sadistic.
Cutting off the ginger still life's hair, putting it on Mary, and making Mary roleplay with him, is obviously very awful. But, I did not see this as meaning Clark is an evil irreedemable person as a whole, as he was shown to be a troubled, but regular guy, throughout the beginning of the movie. He was apprehensive about the roleplay at the beginning of the movie. I doubt Clark pre-Backrooms would ever forcibly roleplay with someone. I didn't see this as a random scary villain moment, I saw this as both characters reaching the extreme ends of their character arcs. Mary realizes she is a poor match to help Clark with his mental health, and has been enabling his rumination. Clark realizes he doesn't want to improve, and wants to ruminate and repeat forever, even if it hurts others.
One last small thing, is that all it takes for Clark to let Mary go is her yelling at him and giving him emotional relief. We have no reason to believe that Clark planned on keeping Mary tied up for a long time. This shows he was acting impulsively, not well-planned.
Some people will dislike Clark no matter what, due to their trauma with people who have committed similar emotiomal abuse to them. That is okay. But I don't like them insisting that Clark is an evil or shallow character.
I understand wanting to simplify Clark, as he was emotionally abusive to his wife, and fictional abusers getting attention is annoying. But I also feel like many White characters can be emotionally abusive and do similar bad things to Clark, yet are interpreted with depth and forgiveness... Some people act like Clark is on the level of Jimmy from Mouthwashing, which he is not. Yet even Jimmy was more loved and analyzed than Clark. So, I think it is really important to appreciate Clark's depth.
I've seen some people say they wish Clark wasn't played by a Black actor, because Clark is an abusive alcoholic who acts antagonistic towards a White person the end of the movie. I understand this point of view. It is important to be mindful not to perpetuate uncomfortable stereotypes when casting. But since this cannot be changed now and there will be fans of the movie, I hope the fanbase will give Clark depth and appreciation. There are a lot of great fan art pieces that exist so far.
So to sum up, I don't like people calling Clark violent or a villain. If you approach his "seemingly random" violent villainous actions at the end of the movie with sympathy, a lot of it makes sense. I dislike people missing "why" things went down the way it did, because then they fail to miss the nuances of the entire movie. I hope when the movie comes to streaming, more fans can rewatch it and re-evalute, understanding why Clark acted the way he acted. Despite some flaws, I thought he was an excellent character and want him to be appreciated.
If I missed or misinterpreted anything, feel free to comment!
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