a close look at shapes in promare
one of the first things we see in the opening credits is this. a series of rectangles pushing from the outside onto an equilateral triangle, crushing and bending it out of shape but never making it a rectangle. it’s violent.
and its made pretty clear from the start that the triangle is used to represent the burnish,
it is used by their oppressors on their signs, but worn primarily as a symbol of burnish independence. worn proudly in protest
which brings us to the obvious rectangles.
promepolis. everything is made up of rectangles, any triangle you’ll find is a right angle triangle, fitting perfectly into a square or rectangle without problem.
it’s no question that promepolis is a hostile environment toward the burnish, you’ve seen the movie. but the shapes used reflect this as well as the script.
krays (and by extension, promepolis’) whole thing is being Exclusively rectangular– anything else and you know for certain, immediately, that that person is “other,” in this case, burnish. life in promepolis is so rigidly rectangular for the express purpose of singling those who never will be perfectly rectangular out.
on top of being a figurative anti-burnish symbol, the rectangle is also used in freeze force’s anti-burnish restraints and all ice based technology. it is a physical symbol of the way burnish are treated if found. and because of the way promepolis is built and run, being found is not hard.
the whole city, from how many fire hydrants there are on a block to the perfect 90 degree angles everywhere, is designed to be unsafe for burnish people, and to remind them constantly of how unsafe it is. but I don’t need to tell you that.
however, that’s not where the rectangles and triangles stop, because we can’t go into shapes symbolism in this movie without talking about the lens flares.
the square lens flares are hard to miss, and easy to dismiss as a stylistic choice. but they’re not the only lens flares here.
the square lens flares are most prominent throughout the movie because they represent kray’s influence. he affects the light under which people see each other.
“If I did something wrong, they’d think I’m abusing
our connection and misusing his authority.”
take this scene. even outside of the city, alone with aina on that frozen lake, kray is holding power over galo’s actions. and this is reflected in the visuals.
as mentioned before, thats not the only shape the lens flares take. in moments of burnish empowerment, they are triangular, the shape representing the burnish.
and I’m sure some of you have heard this much already, so I won’t drag that on too much longer.
what stands out to me is the introduction of a new motif: the circle
this is first seen in prometh’s lab, and then the deus x machina, and it shows us something quite different from the rest of the movie. a shape that, if we were to mirror the bit from the opening credits with, fits all rectangles and triangles and any other shape inside it without damaging/bending any of them.
and at the end, the lens flares are circles. for the first time, totally normal lens flares. at the end, the burnish are free from the fight for their rights, as there aren’t any promare anymore. non burnish in promepolis and beyond it are separated from krays ideals. kray himself is disgraced.
and theres room for the triangles in the circles, without a need to change.
