Do the red geraniums matter?
When we think about media literacy, we often think about tropes, cinematic and literary devices, references, and Easter eggs. All of these are explicit ways for creators to communicate with us, the audience.
But we know there’s a lot of *implicit* communication happening too, such as how a character is lit from scene to scene, the color palette of the set, and camera angle.
Not everything in an artwork is on purpose. But Rem’s red geraniums must be intentional, at least in Stampede. They qualify as a repeating motif, even rendered gigantic in E12.
So what the hell do they mean?!
Well, kids, I consulted the Oracle today. By which I mean I Googled it.
Have you heard about the language of flowers? Go check it out, it’s almost as fascinating as tarot and not nearly as likely to get you kicked out of church.
Turns out there’s a ton of possibilities here. It could be as simple as Rem’s birth flower. That would make her a Scorpio, and some say Scorpios prefer dark red flowers.
It could be a reference to the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, which uses red geraniums to signify redemption, forgiveness of cruelty, and above all hope for a better future.
In Wicca, red geraniums symbolize protection. Rem gives up her life protecting others, and Vash spends all his energy and time protecting others. So red geraniums fit perfectly with this theme.
I think we can dismiss the love-letter meaning “Your smile bewitches me!” Even I can’t rationalize that one. But there’s a lot of other weird stuff too, like how the Victorians defined all geraniums as “stupidity or folly”. In numerology, it’s supposed to be the number 7. They also apparently are good for repelling squirrels, attracting pollinator insects, and are deer resistant. Make of that what you will.
I like the Wiccan protection meaning a lot, but the TKaM reference makes sense to me. Vash believes it is never too late for anyone to choose peace. He is all about redemption and hope.
Anybody else have thoughts to add?
