Explanations for The Man in the High Castle?
Amazon's The Man in the High Castle was an outstanding piece of work, but after 10 episodes the underlying plot device is disturbingly unexplained. Are there any theories for:
The films? Only two are in play during the first season. Are they anything other than MacGuffins? After the brief teaser in the first episode it's not until the last two episodes that we learn the films show possible futures or alternative pasts ... and that different viewers see different things. There is never any explanation of why the Nazis and the Resistance think they are of paramount value, especially because all operatives are instructed to never view the films.
The title? Is Hitler supposed to be "the man in the high castle?"
The most coherent explanation I can put together is that Hitler has not only managed to collect a library of these magic films but also to understand how to use them to control the future. Therefore, he is in fact the one who releases the two films that drive the plot of the entire season, and he must have done so knowing that they would result in outcomes he desired. But the only perceptible tactical effect of releasing the films is to create a patsy (Frank Fink) for the attempted assassination of the Japanese prince. They have no strategic effect.
Best Answer
Some knowledge of the book may give a greater understanding.
Clearly the plots do not directly follow each other, and the most obvious difference is that in the book, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is a book, whereas in the series it is a series of motion pictures*. However, if we assume the central premise is the same then
the world portrayed is a fiction, and the films exist to reveal to the characters that they are not real
In such an interpretation, it does not really matter who "the man" is, or what the in-universe motivations are.
On the other hand, I believe there is not intended to be a definitive answer and the audience is free to come to their own conclusions. Your own explanation is perfectly reasonable, but I prefer one based on a multiverse theory of realities, where the films slip through from other realities
like Tagomi does in the final scene
and Hitler is "the man" (his residence is the only thing presented that could qualify as a literal "high castle") collecting them in order to understand the various possibilities and steer history to his design.
*Crucially, it is the same medium in which story is presented to us.
As of season two, we have definitive answers. The films
are brought from other worlds by individuals (such as Tagomi and Kotomishi) who are able to travel via meditation. The leaders of the Nazis and the Resistance are trying to find one that shows how to avoid nuclear Armageddon.
The Man in the High Castle
is Hawthorne Abendsen, a leader of the West Coast resistance, who maintains a large collection of films
it appears that their strategy is exactly as you describe.
Season three explores these mechanics and the Nazi endgame in greater detail.
Pictures about "Explanations for The Man in the High Castle?"
Who Is The Man in the High Castle supposed to be?
Stephen Root as Hawthorne Abendsen / The Man in the High Castle (seasons 2\u20134), the head of the American antifascist resistance, creating films set in other worlds.What do the films mean in The Man in the High Castle?
Major events shown in the newsreels include mass executions of people who are known to be alive after a Nazi nuclear attack on San Francisco in the 1960s, and Stalin being alive in 1954, instead of his having died in 1949 in the series' chronology, and 1953 in our world.Why is it called The Man in the High Castle?
In The Man in the High Castle, "the man in the high castle" is Hawthorne Abendsen, the author who lives in a fortified house that is called\u2014wait for it\u2014"The High Castle" (6.116). However, Abendsen no longer lives in that "High Castle," ever since he developed of phobia about his elevator (15.69).The World of 'The Man in the High Castle' (Alternate WWII Scenario)
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrei Tanase, Tirachard Kumtanom, ROMAN ODINTSOV, Pawan Yadav