What's the significance of David's back pain in The Lobster?
In the film The Lobster (2015), the pain in the back is such a defining characteristic of David. Does it have any particular significance? Why did the director decide to give him that burden?
Best Answer
I think the main significance of his back pain was that it required ointment for a part of his body that he couldn't reach. That highlighted just how alone he was, that he didn't have someone to do something so simple as rub the ointment to alleviate his pain.
There was of course the (what I consider) secondary effect, that the character being in semi-constant pain added to the overall oppression of the film.
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What is the meaning behind The Lobster?
The Lobster is a satire on our present-day society that subliminally attributes life to be complete and meaningful only if you have a family of your own. Happily-single folks many a time receive sympathetic statements like \u201cdon't worry, hang in there, you will surely meet your perfect partner one day\u201d.What does the ending of the movie The Lobster mean?
Rather than being threatened with injuries if he doesn't follow others' orders, he's making the decision himself. It could be said that David is finally taking control of his own narrative, carving out a new path for him and his love even through the darkness that awaits them \u2014 a darkness of his own choosing.Why does David want to be a lobster?
Few people choose more unusual species, which is why they're endangered.\u201d For his part, David declares that he would like to become a lobster, because they live 100 years, remain fertile throughout, and have blue blood \u201clike aristocrats.\u201dWhy does he blind himself in The Lobster?
Therefore, David's idea to blind himself is, in a twisted Lanthimosian way, a beautiful commentary on the sacrifices people in a relationship make for one another. He loves her so much that he's about to stab his own eyes just to accommodate her.MUNA - What I Want (Official Video)
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Answer 2
Aryxus is partly right; the back pain was intended to highlight how advantageous it is to have a partner in life. Taken from Larsen On Film:
So The Lobster backs off a bit from its bitterly comic, anti-romantic first half. Early signs the movie might head this way are the occasions in which we watch David, alone in his room, struggling to apply pain-relief ointment on a hard-to-reach part of his back. At some level, the movie recognizes both our desire for relationship and our need for it. What the movie objects to, it seems, is the way relationship has been propagandized, commoditized and narrowly defined in contemporary society.
Keep in mind, too, such trivialities as a dining room full of "tables for one", and how certain activities (such as masturbation, which lends to the idea that you don't need a partner) are either discouraged or not allowed entirely in the hotel.
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