Decoding the Enigma: Self-Redemption Through Order and Chaos in “Cube”
“Cube” transcends the typical thriller genre; it’s more than just a failed experiment. It represents an alien order, and the desperate escape attempts symbolize a harrowing journey of self-redemption. Instead of dwelling on the film’s reflections of totalitarianism or the consequences of individual cruelty, the film focuses on the fascinating interplay between the “subjective consciousness” and the “objective unconsciousness” of the characters’ actions.
Several scenes highlight the inherent unpredictability of human behavior when faced with the unknown. One notable example is the student who initially utilizes prime numbers to identify safe passages, only to later speculate that powers of prime numbers might hold the key. It remains ambiguous whether her insight was accurate or simply a lucky guess. Furthermore, the group’s eventual return to the starting chamber after enduring significant hardship and loss underscores this recurring theme of unpredictability.
The film makes the viewer think that like ants unable to comprehend the vastness of the sky, humans can’t guarantee desired outcomes through subjective actions. Action A doesn’t necessarily lead to Result B. we rely on accumulated experience and trial-and-error to approximate the laws of universe, but this approximation always falls short. Because humans aren’t all-knowing, we can’t be all-powerful. A minor change in a critical parameter or starting point result in dramatically different outcomes.
Archetypes Trapped Within: Humanity Under the Microscope
The six captives serve as distinct representatives of societal strata: the average person, or cop; the virtuous mind, or Student; the defeated, or Architect; the radical, or Doctor; the skilled expert represented by the Escape Artist and finally, the exceptional mind represented by the Mentally Challenged Man.
The Ordinary: The Police Officer’s Descent
The police officer starts as a seeming leader, possesses admirable strength and a love for his family, yet he embodies the vulnerabilities of the average person: wavering resolve, resentment, despair, and selfishness. He represents the typical human element found in every society-- the ordinary person.
These individuals populate the world’s cities, earning average salaries, and doing jobs day in and day out. They experience emotions like everyone else. They’re known to be diligent and lazy people; at the same time they can be cruel/kind. They comprise the largest group in the world, they are a major contributor to how our society runs.
His descent throughout the movie shows his true colors when facing death; his self-preservation becomes apparent, leading to extreme actions. This is a testament to humanity’s survival despite many challenges, becoming what is the most dominant species on Earth.
The Virtuous: The Student’s Acceptance
The student is a kind and humble individual who uses her intellectual mindset as a coping mechanism from the world with all the knowledge learned and thus, diminishing selfish desires. Though desires are inherent characteristics of humans, managing them varies depending on the person. The student channels all of her energy into pursuing knowledge, filling her purpose with knowledge. Her overall resilience to the world is weaker, but her happiness could amount to either a blessing or a tragedy.
She might be your friend at work or the top student in your learning facility. What matters is that she is consistent and content, making her way less prone to complains. What is expressed in the movie is that “I think I can handle this world”.
The Defeated: The Architect’s Apathy
The architect is a defeated man who lacks ambition and settles for getting by or living a routine/passive life. Perhaps he attempted to rebel in the past, failed or lacked courage. Living day to day defines his existence, bored of the world outside. Doing labor for money, he takes no care for his work or it’s purpose, while additionally defined by alcohol, pornography and junk food.
Unlike leaves who differentiate from each other, the architect seems to contain more cowardice characteristics. Showing people who aren’t ambitious that just simply want a luxurious life. His aura is seen as a reclusive aura that is different from religion, because of his world-weariness.
The Radical: The Doctor’s Outrage
The doctor epitomizes ordinary citizens who have a determined spirit to revolt, because she lacks greater capabilities that doesn’t stop her from pursuing a change in the world. Her experience brings her closer to suffering as exemplified by her frustration in the movie. “Why were we captured what did she do wrong?!”. Which embodies the collective anger humanity has from an act of helplessness.
Her actions and opinions of politics exemplify this trait leading her to achieve goals even facing certain difficulties. The sole source and contribution of pain and struggle stem from lacking goal completion.
The Expert: A Harrowing Lesson
The escape artist, an anomaly in comparison to his expertise with courage and willpower, is the first one to die, which comes to the expression in term of superstition by lacking luck and falling from attempting to challenge it. He overestimated his capabilities, making him just an ordinary person, and from that comes a cruel reality. No questions are made as to his skill, but is a hard testament to how random life is.
The Genius: Beyond Comprehension
The mentally challenged man (Kasha), appears incomprehensible, unique, and unaware of his whereabouts, yet none of that is detrimental to his extraordinary nature. As not an ordinary person, his persona stands against what an ordinary person might do for one or other.
His intelligence stands well above what’s ordinary. Showing great intelligence towards trajectory calculations despite not knowing about his state. From a greater power to Kasha, our world could mean being at peace.
The Paradox of Collective Action
Kasha, ordinary people, along with human intellect work in cohesion together to solve the cube. However, without Kasha no one would find the exit. Though they wanted to escape they wouldn’t find the escape. This is a fascinating and contradictory to the statement that individuals can’t reach specific outcomes or behaviors to one and other.
Individuals are deemed as futile and collective behavior is not helpful, is this a tragedy to the viewer of humans, or a blessing instead. Lacking all-knowing prevent us from fear based decision-making. In order to the ultimate rules, humans should pursue and achieve greater heights. But instead that humanity should live in destiny.