TPOH CHARLIE CHAPLIN THEORY
I don't know where I first heard the "RGB's dreams are based of silent film action stunts" theory, but I do know it's very popular in the fandom. Yet, I haven't found a complete list of what dreams are references to what stunts so I decided to do that myself! Plus a bit of theorising over what they represent!
A majority of these references are from Charlie Chaplin films, but a few are Buster Keaton and other actors. Apologies in advance if I get them mixed up at some point, since I don't know a lot about silent films and this was all first-time research.
Its no doubt that Charlie and RGB look very similar, sporting the same suit, hat and bamboo cane. The parallels between these two may suggest that RGB was an actor around a similar time frame. Charlie and Buster were known for doing most of their own stunts, some of which were quite dangerous. Not only are RGB's dreams references to these stunts, but they also portray what would happen if they went wrong.
Dreams
Diegesis page 74 is a reference to the 'falling house' stunt from Buster Keatons 'Steamboat Bill, Jr' (1928) In this stunt, the front of a house fell behind Buster but he was able to avoid getting hurt by standing right where the window fell. In RGB's dream, there are voices exclaiming to him that he is 'off his mark', meaning he isnt standing where the window will land. The house falls and presumably kills him, then RGB notes this isn't how he died.
The first panel of Hoofers page 248 depicts Harlod Lloyd's 'Safety Last' clock scene. In this scene, Harold is climbing a building and grabs onto a clock. The panel shows RGB losing his grip on the clock a plummeting to the ground below.
The second panel shows a pair of roller skates. This is a reference to Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times' where Charlie is seen roller skating dangerously close to a drop. This may just be a coincidence, but I should note that Charlie is blindfolded in this scene, and Human RGB is usually seen with something covering his eyes. May be another parallel??
Guys I'm sorry but I genuinely have no clue where this is from??? If anyone knows please comment it.
Edit: Thanks to the-property-of-stupid for pointing this out! This stunt is from 'Girl Shy' by Harold Lloyd, where Harold is holding onto a firetruck using a firehouse!
Also thank you for all the thank yous!!!!
The second panel in Flood page 505 shows a stunt from Buster Keaton's 'The Three Ages' where he trys to jump from building to building using a wooden plank.
The third panel is a reference to Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times' in which Charlie is swallowed by a factory machine.
I THINK that's all of them, but let me know if I missed any. As for what these mean, it's shown in RGB's dialogue in his dreams that he is willingly playing out these scenarios to try and figure out how he died. Despite Negative being based off silent film actors, and RGB being an actor before he died, I don't think these references actually have much to do with the lore. As in, I don't think RGB was ACTUALLY swallowed by a factory machine. Most of the time, something else out of RGB's control happens in the dream with lore in it (example: the iron, the train, the doctor)
Reblogs
That was until I found these three reblogs from ModMad on the TPOH wiki! They were of more silent actor photos, and the captions implied they would be used in the future of TPOH.
But since they were reblogged all the way back in 2013, I asked Mod to confirm if there was still plans to use them. And they (in their usual Mod cryptid-ness) said yes.
So onto speculation!!!
On thing I find particularly interesting about these photos is that, to my knowledge, they are not stunts. They don't depict particularly dangerous situations and it's a bit of a stretch to say a HUMAN would die from these conditions. Because of this, I don't think these will show up when RGB is acting out scenarios on how he may have died. Instead, I think these will be used in a more lore-filled dream, since the events in the photos have more relation to RGB's character.
The first photos are of Charlie and Buster posed in bathtubs, with those omnious reblogs. My guess is that these photos will be referenced in a dream where RGB ends up in a bathtub and yeah I won't beat around the bush here these are most likely about Negative!
BATHTUB = WATER
WATER = NEGATIVE
And since RGB knows about Negative now, it makes sense he'll have a creepy dream about him at some point!
The next is a clip of Charlie lost in a mirror maze. I'm not great at understanding tone through text, so I'm slightly confused as what Mod means in this reblog. Do they mean 'it's going to be hell' as in it'll be hard to draw/write? Or do they mean it'll be sad?? Or hell for the characters??
Anyway, I still have a good guess as to what will happen in this dream mirror maze. RGB will look into his reflection and see Negative and/or Human RGB. We all know RGB has major identity issues, so putting a horror spin on a mirror maze will be a great way to drop lore about him! The classic comedy scenario of 'not knowing which reflection is real' could be symbolism on how he doesn't really know who the real him is.
Though, lately I've been noticing a running theme of me thinking of a theory but never saying it and then it ends up to be true sooooo just in case I do have one note to make about the mirror maze. Even though I HIGHLY doubt it, it is possible this scene won't take place in a dream at all, but in The House of Lead.
The House of Lead is also black and white, has lore relations to RGB, can create rooms and change its shape at will. Overall, it's very similar in aesthetic to RGB's dreams. It's not outlandish to suggest that RGB could get separated from Hero in the house and end up in this room. This was the place where Hero told RGB about Negative
Plus, this staircase was already styled to look like Negatives eye! This could just be a neat visual gag, but it's worth mentioning.
But the reason I'm so hesitant to say it'll happen in The House of Lead is because it feels much too SOON. Mod made these posts 10 YEARS ago, so it's clear their playing the long game. I really have no way to predict when these references will pop up, but either way, I'm super excited!
Overall, it was actually really fun watching all these silent films and now a keep imagining RGB doing a bunch of other, more silly, stunts. Please comment if i missed anything though!
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