Wasnt the ouroboros discussed multiple times in movie reviews?
It stands for something that creates itself, by destroying (eating) itself. Its like a metaphor for area x \ rhe shimmer. While not in the books (afaik) its a powerful image and analogy to whats happening in annihilation, and why the movie is even called that to begin with. Something new was created out of the annihilation of the old thing.
> Something new was created out of the annihilation of the old thing.
I really like that meta theme. You made me think about where even the movie itself is on the same theme, they consumed the book and created something new.
But yeah when I made this post it wasn't to point out that the tattoo existed (I thought everyone knew about it) I just love this tattoo and wanted to talk more about it. Plus when I was looking for photos of the tattoo I couldn't find as many so I wanted to provide this resource to others
I always thought it was the result of the Area X shuffling and merging everything’s DNA/makeup. Everything is blending together slowly. She didn’t originally have the tat.
You're right. She doesn't originally have the tattoo. The first person we see with the tattoo was on the guy getting cut open by Kane and then it appears on both Anya and Lena
But (and this is one of the reasons the fact that the movie tries to explains things away as a "DNA-prism" or some shit doesn't sit right with me) a tattoo has nothing to do with your DNA.
It's ink that's been placed on your skin, has nothing to do with genetic material. How could it move as a result of DNA shuffling?
Because Area X isn’t just doing it to DNA, but everything, all available information and material. Memories become objects - the house where the bear attacked the group is identical to Lena and Kane’s house. Matter duplicates, like the deer that split into two while Lena stares at them. Matter gets transposed and rearranged in ways that don’t fully make sense, like the crystal trees near the lighthouse that catch on fire.
Whatever force or mechanism is working on Area X doesn’t categorize things the way we do, or maybe doesn’t understand/use categories at all. But saying Area X alters DNA is both a shorthand for an audience that needs an explanation and an extension of the cancer metaphor running through the movie. Lena’s just using language she’s familiar with and possibly denying/overlooking the truth - Area X is a cancer of reality itself, not just the biological parts.
I guess the best interpretation, to your point, is to say they're just wrong about the DNA refraction being Area X's main schtick.
Wish they didn't include it with such emphasis, then. It's the ambiguity that the book lives in that makes it so special. The intense *not knowing* is what's so eerie about it.
Giving an answer that doesn't really jive with what we see is one way to capture it, but it feels more like the movie is actually offering it as an explanation, as opposed to them spitballing and being wrong about it.
I generally like the movie, and feel like it captures the tone of the book really well. Just wish it didn't feel like it had to wrap everything up in one go.
I always thought it was anya's tattoo first & that's why it ended up on lena. their proximity. seeing the tattoo on the guy from kane's crew is mind blowing.
I’ve only watched this once, after I read Annihilation the first time. I need to rewatch it! I really liked it, not as an adaptation of the book but as it’s own movie lol. But I definitely didn’t take note of the tattoo! Very cool, will probably rewatch tonight actually.
I had the impression, perhaps wrongly, that whatever the shimmer is, is transferred by touch. In an early scene, Kane, who has just returned from Area X, touches Lena's hands across a table. The touch is shown refracted through a glass of water. At that point, Lena is 'infected' via Kane's touch. She was infected before she went into the Shimmer, hence why she survived. The ouroboros tattoo was transferred from Anya to Lena via touch. The tattoos for me represent something that can be imprinted onto us - like for example, an idea.
Ask yourselves a question - why a lighthouse? What is a lighthouse? Was it just an accident that it began there, or is it symbolic?
I think the film is perhaps not so much about cancer or ecology, but in the simplest terms it echoes the sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, also John Carpenter's The Thing, and is more about politics and ideologies than a disease of the body.
Wasnt the ouroboros discussed multiple times in movie reviews? It stands for something that creates itself, by destroying (eating) itself. Its like a metaphor for area x \ rhe shimmer. While not in the books (afaik) its a powerful image and analogy to whats happening in annihilation, and why the movie is even called that to begin with. Something new was created out of the annihilation of the old thing.
> Something new was created out of the annihilation of the old thing. I really like that meta theme. You made me think about where even the movie itself is on the same theme, they consumed the book and created something new. But yeah when I made this post it wasn't to point out that the tattoo existed (I thought everyone knew about it) I just love this tattoo and wanted to talk more about it. Plus when I was looking for photos of the tattoo I couldn't find as many so I wanted to provide this resource to others
I always thought it was the result of the Area X shuffling and merging everything’s DNA/makeup. Everything is blending together slowly. She didn’t originally have the tat.
You're right. She doesn't originally have the tattoo. The first person we see with the tattoo was on the guy getting cut open by Kane and then it appears on both Anya and Lena
But (and this is one of the reasons the fact that the movie tries to explains things away as a "DNA-prism" or some shit doesn't sit right with me) a tattoo has nothing to do with your DNA. It's ink that's been placed on your skin, has nothing to do with genetic material. How could it move as a result of DNA shuffling?
Because Area X isn’t just doing it to DNA, but everything, all available information and material. Memories become objects - the house where the bear attacked the group is identical to Lena and Kane’s house. Matter duplicates, like the deer that split into two while Lena stares at them. Matter gets transposed and rearranged in ways that don’t fully make sense, like the crystal trees near the lighthouse that catch on fire. Whatever force or mechanism is working on Area X doesn’t categorize things the way we do, or maybe doesn’t understand/use categories at all. But saying Area X alters DNA is both a shorthand for an audience that needs an explanation and an extension of the cancer metaphor running through the movie. Lena’s just using language she’s familiar with and possibly denying/overlooking the truth - Area X is a cancer of reality itself, not just the biological parts.
I guess the best interpretation, to your point, is to say they're just wrong about the DNA refraction being Area X's main schtick. Wish they didn't include it with such emphasis, then. It's the ambiguity that the book lives in that makes it so special. The intense *not knowing* is what's so eerie about it. Giving an answer that doesn't really jive with what we see is one way to capture it, but it feels more like the movie is actually offering it as an explanation, as opposed to them spitballing and being wrong about it. I generally like the movie, and feel like it captures the tone of the book really well. Just wish it didn't feel like it had to wrap everything up in one go.
I always thought it was anya's tattoo first & that's why it ended up on lena. their proximity. seeing the tattoo on the guy from kane's crew is mind blowing.
I reckon this is probably the number 1 most common miss understanding people have about a minor detail in the movie.
Damn I've watched the movie 3 times and I've never noticed this before. Really really cool detail
[And of course I missed one](https://i.imgur.com/3vfOQxG.jpg)
I’ve only watched this once, after I read Annihilation the first time. I need to rewatch it! I really liked it, not as an adaptation of the book but as it’s own movie lol. But I definitely didn’t take note of the tattoo! Very cool, will probably rewatch tonight actually.
Wow I never noticed this detail!! Interested to hear what everyone thinks about this.
I can't tell if you're being genuine or snarky
100% genuine. Usually I catch stuff like that but had no idea. Makes me wanna watch the movie again.
I had no idea of this. Is there mention of it in the book? It’s been a sec for me.
Interesting that it's not on the copy - as if it's copying from some pre-area-x state (which is all sorts of impossible)
It is on the copy. You can see it in photo 9
Oooh wait, yes, the hand with the pin is the original and the tattoo transferred
Interesting that the tattoo only appears on her echo at the end and not her arm. Makes me question whether it’s really her at the end.
I had the impression, perhaps wrongly, that whatever the shimmer is, is transferred by touch. In an early scene, Kane, who has just returned from Area X, touches Lena's hands across a table. The touch is shown refracted through a glass of water. At that point, Lena is 'infected' via Kane's touch. She was infected before she went into the Shimmer, hence why she survived. The ouroboros tattoo was transferred from Anya to Lena via touch. The tattoos for me represent something that can be imprinted onto us - like for example, an idea. Ask yourselves a question - why a lighthouse? What is a lighthouse? Was it just an accident that it began there, or is it symbolic? I think the film is perhaps not so much about cancer or ecology, but in the simplest terms it echoes the sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, also John Carpenter's The Thing, and is more about politics and ideologies than a disease of the body.