People say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I'm putting that to the test today. As much fun as normal photo analysis can be, I'm going to really test my chops and analyze a rather underappreciated form of art- weird stock photos. And I'm going to do it in one thousand words (discounting this intro, of course).
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For this analysis, we're going to touch on the weird world of dreams and dream interpretation. More specifically, we'll be talking about anxiety dreams. Even more specifically than that, we'll be talking about what people call "chasing dreams". You know the ones. The ones where someone or something is running after you, and no matter how hard you try, you just can't move fast enough?
Most often, these dreams are considered as symptoms and symbols of anxiety and fear. While it might only happen once, or happen every time you close your eyes, these dreams imply that you're stressed out, scared, and feeling overwhelmed by life, responsibilities, and all the things you're worried about before you go to bed at night. Of course, these interpretations are subjective and shaky, and the exact meaning can vary from dream to dream, and dreamer to dreamer. That's why we need to go a bit deeper, analyzing not only the surface of this image, but also the deeper, less obvious symbolism going on.
Of course, we see a man being chased by a speeding train, while he's also frantically attempting to take a selfie at the same time. This whole concept is surreal enough to remind me of anxiety dreams, which is why I brought them up at the beginning. To me, this seems like the man himself is having a "chasing dream", so all of the symbols in the image are really about him and his inner psyche and turmoil.
Let's get the selfie out of the way first. A selfie, or the art of taking a picture of oneself, has often been considered a vain and annoying trait of the young, phone-savvy Millennial and Gen Z generations. Media-obsessed teenagers in movies and TV shows are constantly stereotyped as what TV Tropes calls the "Phoneaholic Teenager". These teens ignore their parents, friends, and even oncoming danger while being more concerned with their phones and updating their instagram feed. Of course, the man in this image isn't a teenager, but that doesn't mean we can't take the "vain selfie" idea and translate it into the dream idea. Combining it with the "chasing dream" concept gives you an image of a man who's both stressed out and concerned with his own self image. Perhaps this concern is what's making him so stressed out to begin with. Maybe he feels as though he's constantly having to keep up appearances, even if the anxiety is crushing him, or, like the train, about to flatten him completely.
He's running through what looks like an otherwise pleasant little area, with healthy plants, nice balconies, and even motorcycles off to the side. The motorcycles are perhaps the most interesting addition there, as it implies the man could have a faster method of escape if he were paying attention... And fast enough to get on one of those bikes in the first place. Instead, he's dashing right past them, too focused on the issues at hand to even notice a possible solution, and too far gone to go back and accept that solution now. The plants, meanwhile, could symbolize slow growth and life. In a dream context, it can mean that one is "progressing slowly" in the waking world, a symbol of patience and steady work. This, of course, contrasts the hurdling train and the man's stress, in which slow and steady won't win that race. Maybe he's getting better at what he's worried about, but his fears are pressuring him to be less patient and more proactive, which only makes him feel rushed and afraid of the implied, self-imposed deadline.
The train itself needs some analysis. So far, I've only been looking at it as a symbol of the "chasing dream" this man is stuck in. But what do "train dreams" actually mean? The website Dreammoods lists several possible interpretations of the train, such as conformity, methodical acting and planning, and, thanks to Sigmund Freud, the male member. These things alone offer a wealth of potential things for this man to be running from- society, routine, or his own sexuality. The fact that it appears to be a freight train offers some extra insight. The website says that this sort of train represents "the burdens and problems that you are hauling around", as well as manual labor. That fits perfectly with the anxious dream-symbolism we have so far. He's running from his burdens and problems, whether they're to do with his career, his adherence to cultural norms, or even about his skills or interests in the bedroom. Whatever it is, he's clearly afraid of it, but also feels the need to capture this moment on camera- possibly an inner desire to show the world his true self and his problems, but filtered through the lens of a phone, which, as mentioned above, has already been linked to the idea of laziness, disinterest, and disrespect. By showing the world his fears, he's opening himself up to being seen as less than what he really is, when those problems are already starting to overwhelm him mentally.
As with the first blog of this series, I'll be ending on a color analysis. For this one, the most obvious color is the red on the train. Red can symbolize anything from passion to danger, and both of those meanings fit with our previous symbol analysis. His black clothes and black phone symbolize power and mystery, but also death and evil. Now, I don't think this man is evil, but I do think he's about to symbolically die from the trains, and he's clearly attempting to get some power in his regular life. The other most obvious color involved is green, which can mean both harmony and envy, money and health, growth and guilt. The duality theme seems appropriate- he's running from his stressors while also growing steadily, trying to show his insecurities while opening himself up for more criticism, dressed in the color of death while running for his life.
Altogether, I'd say this poor man needs to sort out some things in his real life. He should try and strike a healthy work-life balance, and stop letting himself worry about all the responsibilities following him. He's growing, so he just needs to be patient and let it happen.
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