#I think maybe shelby and nikki should've kissed a little idk

[sotongueincheek]

It's What's Inside: Depiction is not endorsement

I saw a tweet that was claimed that It's What's Inside's message was that being a bad boyfriend is worse than being a pedophile. And I just didn't read it that way at all...

Okay, so people are going to have their own readings/understandings/interpretations of the movie, and none of those things are definitively right or wrong…but I have thoughts. In an interview with Gizmodo/iO9, director/writer/editor Greg Jardin was asked outright if Cyrus deserved to be framed for murder. He has decided to stay neutral on where he stands as he likes that this is a question that folks are asking/discussing.

Personally, I just don't think Jardin is condoning anything that transpired in the movie. He's telling a story that, along with exploring identity and desirability in a social media-laden world, it's also a story about consent and consequences - whether those consequences are just or unjust is not the point. We live in a world where we all face consequences, and unfortunately, we sometimes face consequences because of the action of others, even if we don't deserve to. This is a cautionary tale more than anything.

Every single person in that friend group made a choice, and in the thrill of the moment, agreed to play this game. None of them could've fathomed/had any forethought as to where that choice could lead them because they only focused on what they had to gain from it, never really grasping what they had to lose.

All of them at some point completely lose their bodily autonomy (or did they give consent when they agreed to continue playing the game?). The only winners here are Shelby and Beatrice (and Dennis in a way - he nor his corporeal self faces any consequences for statutory rape. And that' lack of accountability has its own consequences). Reuben and Brooke are dead due to selfishness and recklessness; and Dennis and Maya had to see their corporeal selves brutalized because of it. Cyrus is in jail for a murder he didn't commit due to Dennis's pettiness and then Shelby refusing his alibi for her own selfishness. Forbes has lost all control of the thing he was supposed to be in control of and that has caused a ripple effect. And Nikki - arguably the most innocent of the bunch - has her body completely hijacked with the implication that she might never get it back. Those are the consequences, fair or unfair. It's what happens when we make choices out of our own self-interest without thinking about how it'll impact every(one)(thing) else.

And a note on Shelby while I'm here... In the same interview I referenced above, Jardin said that Shelby is the main character, so I get why she has the ending that she has. Shelby and Cyrus's relationship bookends this movie. Are we supposed to root for Shelby? Eh, I don't care. Is she meant to be "likeable"? Eh, who cares? I don't think Shelby is meant to be some righteous hero (I'm sure Amy Dunne would LOVE her. teehee). Again, this is a cautionary tale. Shelby is what happens when social media gives us a complex about who we are, along with the fact that the girl was gaslit for nearly a decade by a man who made all of their problems her responsibility, and she was popping Xanax...she was already existing with warped neuroses. This is not me excusing/justifying her actions. This is my understanding of consequences. Shelby as a character represents a cultural consequence.

Anyway, my long-winded way of saying depiction is NOT an endorsement. And I don't think Greg or his movie are taking any moralizing stance here. I'd love to hear other thoughts/perspectives.