#sorry for rambling but 🌻💖⚘️🌼💐🏵⚘️🌸💐💖🏵💖💐💖🌻🏵shadow🌹🌻🏵💖💖🌸⚘️🌼🌹⚘️🌹🌼⚘️🌻⚘️🌻⚘️🌻🌸💖💐💐🌻

[sonadowkismesis]

prev u fucking get it !!!!!

the more i think about it the more i realize how much theatre symbolism you can read into shadow. it goes deeper than just his design or voice or how extra his mannerisms are at times, because theres something abt theater that rlly hits thematically with shadow as a character

i think you rlly hit the nail on the head w the idea shadow was made to perform. time and time again he has to play the role he was given, carry out someone else's wish, whether it's gerald's, eggman's, black doom's, even maria's. and when he does he always gives his all to deliver a flawless performance, bc he's a perfectionist at heart.

the way shadow wears "the ultimate lifeform" title is also interesting in this aspect. more than being theatrical in how dramatic it is, it's a role he was placed into. theres a kind of artificiality in that, where his capabilties arent from nature but from human intervention to mimic real life.

and ultimately, thats what theater performance is about: it's mimicry, it's an exaggerated recreation of reality. it's impersonation.

when sonic calls out shadow for impersonating him, it's a direct attack to his abilities. it's not just calling out their artificial roots, it's also an accusation that theyre all show. power and authenticity are intransically linked here.

because if a good theater performance is measured by the intensity and soul actors give into their roles, shadow measures his own performance in strength. his confidence in his identity revolves around his ability to perform well, to prove he is stronger than his double is also proving hes not the impersonator here and is authentic. unfortunately, shadow dies anyway, he even goes as far as giving up his title, basically his identity to sonic, thus placing himself in the role of the impersonator. power is authenticity, and shadow didnt have the strength to live this time. why?

to go back to what you said, i think shadow's true setback in his early appearances was his (conscious or not) inclination to perform other's desires. puppet theater comes to mind, as the incentive for his very conception was to follow the script his creators had for him ; who couldnt see him as a living being, but a shell to instill and act out their goals.

except he's not playing in someone else's show anymore!! post shth shadow found his purpose and character motivation, he became the leading actor of his own life... shadow has always had the strength to carry out his own wishes, all he needed was the willingness to do so in spite of everything and everyone else :33 love him so much

((ALSO forgot 2 mention this in og post but david humpfrey also did a lot of theater (specifically musical theatre) aside from his role as shadow. aint that fun

srsly though, other than its theatrical use, i often think about how the transatlantic accent came to be and how it relates to shadow.

the thing about this accent is that it didnt start out as a product of cinema/theater: originally, it was taught in upper class, fancy schools in america from the 20s to 40s. that's right, taught. its not an accent you could learn naturally, theres no "transatlantic" region where one could speak it from birth, you had to take classes and everything. the overall gist is its a deliberate pick and choose of american and british sounds, taught to the upper class to sound more sophisticated.

then during a time (around the 30s or so) where sound in cinema was just beginning to appear thanks to technological improvements, renowned stars in the industry found themselves unequipped to give good vocal performances on set. therefore they were urged to take classes to work on their eloquence and such, and ended up learning the ta accent, which is why it became so widespread in cinema at that time.

and i think theres a lot of thematical weight in giving shadow this accent. a deliberate selection of characteristics optimized to sound the most superior, reserved for the elite, artificial in how you cant find it anywhere in nature..... it fits so well for shadow, this premeditated perfection))

srry for rambling but im insane so. thumbs up

ok but i find it interesting how shadow's appearance was partially inspired by kabuki theatre

like ooo that makes sense. that makes a lot of sense actually

funny thing is it kinda fits perfectly with shadow's first va using a slight mid-atlantic accent. i thought the accent was a nod to him being from the 50s when it was still in use, but the fact it was almost exclusively utilized in theatrical and cinematic settings kinda makes me wonder if it was an intentional reference to the theatrical aspect of shadow's design as well? his dramatic demeanor sickens me

[angstandhappiness]

FASCINATING

ok but i find it interesting how shadow's appearance was partially inspired by kabuki theatre

like ooo that makes sense. that makes a lot of sense actually

funny thing is it kinda fits perfectly with shadow's first va using a slight mid-atlantic accent. i thought the accent was a nod to him being from the 50s when it was still in use, but the fact it was almost exclusively utilized in theatrical and cinematic settings kinda makes me wonder if it was an intentional reference to the theatrical aspect of shadow's design as well? his dramatic demeanor sickens me