Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is an internet horror series (with a continuation on a British broadcasting network named Channel 4). The story follows three nameless characters (Red Guy, Yellow Guy, and Duck) as they are taught about different topics in the same style as a children’s TV show such as Sesame Street or The Muppets. A “teacher” will make itself known to the trio, and begin to teach the others about topics such as creativity, healthy eating habits, computers, and jobs. While elementary on the surface, the stories very quickly take a sharp turn for the absurd and disturbing. An episode about time rapidly ages the main three characters, becoming so old their skin melts off. An episode about electricity includes a character changing his batteries and unlocking the secrets of the universe only to switch his batteries again and shred the book of knowledge he was given.
When absurdism is utilized as an art form, it is often used to encourage observers to think outside of the box and assign their own interpretation to the piece. Conversely, it can also be used to share and illustrate complex ideas unable to be shown with simple, straightforward imagery. A famous example of this is The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. It shows a largely blank landscape with melting clocks on various unrecognizable surfaces. This piece is about the passage of time and how, over time, our memories of things can slowly morph, or rather “melt,” as we lose the pieces that define the memories.
The Son of Adam by René Magritte shows a man in an overcoat and bowler hat with a green apple obscuring his face from the audience. This painting has quite a few interpretations: The life of a businessman and how he must hide himself to fit into society and be accepted, commentary on a human’s natural curiosity, and an allusion to how man’s biblical original sin still keeps man from God’s grace.
All of this is to say that, when done correctly, absurdism is one of my favorite art forms, and Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is a great example of its diverse interpretations.
Before jumping into my theories and interpretations, there is a large overarching theme I want to cement. Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is first and foremost about creativity. The main point of the show is to be absurd and send messages, but also to allow wiggle room for the consumer to come to their own conclusions. Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is meant to have multiple interpretations, as it is about getting creative and there being no wrong answer to your creativity. There is no incorrect way to interpret the story and at the same time, there is no correct way.
From my perspective, Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is a commentary on the abusive and cyclical nature of the entertainment industry. Yellow Guy is a young child pushed into the spotlight to help his family make money, Duck is a man who has been in the industry for years and sees no flaws in it, and Red Guy is someone who has only just entered the industry and is aware that he is trapped. Each of the 12 episodes individually tells a particular story set within the entertainment industry. Below I will have a brief episode synopsis followed by my interpretations.
Episode 1, Season 1: Creativity
“Creativity” is the world’s first introduction to the world of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared and it immediately sets the premise of the show going forward. A notebook opens and begins to sing to the three main characters. The notebook’s song covers the many facets of creativity and imagination, though, along the way, it critiques Yellow Guy on what his creativity can and cannot be. In the end, the main three characters are seen playing in a mess of gore and grotesque configurations of creativity. This first episode shows the industry (represented by the notebook) taking a young star (Yellow Guy) and morphing him into what works best for them and their goals. He can be creative but only in certain ways that they deem okay.
Episode 2, Season 1: Time
While waiting for their favorite show to come on, the three characters are suddenly interrupted by the clock on their wall, and the clock goes on to educate them on the topic of time. Frequent imagery of decay is presented along with Yellow Guys’ out-of-touch, distant, and silent father making ominous appearances. The decay extends from apples to the characters themselves as we see them decompose, only for them to return to normal. “Time” is, at its core, about the passage of time. Actors and producers are stuck in a never-ending loop. Many people in professions around entertainment work 24/7 on projects that can not promise them a survivable wage. The world changes and they change, but they are stuck doing the same thing.
Episode 3, Season 1: Love
“Love” shows Yellow Guy away from his friends, roped in by a mystical singing butterfly who seeks to teach him about love and its inner workings. Who we should trust, what does love look like, and how do we show love? All of these are questions that the butterfly and his magical friends in the clouds seek to answer. However, as the butterfly and community progress through the lesson, it becomes increasingly clear the love being shown is unhealthy, ending with the butterfly and his friends attempting to indoctrinate Yellow Guy into their cult for their god Malcolm. This episode could have many interpretations in the context of the entertainment industry, and I will go over a few. Firstly, many children placed to work in entertainment will become disconnected from the outside world, assured that their co-stars, directors, and staff are the only people that they need, forming a cult-like relationship that younger folks are increasingly vulnerable to, as community is something young people actively seek. This process would not be as effective on older actors as they have gotten used to the dynamics of a set, but children are more impressionable. Building off of a child’s impressionability, this very innocence is a core explanation for why so many children in the film industry are sexually abused and groomed very often. It becomes normal to them, especially when taught so young.
Episode 4, Season 1: Computers
While playing a question-filled card game, the main trio is startled by a computer that seeks to educate them on what the internet is and what makes it useful. Like in other episodes, the childlike wonder devolves into distorted chaos. In the modern day of technology, celebrities have had much of their privacy stripped away from them. The internet has created much easier accessibility to personal information and has made the lives of entertainment professionals all the more stressful. “Computers” is about how social media leads to the degradation of a celebrity’s self-esteem due to the damaging nature of peoples’ remarks and the lack of monitoring.
Episode 5, Season 1: Healthy Eating
A large piece of meat and a loaf of bread seek to educate Duck and Yellow Guy on how to keep one’s body healthy. However, all of the information given is abhorrently false. Pizza is shown as better than vegetables, and various foods deemed healthy by our standards are displayed to clog up and damage one’s body. As the episode goes on, Duck is taken away and disemboweled, his body turned into meat to be sold on the market. Yellow Guy, oblivious to what he was given, ingests a can of what used to be his dear friend. It is no secret that stars are forced into unhealthy life choices and are highly prone to developing body dysmorphia due to constant scrutiny over their choices. This episode tells the story of the strict monitoring of celebrities’ food intake, weight, and things related. Duck becoming food shows how damaging this behavior is, as it quite literally guts him of everything he has. Yellow Guy eating his friend illustrates the cycle of this issue as Yellow Guy takes on what killed those before him.
Episode 6, Season 1: Dreams
In the finale of season 1, the larger part of the episode is dedicated to a subplot that I have decided to omit in this article, but the beginning consists of a lamp teaching Yellow Guy about dreams and what they do. In the dreams, there are a combination of things Yellow Guy loves and things he is terrified of, such as horses or drowning. Everyone has been told to follow their dreams, but “Dreams” begs us to ask what happens if a dream becomes a nightmare. Yellow Guy likely dreamed of becoming an actor at his young age, but since following his passion, he has found his life in ruins with no friends. His dreams were perverted by the greedy fist that is the entertainment industry.
In my next article on Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, I will be talking about the second season of the show and piecing the story together. I will see you then!
