The Wall
 

I just finished The Wall for the second time. I was wondering what the meaning of the animated flower scene (What Shall We Do Now) was. Any ideas?

Pink grew up with an extremely oppressive mother, and, at that point in the story, is just discovering sex as an adult. the flower scene represents Pink being seduced by the female's "nurturing" side, giving over to her, and then being destroyed by it.

I'm a Pink Floyd junkie and have read several books about The Wall, so feel free to throw out the questions. It's certainly an obtuse movie at times, and takes a lot of viewings to understand

The sequence goes from sex/union (first a suggestion of fellatio, followed by full penetration, flower-legs flailing) to antagonism (both flowers becoming toothed beasts, snapping at each others' necks), to withholding (the "male" flower seeking and the haloed "female" flower retreating) to devouring (the female snaps shut).

I thought this was a very clear reference to the pattern of Pink's relationship with his wife.

Also note the lyrics:

What shall we use
to fill
the empty
spaces
the ways
of hunger
long
shall we set out
across the sea
of faces
in search of more
and more applause?

(NB: that's from memory--and the memory of the MOVIE, which has a different version of the song than what's on the album--so forgive inaccuracy).

So: it's about unfulfillment and emptiness, at this point in the film.

actually, the lyrics don't begin until after the female flower devours the male. The entire flower animation sequence happens during the musical intro to the song. I think it's simply about another struggle between Pink and a female in his life, and in the aftermath of this failure, his mind turns towards filling his life in more artificial ways.

Right. The very next thing we see, after the vagina-flower-bird-of-prey thing flies off is a wall getting composed of "stuff"--buildings, products, cars, etc.

IMO, The Wall does not withstand close scrutiny - it is best enjoyed (perhaps not quite the word) as an overall experience, with a general understanding of a plotline.

(This from someone who was once obsessed with the band, has seen the film quite a few times, and used to be able to recite the entire lyrics (including "What Shall We Do Now") from memory)

Gee. I thought it was rather obvious, especially within the context of the movie.

Yeah. I'm kind of over them too. It was a high-school/college thing for me.

Likewise, though I have to say I have recently had a reawakening. I was sick of Dark Side back in college (preferred Meddle, Obscured by Clouds, Final Cut), but I have been listening again and re-realized that it is pretty damn good

Why the snark? It's a perfectly legitimate question. Not everyone brings the same experiences and knowledge to the table when they experience a piece of art. Yours made that aspect of it very easy to understand. His made it difficult. I'm sure another part of the movie jumped out at him and you've missed it.

The first time I watched the movie, I was 15 and on a bus at 2:00 in the morning. This second time, I am still only 18, and I was watching with nowhere enough sleep. I wasn't sure what the meaning was, though I did have an idea. I was wondering how deep it was past the flower sex, so I had an idea that if I asked the forum I would get more than one interpretation.

I wasn't my intention to be snarky. I honestly thought the symbolism and meaning in that scene was rather obvious. During the, what, 25 years since that movie came out, I've heard lots of comments on that scene, but this is the first time someone asked about its meaning. So, I was, like, "Huh... ?!"

Art though the movie is, it isn't abstract art. It's not like we're talking about, say, a Georgia O'Keeffe painting, which some people see as just a close-up of a flower, and other people see as an abstract representation of a woman's vulva. Because, the "flower = vulva/vagina" representation in that scene in The Wall is explicitly animated and overtly implied.

Again, IMHO, the eroticism and the domination and the "sex = fear = violence" in that part of the movie is so obvious, and that it's so obvert and explicit, that it catches every one's attention and drives home its meaning.