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Joan's Art Film

"The Truth Wears Side-Burns", un Film du Joan of Arc, is bizarre, as the experimental-art-film genere requires. The title obviously refers to Abe. Joan saying, "Whisper, whisper. Hush, hush" indicates that she (or "Gabe" in her film) is keeping a secret. The pocket watch indicates time is passing. I don't know what the dolphin turning into Gabe's tears means, but it probably is just a tool to insert the canonical dolphin reference. Reader Matt Hollinger has a theory that the dolphin throughout the series is a metaphor for Joan, though I don't really see it. We already know what Gabe's scream and crying mean, that he is in love with his best friend but hasn't told her. The cherry pie rotting and turning into maggots could be a reference to Joan's virgin reproductive system going 'unutilized'. The dead bird at the picnic could mean any number of things, such as a poisonous environment or a romantic picnic that never happened. "Céline Dion-a-thon, Céline Dion-a-thon" may refer various love songs that Joan has listened to in thinking about Abe or feeling sorry for her situation.

The top hat blowing in the wind in a mud/salt flat refers to Abe in some way; maybe Gabe has lost it, or lost his identity. Reader Katie Wilhelm points out that his hat is blowing in front of an ancient-Egyptian-style setting indicates specifically that Abe is losing his identity to Cleo. The cherry pie is restored and turns in a flame into a rose. Maybe the rose symbolizes love. Then the rose turns in a flame into a human heart, which may be another symbol of love, though this heart is a little more literal than usual. It could also represent Joan's heart being ripped out. No one know what the coughing might mean. The bag pipe, and steaming kettle might refer to the major male reproductive organ. Slapping the watermellon is almost certainly some kind of playful sexual reference. "Paella" is a kind of food or literally means a pot or pan, though I don't know how this relates to slapping a watermelon, which is what one does to determine the ripeness of a watermelon. Oddly, the high-pitch slapping sound that is heard indicates that a watermelon isn't ripe. Though, really, the sound is much more like a skin-on-skin slap. Maybe Joan is metaphorically slapping her own ass to demonstrate her own ripeness.

And then we get "Fin", which is how French movies and pretentious English movies end. There is also a single dramatic piano note when "Fin" pops up. Sigmund Freud gets it, though anyone paying attention could probably extract the themes of Abe, Love, Sexuality, and Forlornness.

Sigmund Freud being the only one who understands it is a reference to how he always related things to sex. Joan responds to him by promptly whacking him in the face with a chair.

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