The Curtains Are Not Just Blue: Reclaiming The Value of Deep Media Analysis
For as long as high school students have been required to read books and produce in-depth analysis, the phrase “the curtains are just blue” has haunted English classrooms across the country. Though the phrase has no clear origin, it serves as a critique: why search for hidden meaning in a text when the author never intended one to exist?
The issue is not, however, whether or not the author intended a hidden meaning. Instead, what matters is the ability to find subtext and meaning within the media you consume. This becomes especially relevant when taking into account the modern state of literacy and media comprehension in our country.
Media comprehension is directly tied to literacy rates, and ours have been on the decline. The United States ranks 36th in literacy and according to the National Literacy Institute; while 79% of adults nationwide are literate, 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade reading level with 20% below a 5th-grade level.
Not only have readers lost sight of subtext and hidden meaning, but they often miss the central point of a text altogether. Clear symbolism and intentional allusions are ignored as “reaches,” or go unnoticed entirely.
Take the main character of “Chainsawman,” Denji. His hypersexual behavior is often written off as him simply being a pervert. In reality, this behavior is deeply tied to his traumatic upbringing, emotional reflection, and lack of healthy human connection. Denji longs for love and approval, but because of his experiences, he can only understand those desires through a sexual lens. This vulnerability allows him to be manipulated by the women in his life.
Throughout the story Denji grapples with whether people want him for his heart, or for his ‘chainsaw heart,’ a storyline that serves as an allegory for his body and usefulness. Ignoring this context strips him of his depth and reduces a meaningful portrayal of trauma to a joke, reinforcing exactly the kind of surface-level reading that media literacy seeks to prevent.
The issue will only continue to get worse with the rise of AI taken into consideration. Students of all ages use sites like ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek to ignore practicing their literacy skills in favor of more free time.
“AI has its place. However, the real danger is that many students are using it as the knowledge holder when it is very much not that. […] Students are offloading the thinking to AI and becoming passive learners and creators. What they can’t yet see is the value that the human mind has that AI can never compete with,” said Mrs. Castillo, 9th grade English teacher.
However, it goes beyond just an analysis. Beyond simply understanding a text, finding a deeper meaning and thus being able to form your own interpretation allows people to create a more personal connection to what they are reading and watching. This prevents detached consumption.
“I’ve noticed a pattern in my generation: they only view things on a surface level rather than digging deeper. Media is something that is meant to invoke something in you, whether it is a revolutionary spirit, or motivation to improve; if you refuse to look at it with an analytical lens, then you miss the whole point.
“With ‘Haikyuu,’ a lot of people dumb it down as ‘a basic volleyball manga,’ but in reality it’s a story about improvement and perseverance. It taught me that my failures don’t define me, it’s what I do after those failures that do,” said senior Daniel Cabo.
Additionally, such dismissal can be insulting to a creator’s skill and effort. While so far we’ve mostly explored media literacy in books, the same principles apply to shows and movies. Visual media can be the biggest victim of the “the curtains are just blue” mentality, as watchers fail to realize that every shot, color choice, and scene is intentional.
In animation particularly, things are rarely placed carelessly. Every frame is designed intentionally, from background details and lighting to character movements and color palettes. In film, this is called, mise-en-scène.
Take a movie like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Some choices have been rehashed frequently, such as Miles being animated at 12 frames a second, contrasting all the other Spider-People being animated at 24 frames a second. It’s not until the end of the movie during his leap of faith where he is animated at 24 frames, serving as a visual metaphor for him becoming Spider-Man.
However, some choices are not so clear and require deep thought. In an interview with ACMI, art director Dave Blush reveals that the graveyard scene intentionally floods the snow with Spider-Man reds and warm stained-glass light while Miles stands in cooler blues. He explains that Brooklyn stays warm because it represents home and safety, while colder palettes signal Miles’s isolation and guilt. This displays Miles’s emotional conflict before he even speaks.
In the end, “the curtains are just blue” is a rejection of effort. By choosing to engage rather than dismiss, readers and viewers preserve not only the integrity of art but their own ability to think, question, and understand beyond the surface.
