Strings Are a Metaphor For…

Published December 4, 2016 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey Guys,

First off, I love your podcast about Westworld, and think it’s second to none. I wanted to submit the following simple observations that I recently posted on Reddit:

While rewatching the intro, I noticed something I never have before. There are two distinct types of strings being applied in the scenes by the machines. The first are simple piano strings being stretched and applied. The next are some sort of muscle fibers being stretched and attached to bones. I know that music has been used to control hosts when nothing else seems to.

I started thinking more about strings and realized a stringed instrument only makes music when it is plucked or hammered. Much like our bodies only move when our muscles contract or relax.

I began to think even deeper about this and I realized this show has a lot of similarities to Pinocchio.

We all know that Pinocchio was a puppet created by Geppetto. Puppets only appear to be alive when someone is “pulling the strings”. Geppetto began to see some lifelike qualities in Pinocchio and wished for him to be alive. If we look at the interactions between Arnold and Dolores before the park opened we can see him wrestling with something very similar. He sees that she is not just a puppet, and wants her to be fully conscious.

I believe Ford is more like the villain in Pinocchio and is only interested in controlling his creations. He loves the power of being able to have complete control and in essence “pull the strings”.

I would love to hear others thoughts on this and how it applies to aspects of the show. If this is the intent of the show then the metaphor has been there from the very first seconds of the shows intro all along.

Thanks,
– Anthony M.

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