The most notorious fan theory suggests that Sandy is in fact dying throughout the movie and the story only plays out in her imagination. Arguably one of the most famous movie theories of all time, it offers a completely different perspective on the movie's otherwise mostly upbeat tone, adding darkness to the musical's joyous light. And while the theory has its detractors, it remains incredibly popular, because it is tied to the film's strangest mystery: what its end really means. It is precisely because of that ending's weirdness and one particularly pertinent line from Grease's first big musical number - "Summer Nights" that a fan theory suggested a grim undercurrent to the classical musical including a dying teenage girl living her last moments "down in the sand". The fantasy sequences of "Greased Lightnin'" and "Beauty School Dropout", which very much play out in the imaginations of the characters singing those songs. The former is the T-Birds imagining their triumphs and how well the car will boost their boyish boasts of machismo, while the latter is Didi Conn's Frenchy imagining the bleakness of her future if her dream fails. Both are very much tied to dreams, but that makes the final sequence of Grease all the more confusing, because when Danny and Sandy fly off from the carnival in Greased Lightnin' it happens in real-time in the real world. Sandy's shock is nothing compared to that of the audience, who have just watched a fairly conventional high-school musical that operates within normal rules of reality end with a car literally flying off into the distance. In that respect, it was no wonder that there was an opportunity for a fan theory to fill in the gap in logic. The starting point of the theory, which was initially posted on Reddit, is one of the lines in "Summer Night" dedicated Sandy and Danny telling each of their listening audiences what happened during their holiday romance at the beach. While the Grease prequel, 'Summer Lovin', will tell the actual story of what happened during that tryst, the only account the audience can trust is the mention of the young couple bowling in the arcade, holding hands, and drinking lemonade. Crucially, the lyrics suggest that Danny and Sandy met when she got a cramp while swimming and Danny saved her from drowning, before showing off "splashing around". While it might sound like empty bragging, the theory suggests that Sandy actually did drown and everything that follows is Sandy fantasizing about what her life could have been as she dies. From the prolog onwards, every event that happens plays out in Sandy's mind, and the reason everything wraps up so perfectly for every character, despite all of the conflict on the way to the finale is that it's all Sandy's tragic wish fulfillment. As a newcomer to Rydell High, Sandy would have been an outsider, but her reality plays out just as a dream would; she is immediately accepted by the coolest group (the Pink Ladies), meets the boy of her dreams (again), and overcomes every issue. And it's not just her: Rizzo's pregnancy scare, the dance competition that Danny wins (albeit with Cha-Cha), the drag race on Thunder Road Everything ends with a happy ending, no matter what the seeming obstacles. It's all a little too convenient and then when Greased Lightnin' takes off for its maiden flight, the reason becomes clear. It's all a fantasy. The theory also suggests that Sandy's mournful reprise of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and the final two lines "Take a deep breath and sigh, Goodbye to Sandra Dee..." specifically secretly confirm that Sandy lost her battle to live. In that respect, the image of Greased Lightnin' flying off with Danny alongside Sandy at the end of Grease is actually symbolic of her ascending to the afterlife and her transformation is not one of self-realization, but of death. That metaphorical rise, then, is her rising to heaven in the final moments of her life eking out with her final breaths on the sand. It's tragic and dark, but there is a hint of beauty to it. The theory gained enough attention that stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John both commented on it. The former called it fun, though told USA Today that he knew "the writers of Grease, and I was around in the original days. I can't take it too far." Sandy's actor, Olivia Newton-John herself called it "hilarious" and reveled in the idea of Grease being the first ever zombie musical. Unfortunately for fans of the theory, the most notable respondent to the theory was Grease creator Jim Jacobs, who wasn't as big a fan and poured water on the idea of Sandy being dead. He told TMZ that "Whoever made up the theory must have been on acid. Sandy was very much alive." But then, it's rare that the wishes of the creator are taken into account when fans come up with theories, and this one in particular actually does improve the Grease viewing experience, true or not.
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
-
Cars 2006
Lightning McQueen a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed discovers that life is about the journey not the finish line when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country ...
Cars features exciting, feel good, light, computer animated and 3d animation style.
-
Turbo 2013
The tale of an ordinary garden snail who dreams of winning the Indy 500.
Turbo features exciting, humorous, inspirational, light and computer animated style.
-
Cars Toon Maters Tall Tales 2008
Mater the tow truck travels from country to country as he retells his infamous but unbelievable stories.
Cars Toon Maters Tall Tales features humorous, stylized, exciting, feel good and semi serious style.
-
Shark Tale 2004
Oscar is a small fish whose big aspirations often get him into trouble. Meanwhile Lenny is a great white shark with a surprising secret that no sea creature would guess Hes a vegetarian. When a lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and ...
Shark Tale features computer animated, entertaining, feel good, humorous and funny style.
-
Schindlers List 1993
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Schindlers List features touching, emotional, heartbreaking, realistic and thought provoking style.
-
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas 2008
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland young Bruno befriends Shmuel a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuels fate as a ...
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas features emotional, touching, sad, heartbreaking and sentimental style.
-
The Book Thief 2013
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home a Jewish refuge is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
The Book Thief features sentimental, touching, emotional, serious and captivating style.
-
Life Is Beautiful 1997
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While ...
Life Is Beautiful features touching, inspirational, emotional, sentimental and tragicomedy style.
-
Conspiracy 2001
The historical recreation of the 1942 Wannsee Conference in which Nazi and SS leaders gathered in a Berlin suburb to discuss the quotFinal Solution to the Jewish Questionquot. Lead by SS-General Reinhard Heydrich this group of high ranking ...
Conspiracy features political, factual, disturbing, bleak and atmospheric style.
-
Ghetto 2005
In 1942 in Vilna the Nazi annihilate 55000 Jews and squeeze the 15000 survivors in a seven blocks ghetto. The twenty-two year old sadistic commander Kittel is assigned to administrate the ghetto in the capital of Lithuania becoming the master ...
Ghetto features serious, realistic, bleak, emotional and rough style.
-
Stalingrad 1993
quotStalingradquot follows the progress of a German Platoon through the brutal fighting of the Battle of Stalingrad. After having half their number wiped out and after being placed under the command of a sadistic Captain the Lieutenant of the ...
Stalingrad features realistic, serious, suspenseful, gloomy and rough style.
-
Downfall 2004
In April of 1945 Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin capital of the Third Reich Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still ...
Downfall features psychological, bleak, dramatic, disturbing and harsh style.
-
Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg 1990
Swedish account of Raoul Wallenberg the man responsible for the largest rescue of Jews during World War II.
Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg features contemplative, bleak, emotional, uplifting and thought provoking style.
-
Hacksaw Ridge 2016
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss who served during the Battle of Okinawa refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Hacksaw Ridge features inspirational, touching, sentimental, harsh and motivational style.
-
Lore 2012
After her Nazi parents are imprisoned Lore leads her younger siblings across a war-torn Germany in 1945. Amidst the chaos she encounters mysterious Jewish refugee Thomas who shatters her fragile reality with hatred and desire. To live she must ...
Lore features disturbing, tense, bleak, suspense and psychological style.
-
Katyn 2007
An examination of the Soviet slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.
Katyn features disturbing, sentimental, heartbreaking, realistic and sad style.
-
Hotel Rwanda 2004
Inspired by true events this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his ...
Hotel Rwanda features emotional, intense, informative, rough and political style.
-
Jakob the Liar 1999
In 1944 Poland a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ...
Jakob the Liar features sad, cult classic, uplifting, realistic and semi serious style.
-
Fateless 2005
An Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. Gyrgy Kves is 14 the son of a merchant whos sent to a forced labor camp. After his fathers departure Gyrgy gets a job at a brickyard his bus is stopped and its ...
Fateless features sincere, emotional, serious, disturbing and gloomy style.
-
Anne Frank: The Whole Story 2001
Anne Frank The Whole Story is a film based on the life of Anne Frank a Jewish girl growing up in Nazi occupied Holland. When war breaks out Anne ampamp her family Otto her father Edith her mother ampamp Margot her sister move from Germany ...
Anne Frank: The Whole Story features uplifting, sincere, emotional, bleak and sad style.
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
Make a Post or Browse
Recently added
© DiscussIMDB, All rights reserved. DiscussIMDB is not affiliated with IMDb