At the end of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox, they break into the supermarket and all drink juice boxes. Apple, of course, for everyone except Ash, who's chosen grape. Which juice, characteristically, stains everything it touches: Ash has got a ring of dark purple 'round his lips. Which kills me, because that's how that works.
I was watching the film one day at that scene when Mom came in: "why is that fox wearing lipstick?" It's grape juice, but this is the first time I've ever really noticed. In the film, there's a recurrent theme of Ash being [appropriate hand gestures here] different, and from that there's... I'm going to call it speculation, deeper into his character. I'd never held it, but I always found it quite lovely and poignant, the notion that Ash is actually gay and doesn't realize it yet though his father does. Just watch it again with that theory in mind. It really adds something stirring to the relationship, doesn't it? But up until that point I hadn't given the idea much thought or credence (his "dress[ing] like a girl" is his superhero costume, for one.) But since then...
Grape juice has stood as a symbol of homosexuality, to me. Subconsciously. I didn't even realize it until today, when context brought it to my attention.
In all innocence, they served grape juice at Grandmother's house...
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