Sugar (Excess and Processed)
The scene where Seth seems to pour far more sugar into his coffee than even the biggest sugar addict could possibly find tasty has been singled out director David Cronenberg as an attempt to inject symbolism into the narrative consistent with the period in which the film was produced. No state secrets are likely to be revealed with the revelation that the mid-1980’s—the film was released in 1986—was something of a high water mark for recreational use of cocaine. Cronenberg’s interjection of this timely symbolism carried a typically edgy political bent, however: in addition to Seth’s behavior reflecting the manic lack of attention to detail of those heavily addicted, the scene also exists to suggest that as scientist, this character would also likely to be always open to experimenting with “bad” substances to produce “good results.” The continuous pouring of the sugar thus is doubly symbolic: it is emblematic of the worst excesses of the era while also a reminder that pure science cannot be shackled by shifting moral perspectives.
AIDS
One popular interpretation of the overarching symbolism of the inescapable degeneration of the body of the scientist who is slowly losing his humanity and is viewed as something less than human and to be feared and avoided is that it is a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic sweeping the world at the time. Much less the reference to cocaine addiction, reading the film purely as an AIDS allegory is far to simplistic for any film by Cronenberg. While the director obviously speaks to specific things going on within the zeitgeist at the time and though his movies are rich in allegorical function, none of his previous or subsequent films can accurately be reduced to a specific symbolic commentary upon any one issue, so it makes little sense to try applying it liberally to The Fly. Nevertheless, the aspects of the film dealing with the breakdown of the body and the ostracism and revulsion invoked by Seth’s decline most definitely can be said to have certain undertones related to the hysteria over the AIDS epidemic.
Terminal Disease
Rather than a singular interpretation of the degeneration of Seth’s body as specifically symbolic of the ravages of AIDS, Cronenberg is also on record as suggesting that the extreme degenerative effects of his scientific experiment gone wrong is more accurately read as a symbolic of when the body goes wrong. When the body makes a mistakes—when there is a “fly in the ointment” if you will—essentially the same process of mutation occurs which results in degenerative effects. That fly in the ointment could be smoking, working with carcinogenic substances or even just eating unhealthy foods. Keep in mind it was not the experimentation that result in the degeneration of Seth’s body, but one tiny little mundane housefly being in the wrong place at the very wrong time.
Frankenstein
A common misconception used to be given voice in the reference to the Creature that Dr. Frankenstein created sharing his name. Thus, the monster and the doctor was synonymous and indistinguishable: “He’s a Frankenstein” for much of the 20th century could just as easily have been he was a mad scientist as that he was a repulsive created reanimated from the dead. That connection is no longer really applicable these days are people are more likely to distinguish between the two by adding “creature” to the doctor’s name when they are referencing that which the scientist made. The Fly is actually one of the few films in which the symbolism remains integrated: the mad scientist and the hideous Creature he created truly are one and the same; the symbolic meaning is fused and inextricable.
The Video Camera
Ronnie’s intention with the video camera is record of everything that is going on in the experimentation process, with the implicit expectation that such a documentation will capture the truth as well as the facts. Simply by pointing a camera at something, in order words, objectivity is accomplished. To a point, this turns out to be an accurate assumption, but as the degeneration continues, the camera becomes symbolic of something far greater than mere recording of truth and documentarian of facts. Ultimately, the camera becomes a symbol of ignorance and not just ignorance, but willed ignorance. The truth that the camera captures—Seth still looking mostly human but now capable of eating only as a fly eats—is too disturbing and repulsive and grotesque for its truth to be viewed. The very truth that the camera captures becomes, in essence, a stimulus for remaining ignorant. Cronenberg seems to making a statement here about his own use of the camera to create films that are considered too extreme and repulsive to ever win him a huge mainstream audience. While it may be possible for a camera to capture an objective truth, it still must find an audience subjective enough to want to see and know that truth.
