Director's Notes: 169 - The Whittler

(as always, Director's Notes may contain spoilers)

I've mentioned before that we don't lean too heavily into commentary on current events in Welcome to Night Vale. We do lean into satire and subversion at times. The whole missing Delta flight storyline (eps 162-163, 165-167) revolved around a eugenicist, fascist pilot. We regularly undermine the NRA. The characters comment against injustice, etc. But those tend to be broader moral issues, rather than specifically going after whatever is in the news that day.

This is partially due to the fact that we write these episodes weeks before they go out. But also because Night Vale, for all of it's dystopian qualities, is still an escape for our listeners. It's a place to see our real world reflected back, sure, but through a funhouse mirror. Sometimes those warped images, though, hit close to home. 

In 169 - The Whittler, I inadvertently landed on the deeper woe of quarantine. As I wrapped up the story with the disappearance of the old man and his wood-carved gifts, I realized it was a parable about loss, about our need to hold and touch and feel connection to someone. Just as Cecil misses the whittled sea-plane he was given, I miss hugs and live theater. They were just there. Right there. In my hands. And now they are gone. 

I still have art. I still have love. But I cannot touch them. Joseph and I emailed a bit about whether this was too sad. We agreed that it's sad, but also we hoped it chronicled our feelings in quarantine without being an overt statement on stay at home orders and their emotional impact. All of that while still having the classic elements of a Night Vale episode: community calendar, horoscopes, etc. 

Apologies if the episode pushed some tough buttons, but I hope it connected with you, even in melancholy. Stay safe. Keep your masks on. And talk about your feelings as much as you can with those you love and trust. 

Jeffrey Cranor
June 1, 2020