Choosing a drink is not really complicated. You simply choose what you crave or like the most. But in the process of creating art through meaning its a bit more complicated. As different beverages appeal to different things.
So have you ever wondered why some characters in the movies drink milk? Milk is a more especial beverage and has a really mythic aura around it. For other drinks is simpler. Whiskey or beer, cool and manly. Cognac, classy. Tea, hippie or healthy. Juice, fitness or soccer mom.
Milk in the movies.
The guys from Now You See It on YouTube decided to answer this question. If you think about it’s a really good one. They go through several characters and scenes to explain how movie makers are aware of the symbolism of milk, and how they use it in their favor.
The early years.
The video explains to us that milk is mainly associated with childhood and innocence. So when we see a character drinking it in a movie, we relate to the side of his personality. Seeing him also as pure and whitely clean, even vulnerable.
Growing up.
The conflict seems to appear when adults, especially men start drinking it on the screen. As for some reason, it appears to be awkward or wrong. As in somehow, it represents a contradiction with the naive and immature pure nature of the milk.
Creepy milk.
And moviemakers know this. As they use this soft creamy symbol of purity, good and childhood to give us the creeps. Tergiversating it and using it for bad. Giving sense to all the bad guys in the movies that rather take their glass of milk than a strong alcoholic beverage.
A bastard explanation.
This is not the only meaning of it, it’s also a symbol of strength and calm, in a pure way. Something they explain pretty well in Inglorious Bastards. They use the fact of mother milk to portrait this, and the taboo it means in occidental society to drink it as an adult. As you can see in the latest Mad Max’s movie where The Immortal uses the women for her breast milk in order to keep his strength and rule over.
Bad over milk.
So for the bad guys, this means they’re conquering the purity and good and poisoning it. So the next time you see milk in a movie you will know it is also a symbol of power.