re-frogs...
here is paul thomas andersons explanation....
SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!....
Of all things, why frogs?
It truly came from a slightly gimmicky and exciting place. I’d read about rains of frogs in the works of Charles Fort, who was a turn-of-the-century writer who wrote mainly about odd phenomena. Michael Penn was the one who turned me on to Fort, and who, when I went to one of Michael’s shows in New York once, made reference on stage to “rains of frogs.” At that moment I just went, Wow! How cool and scary and fun to do that would be – and what does it mean?
So I just starting writing it into the script. It wasn’t until after I got through with the writing that I began to discover what it might mean, which was this: You get to a point in your life, and shit is happening, and everything’s out of your control, and suddenly, a rain of frogs just makes sense. You’re staring at a doctor who’s telling you something is wrong, and while we know what it is, we have no way of fixing it. And you just go, so what you’re telling me, basically, is that it’s raining frogs from the sky.
I’m not someone who’s ever had a special fascination with UFO’s or supernatural phenomena or anything, but I guess I just found myself at a point where I was going through some shitty stuff and I was ready for some sort of weird religion experience, or as close as I could get to one.
So then I began to decipher things about frogs and history, things like this famous notion that, as far back as the Romans, people have been able to judge the health of a society by the health of its frogs. The health of a frog, the vibe of a frog, the texture of a frog, its looks, how much wetness is on it, everything. The frogs are a barometer for who we are as people. We’re polluting ourselves, we’re killing ourselves, and the frogs are telling us so, because they are all getting sick and deformed. And I didn’t even know it was in the Bible until Henry Gibson gave me a copy of the Bible, bookmarked to the appropriate frog passage.
exodus 8:2 ...
magnolia refernces to exodus 8:2 ...(damn this is such an awesome movie...)..this kid was 26 when he made boogie nights and 28 when he made magnolia.... scorcese watch out!!
exodus 8:2....
And if thou refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
... can anyone say EARL PARTRIDGE?
MAGNOLIA EXODUS 8:2 REFERNCES
SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!
In the first story, the hanging victim is wearing the number 82.
In the second story, the pilot is in a red plane marked 82.
The pilot is then seen playing Blackjack in Vegas. He needs a 2. He gets an 8.
In the third story, the sign shows the meeting started at 8:20.
When Sydney Barringer is preparing to jump off his building. The ropes to the left of him are coiled as an 8 and a 2.
March 23rd, the day that Sydney jumps, is the 82nd day of that year.
Downstairs, we enter the home of the Barringer's, who have live at apartment number 682.
When Sydney is loading his gun, the hands on the clock right behind him are on the 8 and the 2.
The 'Seduce and Destroy' number is 1(877) 826 - 3437 [or 1(877) TAME - HER]. Many of the phone numbers in the film were real & PTA set up voicemail boxes. You can listen to the main Mackey recording here.
The clock on the wall during police officer Jim Kurring's (John C. Reilly) briefing reads 8:02.
Kurring's personals ad voice box number is 82.
A sequence shows Jimmy Gator has 8 television Emmys and 2 kids.
An onscreen title states there is an 82% chance of rain.
On the back of the paper that Jim is reading in the morning, there's a head line that starts "Frogs: . . ."
When the What Do Kids Know? show goes on live, there is a man in the audience holding up a white "Exodus 8:2." sign.
Jimmy Gator informs the audience that the kids team are heading into their 8th week and there are 2 days and 2 games left until they beat the record.
When Marcie is taken to jail, the number for her photos is made up entirely of 8s, 2s and 0s.
During his "Seduce and Destroy" seminar, Frank TJ Mackey (Tom Cruise) mistakenly says go to 18 in the blue book (form a tragedy) when he's going through his own tragedy. He corrects himself and says go to the white books, page 23. 1(8 2)3
When Donnie Smith enters the Solomon & Solomon Electronics Store, there is a small white Exodus 8:2. sign on the door.
Claudia's main apartment building address is #12601.
Claudia wants to go on a date a 8, however Jim doesn't get off till 2 hours later.
In the bar, there is an 8 and a 2 handwritten in blue on a dry-erase scoreboard and the numbers seem to be the score of some sort of game whose team names are "Frogs" and "Clouds."
Donnie mentions "LEAD" (though it's referenced as pencil lead.) Lead's atomic number is 82
"Quiz Kid" Donnie Smith's oversize check is dated April 28.
There is a poster in the library behind Stanley with the numbers 8 and 2.
Various scores on the quiz show equal the numbers. (i.e. 1025, 2000)
There are two different large white Exodus 8:2. billboards clearly shown at the intersection of Magnolia Ave right before and during the frog sequence. One near a bus stop and the other a larger billboard on the side of the road.
When Doc (Frank's assistant) goes on the elevator to find Frank, he gets on the 2nd floor and gets off on the 8th.
There is a Frogger video game in the Smilin' Peanut Bar.
8 2 is printed on some of the boxes in the Solomon & Solomon office when Donnie pulls the robbery.
There is a white frog figure on the right corner of the desk of the doctor who prescribes liquid morphine to Earl Partridge.
The number 82 is printed on a yellow book in Claudia's house. During the frog storm, as Claudia is hiding in the corner just as Rose knocks on the door. When Claudia crawls over to the door you can catch a glimpse of two piles of books. The left pile has the yellow book with 82 printed in the middle of the book's spine.
There is also a ceramic frog in Earl Partridge's house.
On the Magnolia teaser poster, there are exactly 10 frogs visible (8 + 2).
The center of the flower on the U.S. theatrical poster is comprised of frogs.
this is such a fvuckin awesome movie...
HTH
