Saturday, February 4, 2012

180

180 (number)

Le Cafe Miro 81 (turns into 180, when it breaks and kills Carter)
The number 180, also known as the 180 curse and the 180 cliché, is a recurring ominous and common number, usually it is a key element part in the Final Destination series. It is usually marking the coming death of a character. The number refers to the series' original name, Flight 180, which was decided by New Line a name too easily confusable with other movies such as Air Force One and Con Air. The number has appeared in every film of the series, always associated with the opening disaster (Flight 180, Mile 180, Train 081, Arena 180), and constantly seen throughout the films as a mirrored 081, license plate numbers, ticket numbers, etc.

Origin

The first sign of the number was in Final Destination. In it, a teenager named Alex Browning and his friends board Volée Airlines Flight 180, scheduled for Paris, France. However, things began to take an unlucky turn when the plane exploded. Ever since then, any signs of the number 180 do nothing but foreshadow misfortune and death.

Occurrences/signs of the number

Final Destination

Final Destination 2

  • "Next 180 feet" sign.
  • 180 Mile Marker.

Final Destination 3

  • Train 081
  • "Turn Around" (also called a 180).
  • Unit 081 key (in hardware store).

The Final Destination

  • Nick O'Bannon and his friends' seating order.
  • One of the security camera numbers shown when checking the security footage.
  • The bus's number at the end of the movie.
  • After Samantha's death, Nick is showing Hunt the article about her death. In the related story section, it says, Bus crash on HWY 180 kills 32.

Final Destination 5

  • 180 trust exercise video on the Bus 1282 monitor
  • Le Cáfe Miro 81 where Sam works is used throughout the movie.
  • 180 Corporate Consulting is the name of the business retreat the bus is Heading.
  • Flight 180 at the end of the movie.

Theories

  • Half of a circle has 180 degrees. If put into the context of the Final Destination series, it may be a metaphor for the cycle of life and death, with half of the circle representing death as is appropriate for the franchise. It is highly doubtful that this symbolism was intentional, however.
  • The Hexadecimal number for 180 is B4, as in "Before", which can be referring to the trademark premonitions found throughout the Final Destination franchise.
  • 180 could be a scrambled version of 108, a number frequently found in Buddhism that represents the one-hundred and eight earthly "defilements" that prevent attaining enlightenment and Nirvana. Some of the defilements easily apply to survivors in the series, such as "Disrespect" (Hunt Wynorski), "Jealousy" (Peter Friedkin), "Blasphemy" (Isaac Palmer), "Lecherousness" (Frankie Cheeks), "Self-Hatred" (Rosemarie Dupree), "Vanity" (Darla), "Sarcasm" (Eugene Dix) and "Hostility" (Kat Jennings) to name a few.

No comments: