So, if you're new to studying works of fiction through a metaphorical, ideological or allegorical lense, this theory may seem alien to you. It may seem like it's a stretch or completely change your perspective on the series. However, this drastically different theory has a lot going for it and will take quite some time to put across completely.
I believe that much of Five Nights at Freddy's story is metaphorical.
If you were to sum it up in a very brief way:
We play the games from FNAF 1 to Help Wanted as Mike as he literally and metaphorically visits his past. The animatronics all represent both physical entities and figments of Mike's trauma. It's ambiguous if the experiences are dreams, augmented reality (a blend of real and illusions, including dreamscapes, internally or externally) or both reality and memories.
Animatronics represent people who have had their humanity taken away, either willingly or unwillingly, by a traumatic event. They are also, in and of themselves, figments of Mikes trauma from the past.
Traumatic events have a detrimental effect on a person. It can cause emotional pain or numbness. Consequently, when the series is read as one whole story, the series is exploring the process of dealing with trauma.
This comes from the cliche that robots don't have emotions at all, just programming. A robot can be reprogrammed, have memories erased and they may have no sense of self. They can have parts put on or removed. They can even be loaded with sophisticated AI or 'digital souls'. All of these echo what happens to those who are traumatized.
As the saying goes, hurt people sometimes hurt people. People become animatronics and go on to bite/attack others.
Trauma can impact people in lots of ways:
Some get angry and lash out at others
Others become withdrawn and silent, fearing further trauma
Some become focused on revenge or justice
Others run away and avoid facing the past
Some feel guilt or numbness, overwhelmed by what was going on.
Some do a mix of the above
This is reflected in the narratives around the animatronics. For a moment, ignore the souls inside the animatronics and think purely of the characters.
Each iteration of animatronic reflects the emotions and behavior of individually who have been traumatized. This is illustrated via the character designs - especially colours, symbols, damage - and names. An animatronic's behavior is also important. For example, whether you need to check cams, flash your flashlight, or close doors to deal with them.
You could even go a step further and say the games depict evolutions of that character. Or, my favourite theory is that they are brain-conjured symbolic figments of Michael and Crying Child's collective traumatic experiences. This is a modified take on Dream theory, where Mike's reality and dreams intermingle as part of a living nightmare via Augmented Reality (inside Mike's head). Why? My theory is that the residents around the pizzerias and pizzaplex are being experimented on. Freddy's is just a front for corrupt scientific experiments and sinister research projects, aided by surveillance and data collection. They have been taking over the world and perfecting mass production of animatronics and other machines.
FNAF 4, where we see William's children, was quite literally where William brought his work home with him. He was running experiments on his own children!
So how does this theory work?
Forget everything you know about FNAF apart from the core game. Everything is a metaphor. See each of an animatronic evolutions as one entity
There is no spoon - Reality and dreams blend together
You play as Michael as the player character for all games up to Help Wanted. We are essentially inside his head as he literally and metaphorically visits the past.
Both William and Mike can be viewed as wearing the springlock suit. Arguments can be made for both singularly or together. The suit itself represents the curse of working or being part of an ideology or commercial endeavor. Or, more literally, the burden of what they have done/overlooked for Fazbear Entertainment, good and bad.
William and Mike are ambiguous in their motivations. I won't ascribe them here.
The games can be put into any order. Personally though, I am inclined to think they are already in the right order.
Important point: CYCLES OF TRAUMA REPEAT. So the same minigame happenings may have happened multiple times.
None of this theory is prescriptive. The most important idea is that the story is thematically exploring trauma - the details are up for debate. Everything is up for interpretation.
This is just one of many readings you can apply to the games.
The character designs convey their own meaning using colour theory, symbolism, and damage. Eyes have great importance too.
Also, the animal each animatronic is based on matters.
- Bear - A formidable predator with teeth and claws that can effortlessly pull prey apart. However, they are also associated with cuddly teddy beard
- Fox - A cunning and scavenging animal with a sharp bite. A predator.
- Chicken - Chica inexplicably has teeth but chickens are typically docile and a prey animal. Notable in being the only female character initially.
- Bunny - They have teeth and claws so can attack but they are usually seen as harmless prey.
My readings of the animatronic types based on type:
Original - The concept of an animatronic represents how the mind/person operates post trauma.
Shadow - These are the dark, shadowy animatronics that appear in FNAF 2. According to the Original Character Encyclopedia, "they are rumoured to be made of Dark Remnant." Shadow Freddy and Bonnie are a very dark purple - almost black - apart from their features. Following Shadow Freddy ingame takes you to a room where you are torn to pieces - "Don't look at him too long". Shadow Puppet, Balloon boy and X.O.R are a very dark blue. They represent deeds done in the shadows, unseen or known by others.
Withered - Decayed, ruined versions of the classic animatronics. Their missing parts represent the results of trauma, echoing what each animatronic has had taken away from them. For example, Bonnie is missing a face - suggesting reputation or identity issues. Chica, on the other hand, is missing her hands, showing that she lacks control.
Toy - Another straight-forward one. Toys are pawns in someone else's game. However, that does not make them harmless. Their friendly nature is just a facade, helping them to more effectively lure children into their custody
Phantom - These are burnt, fire-damaged, decayed animatronics (according to OCE). Freddy has small, beady pupils and limps, looking at him too long triggers a jumpscare. Appearing primarily in FNAF 3, the game mechanics make it clear that they aren't physically there, they are just 'hallucinations' or delusions. I believe they represent Mike's emotional flashbacks.
Nightmare - The clue is in the name. These are the tortured dream versions of the animatronics. They are warped versions of each animatronic, representing fear and emotional pain. The OCE describe them as 'battered' and 'monstrous'. Fredbear has a set of teeth in his stomach.
Funtime - These animatronics are the most ambiguous. "Funtime" suggests joy but all of the animatronics are buried in a bunker in Sister Location. Each has a microphone embedded in their chest, suggesting they now have a voice. Perhaps they are hiding but having a good time? This seems unlikely given that all of them have split faces that constantly show their insides. There are other, more adult associations here too.
Rockstar - Seen in FFPS, this form represents entities who have chosen to live in the spotlight and 'perform' as part of a band/team. It represents a choice to move forward despite being in animatronic form. It is a more positive position but still one that carries pain and trauma.
Glamrock - This represents the most evolved form of the animatronics. They roam the pizzaplex and eat at will. They have achieved stardom, fame and fortune but are still trapped within their animatronic bodies and the pizzaplex.
Twisted - These animatronics exist only in the books. They are malicious, deformed entities, covered in boils and double jaws. These represent bad deeds, driven by negative emotions like anger.
Ennard/Molten Freddy/The blob - These characters represent the collective minds (potentially digital) of multiple characters. They are amalgamations that have a common goal or trauma. Their minds may be distinct but part of a hivemind or one consciousness.
Scrap - Baby's second iteration represents someone who has been part of a greater collective group (Ennard) and has separated from it but still lacks a distinct sense of self. It is an entity made up of the remaining scraps left over after experiencing trauma.
You can even extend this metaphor further:
William/Mike literally gets trapped within an animatronic suit. This symbolizes the trauma of the dead children incident (either first or secondhand) coming back to haunt them. They imprisoned in a robotic shell. He is a robot on the outside, flesh on the inside. Interestingly, the combination of a docile bunny suit with both could suggest they were initially harmless and were trapped or the disguise entrapped them.
On the flipside, you have Michael. His insides get scooped out and replaced by Ennard. This indicates him being haunted by multiple souls and sources of trauma. Alternatively, it could mean he becomes host to a hive mind, forever changed. On the outside, he looks human but the trauma has left his body rotten and purple - the colour of his father.
While I haven't read much of the books yet, from what I've read there is evidence that Cawthorn is going even further. In the story 'Frailty', we see a girl who looks human who symbolically gives away bits of her heart to help sick children. At the end of the story, she sweats oil and collapses into a pile of nuts and gears. This is metaphorically reminiscent of savior complex - where a victim develops the need to save others to deal with their personal trauma even when it is detrimental to themselves. Meanwhile, Lally - the little robot from Tales of the Pizzaplex who keeps appearing in random places scaring people - represents triggers and emotional flashbacks appearing when you least expect it.
How does this impact the story? BOY, it changes a lot. Next time, I'll break down what I think happened in the story.
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