TO BE BEAUTIFUL: Exploring Themes of Beauty and Horror in the Fazbear Frights Series
The popular horror game franchise Five Nights at Freddy‘s (FNAF) has spawned books and novels that provide more backstory and lore to complement the games. One such example is the Fazbear Frights series – pulp anthologies featuring horrifying tales set in the eccentric Freddy Fazbear‘s Pizza universe.
In this over 2,000 word guide, we‘ll analyze the key details and themes present in the first book – "To Be Beautiful", dissecting the central role beauty plays and the sinister consequences that unfold. Strap yourself in for a deep dive into the crazy world of FNAF!
The Rise of Unattainable Beauty Standards
Before analyzing the story of Sara, it‘s important to understand the real-world backdrop of increasingly unrealistic beauty standards that individuals, especially young girls, face daily. Models in magazines and social media influencers promoting perfection affect body image and self-esteem.
A survey by Dove found a startling 70% of girls aged 15 to 17 actively avoid certain social activities when they feel bad about their looks. 30% of all women are likely to cancel a date due to appearance anxieties. With ideal beauty types glorified everywhere, it‘s no wonder so many tie self-worth to appearance and being flawless.
Celebrities often achieve peerless looks through expensive treatments and even cosmetic surgery. In 2021 alone, there were over 2.4 million botox procedures and 330,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the US. The global cosmetic surgery market size hit $63.5 billion this year and continues rising.
People crave validation and CHOOSE altering their natural features, like Sara does in the story. But the difference is HER change stems from supernatural influences preying on those very insecurities society breeds.
In To Be Beautiful, we follow a girl named Sara…
The Transformation Begins
The tale opens up centered around Sara, an outcast girl struggling with low self-esteem tied closely to her physical appearance not meeting modern beauty norms perpetuated online and media. She compares herself constantly to the surgically enhanced models in fashion magazines.
On the first day of a new school, Sara impulsively tries dying her hair blonde to gain acceptance from a popular clique. The disastrous results leave her with bright green locks instead, becoming the laughing stock of her peers.
Sara ties her self-worth tightly to looking beautiful. Convinced being unattractive equates being unworthy of friendship or positive attention. She becomes determined to do anything to change that…which ends up taking a sinister turn.
After being humiliated at school, a tearful Sara falls asleep despairing she’ll ever be considered beautiful. But the next morning, peculiar changes have emerged – glowing skin, shapely nails, softer hands. The girl is stunned to see herself as gorgeous for the first time.
She decides going to school would ruin this newfound magic. Sara hurries home to further inspect her improved looks – fawning over clearer skin, fuller lips, and shinier hair. The obsession grows as she adapts poses from glamorous models in magazines.
At dinner, Sara seems completely distracted, only talking excitedly about her sudden beauty despite worrying her parents slightly with this extreme vanity. But clearly, an external force is at work…
Societal Pressures Lead Sara to Supernatural "Help"
The overnight shift hints at the supernatural but what exactly caused it? Perhaps in her despair, Sara unknowingly made a dangerous pact with an entity promising beauty? Maybe an enchantment was placed during her vulnerable state by a sinister force needing permission?
Essentially, Sara ties her ENTIRE self-worth and identity to looking beautiful based on narrow standards. This fixation leaves her susceptible to manipulation from influences SEEKING that kind of desperate obsession.
Imagine struggling individuals facing constant messages daily saying their natural features inadequate or unworthy of being “liked”. Sara’s weakness comes from the outside in before anything supernatural occurs. Her willingness to do anything for validation leaves her soul vulnerable.
So what granted Sara’s wish? What hid in the shadows until she cried herself to sleep, lamenting her ugliness? Something opportunistic and sinister…but what?
Examining Potential Symbolic Meanings
On one hand, Sara’s mysterious transformation symbolizes achieving modern beauty standards overnight. Flawless skin, luxurious hair, perfect nails – the ultimate glow up reflecting mass media ideals. She worked on NO inner confidence issues yet the physical allows her access to elite social circles once excluded from.
Sara instantly gets attention from a popular boy who previously ignored her. The promise made by movies, ads and social media influencers that one must look a certain way to attain status is fulfilled.
But alternatively, something alarmingly unnatural occurs changing Sara, hinting at a darker force at work. The regained beauty ultimately fails to resolve deep seated issues tied to self-worth and belonging. If her feelings of inadequacy stemmed internally from mental conditioning versus externally from appearance itself – no number of magical makeovers could provide real confidence.
Her continued desperation suggests surface level beauty proves hollow, unable to provide lasting fulfillment or esteem. Physical beauty becomes a conduit enabling sinister exploitation rather than a solution to problems arising from social pressure. Sara trades her very soul for looks conforming to expectations, rather than accepting herself.
The Growing Obsession Takes Hold
Now believing herself finally beautiful per prescribed standards, Sara obsesses further over her looks – scrutinizing tiny imperfections for hours, finding inspirations in magazines to enhance her beauty. Where focus should shift to self-acceptance and seeing beauty everywhere, the fixation grows into a dangerous addiction.
At dinner, Sara seems distracted, only discussing her newfound gorgeousness nonstop despite weirding out her parents slightly. But clearly a supernatural element fuels this sudden extreme vanity.
Sara returns to school but ignores the amazed stares of classmates, dismissing positive attention as “not enough”. The clique of girls who rejected her before now appear terrified of Sara‘s frosty confidence. Unaffected, she heads immediately to a salon and instructs the stylist to alter her face until no one surpasses her beauty.
Sara loses herself fully to deeply-rooted conditioning tying beauty to human worth, consumed by obsession for physical perfection at ANY cost. But true beauty lies in self-love rather than conforming to demands of others.
Her willingness to mutilate her natural looks demonstrates society’s emphasis on profits over people. Models and influencers routinely alter features to meet ideals. Is Sara getting surgery or is something more ominous at play? Regardless, it comes at the cost of her soul…
A Faustian Bargain
Sara‘s story echoes the German legend of Faust – an ambitious scholar making a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and pleasure. Similarly, Sara trades her essence to become the ultimate physical form exalted by her peers.
Just as too much power corrupted Faust, too much beauty replaces Sara‘s soul with something manipulative and evil. She lets superficial looks eclipse intrinsic personal value.
Her willingness to alter her natural face for fleeting approval foomsociety‘s emphasis on physical over spiritual. The entire transformation clearly serves as a cautionary tale against conformity.
But the key question remains – WHAT malevolent force facilitated Sara’s corruption?
Theories on What‘s Actually Behind Sara‘s Change
While never outright confirmed, clues hint at the true sinister nature behind Sara’s dramatic turn. Some plausible theories based on game lore include:
Remnant
Ghostly metal remnant grants supernatural qualities to things it inhabits. Molten remnant was directly injected into living victims in Sister Location to fuse their souls with Funtime animatronics.
Perhaps remnant spiritually corrupted Sara – morphing her into an ideal beauty on the surface, but twisting darker changes underneath? Her soul could be merging with some robotic creature…
Afton‘s Experiments
Villain William Afton extended his murderous experiments towards achieving immortality through manipulating spiritual energy and possession.
Maybe he created a new method for possessing idealized bodies through metaphysical pacts? Sara‘s darkened obsession reflects his ruthlessness. This could be an early test before later events with Vanny!
Glitchtrap
The evil digital virus Glitchtrap seeks vessels to conquer. His infection pushes his follower Vanny to lure victims for possession.
Sara’s makeover resembling a perfect anime filter, her compliance to mutate herself further, and the drastic personality shift – all make her an ideal host for Glitchtrap to stealthily seize control of.
Each theory ties to broader game lore with common themes of exploiting desires for one‘s own dark purposes.
The Hidden Truth Creeps Closer…
Whatever sinister supernatural force BEHIND Sara‘s transformation, one thing is clear – the happy ending she hoped for is swiftly corrupted the more beauty consumes her soul. Her humanity slips further away as cold ambition replaces empathy and joy…but to what end?
As she sits expressionless in the stylist’s chair, allowing her natural face to warp inhumanly while imagining the fame and admiration that awaits with each cut…the scene implies she is but a hollow puppet. Sara is a thin glamorous veil draped over a creeping evil animating towards unspeakable goals.
Perhaps a concerning follow up appears in local news describing bright rising social media star Sara, renowned for beauty tips, going suddenly missing under unusual circumstances…only for her perfect images to continue uploading new videos filled with uncanny instructions on finding fulfillment.
"Come checkout the true you…under the skin lies the REAL beauty within…" the videos whisper to followers desperate for purpose, hungry for influence, dreaming of praise. The cycle continues as the forces in the dark feel their power grow. But at what point do the accumulating costs become too much to come back from?
Sara‘s tale ultimately serves as a parable warning of losing oneself fully to pressures promoting narrow beauty definitions that dehumanize people. Her bargaining with evil results in catastrophic costs no amount of perceived social validation and influence can justify.
The seeds come from EXTERNAL societal messaging tying self-worth to physical appearance first and foremost. And opportunistic darkness awaits such vulnerability to dutifully play prince charming – gifting the dream come true at a steep price: one‘s soul.
…….
Final Thoughts
And there you have it friends! Let‘s reflect on Sara‘s story and examine our OWN relation with beauty notions in modern culture. Appreciate that upholding unrealistic standards often stem from places of pain and projections rather than truth. Find the good in gradual positive change through self-care rather than seek fix quick solutions that promise the world.
As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments! And don‘t forget to like and subscribe for future FNAF lore analysis and horror game guides + theories! What should we cover next?