Missing pictures in Shepherd house.

[makie]

Ok, this is bugging me ever since I saw it.
What happend to all the pictures in the Shepherd house? It seems like half of them have been hung down for some reason.

Why? And what could have been seen on those pictures/paintings?
It looked like the pictures used to hang there for quite some time. There has so be a meaning.

Was Alex on them? Did they had "complete" family potraits including Alex and removed them later?
I thought Alex was alway treated like he isn't part of the family, so it would make sense if the Shepherds never made big effort to take pictures of him. But if that's the case: What was on the pictures?

If I remember it right, all of the other pictures had some sort of relation to a family member (deers = hunting = dad, military/flag = dad/Alex/Josh, and of course family photos).

What do you think? I can't be the only one going crazy about the missing pictures.

[DeadShadow]

It would seem like the Father would be taking them down.. After all as you Play through game you realize he was being a Bitch towards Alex and would refuse him to be part of the Family..

[The Adversary]

I BET THEY WERE PICTURES OF MARY

[makie]

Maybe it's just me, but I think it is too simple that they've been taken down just because Alex was on them.

There is at least one picture where he can be seen (The "father and kids at the lake". He says something like "That's us at the lake. Dad used to take us there often.").

So why hasn't that one vanished, too?

And why would there be so many pictures of/with Alex in the house at all? If they never treated him like he belonged to the family then you would suppose that pics of Alex would be kept in a photo album and not at the walls where they are more present.

@ MMY - I shouldn't believe you, since it says that you are a liar above your icon (btw It's "Lügner", the L should be a capital letter )

[Droo]

I can't figure out why that one picture of all of them at the lake remains displayed, either. There must be some reason, I just can't think of one.

[Phantom Allure]

I can't figure out why that one picture of all of them at the lake remains displayed, either. There must be some reason, I just can't think of one.

It missed the developers' attention at the final edit stage?

[Droo]

The fact that Alex comments on him being in the picture makes me dubious in viewing it as something that just slipped by. Then again, he doesn't make a big deal about this one picture of him still being there when he views it. In light of the circunstances, you'd think he'd make special comments on this one picture having him in it.

Perhaps it has to do with the physical distance between Alex, Josh, and Lilian, as well as Adam (who I assume is the one taking the picture. The pictures with Alex in them that are removed I think is reasonable to assume are portraits, with Alex being symbolically represented as a member of the family. This beach picture doesn't, and indeed illustrates how fractured and distant the family has become.

Which still begs the question of why Lilian and Adam have deigned to continue displaying it.

[PrescitedEntity]

Well, if that's what the beach picture symbolizes, is it possible they put it back up as a sort of way to show that they DO care about Alex - something they feel like they could show now that the ceremony's shot anyway?

At they same time, putting up pictures of him being part of the family would force them to confront the delusion they'd held onto for so long - a constant reminder of guilt and how they treated him wrong - so they put up the one where he's distanced from the family?

Still doesn't explain why he's in the picture at all.

[Dispiacere]

Maybe it's just me, but I think it is too simple that they've been taken down just because Alex was on them.

There is at least one picture where he can be seen (The "father and kids at the lake". He says something like "That's us at the lake. Dad used to take us there often.").

So why hasn't that one vanished, too?

And why would there be so many pictures of/with Alex in the house at all? If they never treated him like he belonged to the family then you would suppose that pics of Alex would be kept in a photo album and not at the walls where they are more present.

@ MMY - I shouldn't believe you, since it says that you are a liar above your icon (btw It's "Lügner", the L should be a capital letter )

********Spoilers************

Alex was intended as the sacrifice, once Josh was born and was the one who was decided to pass on the family's name.
But when Alex killed Josh his father was ashamed of him and removed all the pictures, leaving the lake picture to signify why Alex was estranged.

[Diabolic Dreams]

I closely viewed that picture of them at the lake in Alexs house and I only saw 3 people and a dog. Maybe I overlooked it but im pretty sure Alex wasnt in that one either.

[Harlequin]

More than likely it's the whole "Alex was the bitch son" thing. It was pretty pointless for the parents to favor Alex considering everything that he'd have to go through. After the accident and Alex being sent off, the parents were probably distraught / pissed (I'd see the mom as more upset by the whole ordeal and the dad as furious) that they wanted to erase as much as they could.

[Soulless-Shadow]

I closely viewed that picture of them at the lake in Alexs house and I only saw 3 people and a dog. Maybe I overlooked it but im pretty sure Alex wasnt in that one either.

I haven't looked too hard at that picture, but it's possible that he is there, and the reason there's only three people is because someone else is taking the photo (Lillian maybe?).

Didn't Alex say something about being on the other side of the camera for one of the photos? That is, he was pretty much saying he took that photo. Or did I imagine that bit of dialog? (It's been a little while since I've played, and to be honest I never took much notice of those photos)

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

I think he wasn't in any/many of the photos simply because it hurt too much to be reminded that he was to be sacrificed. Out of sight, out of mind. If they didn't have any photos of him Adam and Lillian could probably forget about it for a little while, or rather just pretend he never existed.

[eddy223]

I closely viewed that picture of them at the lake in Alexs house and I only saw 3 people and a dog. Maybe I overlooked it but im pretty sure Alex wasnt in that one either.

Yea i remember examining it closely too, and i dont recall seeing alex in the picture.

[simeonalo]

They hung down Alex's pictures, one, being his homosexuality (seriously, read the TV Tropes theory), and two, because he was to be the sacrifice. Also, they may have taken them after Alex

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

Murdered Josh.

Anyways, that's my theory.

[eddy223]

They hung down Alex's pictures, one, being his homosexuality (seriously, read the TV Tropes theory), and two, because he was to be the sacrifice. Also, they may have taken them after Alex

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

Murdered Josh.

Anyways, that's my theory.

his homosexuality? whats the tv tropes theory aha

[simeonalo]

It definitely is an interesting read. All the evidence stated clearly supports it in a way, in my opinion

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

Alex Shepherd is gay.
The missing pictures of Alex on the walls of the Shepherd house, as well as/especially the cassette tape are easily interpreted into this. It's particularly telling that while Adam Shepherd confesses that he deliberately raised Alex as little more than a routine he specifically tells Josh that he doesn't want to "be like" Alex when he's older. Clearly, Alex's father walked in on him fooling around with another guy when he was in highschool, and the missing photos etc. weren't symptomatic of their ruined plans for the ritual but because they're small-town, sheltered people, being unable to properly parse the idea that their son was 'different.' The fact that their membership in the Order marks them as different themselves doesn't necessarily mean they would be open-minded about this particular issue, as homophobia in its many orders of magnitude doesn't always have religion as a factor.

It's certainly a workable explanation for the pointless but very overt sexual overtones present everywhere, as well as a large (though certainly not the only) source of the deep-seated, inappropriate guilt required of most characters in the series. The romantic undertones with Elle are so insignificant because she's not his love interest, she's just his BFF. Insert this into the above theory for another "wrong" reason Alex joined the military; to prove to his father that he's still a man. The Schism suddenly makes sense with this, considering its head is basically a giant phallus split down the middle, and the Lurker's face might be telling, as well. Even the nurse fits, a chick with big knockers that Alex certainly does not want on any level. If one considers Alex's diary (found on the official website, where it's presented as more of a blog) to be canon, his rather sudden, surprisingly shallow and very short comment about the hot nurses doesn't have to be stretched very far at all to be viewed as something a closeted soldier would say to keep up the hetero act.

This could also be why Alex's parents chose him for the ritual, because he wouldn't continue the family line. Puts an interesting spin to the scene where Alex's mother is on the rack and telling him she's sorry, as she specifically describes the situation as "having to choose one" of them for the ritual. Perhaps latching onto this as a reason for the choice only compounded the guilt later, more so than simply flipping a coin would have, because it's not Alex's fault. Perhaps a contributing factor for Adam Shepherd being driven over the edge and sparing Alex/betraying the Order.

Alternatively, Alex wants to be a woman and fully intends to have that surgery someday, which would certainly explain the damned Siam. Seriously, just look at that thing and say with a straight face this doesn't make sense. This makes the Schism even worse.

* This Troper Facepalmed so hard after reading this. That he nearly knocked out three of his teeth, thanks, Nightmare Fuel.
* In addition, Silent Hill characters usually have names that are referencing real or fictional people or characters that have some relation to who they are. So, Matthew Shepard, anyone?
* Well, it makes more sense than the official explanation, anyway.

Something else..I found.... :

Considering the tape recording with Adam telling Josh that he "wouldn't want to be like Alex," coupled with the ridiculously blatant mutilated-phallus Schism and the Siam's theme of femininity slaved to masculinity, it's a reasonable assumption for a good portion of the game that Alex could be gay (which certainly puts an interesting or, perhaps, an awful spin on his soldier delusion.) According to Word Of God, the Siam is supposed to directly represent his tension with Elle, so the intent was almost certainly the more general sexual frustration. To think, Alex actually does have something in common with series favorite James, and a Silent Hill game, of all things, is actually just too subtle.]

Also, I seem to forgot:

Where does this "Adam walking in on Alex" thing is told in the game? Was it exactly something Alex mentions about it? What did he say?

[Diabolic Dreams]

Hmm. interesting read. I never would have come to that conclusion about Alex. Yet IMO there still isnt enough concrete evidence to say that about his oriantation. I always thought when Adam said to Josh "wouldnt want to be like Alex" that he meant be childish like Alex, in that scene they were making a radio show and to Adam it seemed silly and didnt want Josh to take part in such non-sense. As for Siam, I heard it was supposed to represent his mother and father relationship, as his mother was always subservent to his father and she was bound to what ever he wanted, just as the female is bound to the male and has no control over him. Not saying any of this is right, just what I thought about it all.

[eddy223]

damn
interesting read. its a possibility aha ;D

[clips]

Haha...sorry but Alex is not gay...you can draw conclusions, but whoever wrote that is reaching incredibly hard....i never got the impression that alex was like that. All i ever figured out was that he had a previous relationship with Elle...

[paladin181]

Also, I seem to forgot:

Where does this "Adam walking in on Alex" thing is told in the game? Was it exactly something Alex mentions about it? What did he say?

That's never actually shown, or even hinted at. It's rather the delusional ramblings and wishful thinking of some people here.