Some critics, like Welcome to Somerton (WS), have noted that “CMB,” the letters on the “STOP” sign the stalker passes behind when following Bill, could very well stand for Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, otherwise known as The Magi (or Three Kings) in the Bible who travel great distances to present gifts to the newborn baby Jesus. Already there is a connection between their journey, Bill’s “odyssey,” and the stalker’s mysterious and possibly lengthy journey secretly following Bill around New York.
“CMB," then, could be a Christmas reference. I won’t say it’s the best interpretation, but one simple reading suggests we read the "STOP" sign literally as “STOP CMB." This would suggest something like stop (celebrating) Christmas. I take the two words just as they are: one preceding the other, as if part of a fragmented sentence. WS and possibly others have also pointed out a curious product placement on the shelf in the background in Domino and Sally’s apartment kitchen: a Combat pesticide box to the left of a Comet chemical cleaner can, and a "random" letter “Y.” Together, the words seem to read “Combat comet-y,” as in, “combat comedy.”
“Combat comedy,” when “combat” is a noun or adjective, reminds me of Full Metal Jacket, as in, this would describe the genre. There are plenty of jokes and weird humor in the film which depicts the not-so-humorous Vietnam War. At the same time, “combat comedy,” when “combat” is a verb, sounds more like a command: stop comedy, or, fight comedy. Like other popular advertising slogans “Not even once,” “Just say no,” or “Only you can prevent forest fires,” “combat comedy” and “stop CMB” act like propaganda pieces issued from the top (or bottom) of a societal moral hierarchy. This in itself can be read as pure farce: Kubrick is exploiting his role as creator to the ends of humor. But, who knows?
There would be an interesting story behind the Magi interpretation of "CMB." The justification might be that the Western concept of Christmas has been corrupted and commodified - it would be better not to celebrate a holiday untrue to its origins. The Magi would represent Christmas. This message could be intended for Bill, who is “masquerading” as white/WASP, if not ethnically, then at least culturally. By extension, the message is intended for us, as we have a myopic view of Bill.
I’ll offer a few more interpretations, but first, I’d also point out that, if we the audience identify with Bill, then the sign very well speaks to a bigger theme, which is somewhat redundant: the significance of “CMB” isn’t important, but our asking is. Bill is likely questioning the significance of the masked woman’s act, the true identity of the members of Somerton, Nick Nightingale’s true life and occupation, etc. In almost every scene, Bill is confronted by something that weakens his cocksure composure. In this way, Eyes Wide Shut becomes something of a coming of age film, like a creepier version of Catcher in the Rye (an unusually interesting parallel I've been wanting to finish). Bill may be “growing up,” and this will tie into a point I’ll make later.
“CMB,” in addition to the Magi, is an acronym for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which is Latin for “May Christ bless this house.” Strange also is the fact that traditionally, “CMB,” the initials of the Magi, are chalked on houses as a blessing on the twelfth day or night of Christmas (January 5 or 6). So, we could use the same logic above here: “stop (saying) May Christ bless this house.” “CMB” is now implicated twice in a reference to Christmas.
Reading "STOP" literally, it may also mean stop the Magi, as in, prevent the Magi from completing their journey. This again works as an interpretation of anti-Christmas and anti-Christian sentiment: if the Magi never arrive and present gifts, maybe this symbolizes doubt as to Christ's status as Son of God, and King of the Jews. At the same time, in the Book of Matthew, King Herod asked the Magi to report back to him once they had visited Jesus. The Magi, having been warned in their dreams not to return to Herod, fled to their own countries. Joseph is also warned by an angel to flee; Joseph, Mary and Jesus flee to Egypt. Soon after, Herod begins his notorious Bethlehem infanticide against all children under the age of two.
If we see "STOP CMB" as a command, or decree, it would be Herod who issued it. That Bill is being followed echoes the order issued from on high: stop Bill. A tyrant, Herod is perhaps a historical shadow of Ziegler, who all but flat out confesses his responsibility for Mandy's murder, and has Bill followed. Perhaps Bill's visiting Sally with the box of baked goods symbolizes his dual role as a King. This implies Bill's goodness and Victor's evil. Ziegler's phone call to Bill when he is at the morgue almost symbolizes Herod's request for the Magi to return to him. Bill, however, does return to Ziegler, unlike the Magi who flee from Herod. Perhaps this truly is Ziegler's final warning. A theoretical question: is Bill fated to flee New York in order to escape Ziegler's scrutiny? With Alice and Helena, the family of three would also symbolize the flight of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus from Bethlehem to Egypt. A fact which is subtly ironic given that the Israelites fled Egypt more than a thousand years earlier after several centuries of captivity. As an aside, it's interesting that Jefferson and Franklin envisioned the Great Seal of the United States depicting Moses parting the Red Sea - a direct allusion to the Exodus, the Israelites' escape to freedom.
In yet another reading, we could perhaps read the "CMB" sign as a Jewish or secular rejection of Christ and Christianity. It is hardly news that early Christians used stereotypes to persecute Jews, setting the groundwork for several centuries of exclusion throughout Europe. There’s a term out there, “synagogue of Satan,” which makes a few appearances in Revelations. This idea directly links Jews with Evil, though it was originally used to call out a particular group of secular Jews who rejected Jesus. There is another point I’ll make about this later.
I’ll also note that the clearly spelled “CMB” on the “STOP” sign appears in black spray paint. Maybe this subverts the chalk ritual, or is merely a tangential detail. It could be a sort of inversion, like Nick’s white tux and Bill’s black tux - one of the few visual clues differentiating the very similar young men. However, on the USPS dropbox which appears in several scenes, the possible “CMB” is written in white spray paint. If it is a message, this is ironic, because mail, or letters, conceivably, convey a “message.” And as I’ll explain later, I read the USPS box’s text as “Baby,” and therefore do not find the color of too much significance.
Going back to “CMB,” another reading could point specifically to the tradition of gift-giving. Meaning, the “stop” would be directed at consumerism and commodification. “Stop buying.” It’s also possible the “STOP” sign suggests we should “stop,” and remember “CMB.” As in, we should take the time to consider what we’re celebrating during the Christmas season. This would be a way of commemorating the original story of Christmas, which, as the sign might imply, has become little more than a “tag” on the enormous urban jungle that is the modern world. In this interpretation, the stalker, who appears behind the “stop” sign ties back to an authoritarian moral hierarchy, like a sort of guardian angel (or demon) watching over Bill. He would of course have been sent not from the heavens, but from the underworld.
Kubrick wasn’t a practicing Jew, so I’m not confident this was meant to be a form of religious propaganda. But the very idea that it could be religious propaganda is what’s interesting and unusual, even for a movie set during Christmas. I suppose the irony here would be the hollow notion of Christmas movies: so much of the time, the Christmas theme is exploited in film as a product and celebration in itself - again, the magnitude of irony and hollowness Kubrick was likely portraying. Similarly, Eyes Wide Shut clearly subverts the “Christmas” movie genre entirely, and did so to the disappointment of many, though it seems they were expecting a sexy, erotic movie, not a Christmas movie. The film hit theaters in July - Christmas in July. Which, come to think of it, is like “Christmas in Hell.”
Another note that might be of interest here: consider the “El Hueco” restaurant sign (far left of image above). It appears briefly in the shot showing Bill arriving at the Rainbow after the Sonata Jazz. WS writes of "Hueco" as a play on "hue," as in, color, in connection with the Rainbow. Possibly it is a play on the words "Hue Company," like "Color company." We may also think of the "Muralo Paints" sign we see in the background as Bill returns to the Rainbow at daytime. “Hueco” is related to the hueco/huaco/Waco, the Indians from northeast Texas. The word also happens to mean “empty,” “hollow,” or “gap.” We may think of David Koresh and the Branch Dividian complex in Waco, TX - the site of the infamous 1993 Waco Siege in which nearly eighty people died. This may be a roundabout way of alluding to religion and/or cults, though the Siege would have been fairly recent at the time Eyes was being filmed.
Though I couldn't find any concrete evidence of Hueco Indian Wars or massacres, the history suggests hostilities with Westerners preceded their removal from Texas to Anadarko, Oklahoma. From the 19th century forward, the Hueco Indians were at the mercy of the US Government, signing several peace treaties and moving onto reservation land in an apparent compromise. “Hueco” points to at least one “Waco” which ended badly, and to another “Waco” which also ended pretty badly, both resulting in a sort of “hollow” or “empty” place. File this under "Dissertations on Kubrick's Indians." Much of Texas, and the Midwest, for that matter, of course, is large, wide open, and sparsely populated. The sign itself points to its own emptiness: it’s just a constructed sign on a constructed film set; the buildings, of course, are two-dimensional.
BaBY
The USPS dropbox that appears in several scenes is tagged with a white text that seems to spell “BABY.” The dropbox with “BABY” tag first appears outside Hotel Jaso(n). In the next scene, outside the Rainbow costume shop, we see the dropbox again. Finally, when Bill is being followed, we see the stalker pass by the dropbox staged outside Cafe de Emilio and “Same Day Cleaning” dry cleaner shop. In the chilling stare-down scene, the stalker will cross the street, passing three additional USPS dropboxes as well as two (or more) newspaper boxes. This detail has of course been chewed over by the vultures of criticism: it is strange to see so many mail dropboxes on one intersection. Strange also is that the 1:43:00 timestamp coincides with the hotel clerk suggesting there was “something a little strange” about the way Nick Nightingale left the hotel (Jaso[n]) whose building number is, oddly, also 143. The scene starts around 1:41:00 but the words “a little strange” are just at 1:43:00.
I’ve always read this dropbox tag as “BABY.” Why? Simple - it looks like “baby.” What else about “baby?” Of course, we have the Chris Isaak track “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing,” which appeared in the trailer and momentarily as Bill and Alice kiss before their bedroom mirror(s). “Baby” here seems to point to Alice: “baby” is feminine - Alice is Bill’s baby, not the other way around. The “bad thing” of course being that Alice confesses past desire for another man to Bill. If Bill is “baby,” the bad thing becomes, well, arguably worse than the simple confession of a past desire. No, Bill spends large (by 1990s standards) sums of money pursuing his desires, not in the name of desire, but more as retaliation against Alice’s initial confession. Plus, when Alice dances with Sandor, Bill promenades with two models - Bill is ever so slightly worse. Here, again, is a suggestion that Bill, not Alice, is the “baby.”
My quick edit shows how the text may spell "BABY." The dropbox appears in the second half of the film, after the masked ball (which coincides with the film's halfway point). The second half is marked by Bill's return to previous destinations (Domino’s, Sonata Cafe, Rainbow, Somerton, etc). I’ve taken this to be a suggestion of recognizing defeat, or, impotence. This ties in well with “baby,” as Bill will experience more rejection than invitation in the second half of the film.
Furthermore, as I suggested earlier, Eyes Wide Shut can be read as a coming-of-age story. Cruise would have been 34 when principal photography began in November 1996. The shoot “ending” in June, 1998, Cruise would have been 36 then, turning 37 just days before the film hit theaters in July, 1999. This puts Bill’s age at roughly 34-35 - early middle age. Thirty-five sounds old to twenty-somethings, and it sounds young to fifty-somethings. I’ve often read Bill’s age as being symbolic of ambivalence - it likely pointing to midlife crisis. The idea of the midlife crisis probably has something to say to the theme of innocence and youth: expensive sports cars, the temptation of infidelity, adventure - all of the trappings of the midlife crisis can be interpreted as ways of destroying innocence, or, rather, as ways of embracing a destroyed innocence. Bill does drive a Range Rover, he does explore extramarital affairs, he does go on an adventure.
Additionally, I would suggest that the mail boxes are pointing to a play on the word “mail” as “male" (there could even be a point about the box itself as square and "straight," which contrast with an effeminate Bill). The stalker is just one real “male” surrounding Bill, but there are plenty of symbolic others, not to mention that they are “eagle-eyed.” Eagles can see eight times farther than humans, a fact that contextualizes the surveillance cameras, dropboxes, and the stalker: Ziegler is watching Bill’s every move - with ease. Also, in terms of aesthetics, the real-life dropboxes (if I remember correctly, they were sourced from the New York area) are painted blue with white eagles, a visual reversal of the Aryan ideal: pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes.
If Bill is a, or the, baby, maybe he is experiencing growing pains. If his “crisis” worsens, he will have to embrace a life devoid of innocence - he must become cynical. Ziegler’s age once again points to the idea of a post-crisis life: materially rich and morally void. Not that we’re supposed to see Ziegler as a bad guy - he appears most earnest arguably when he is lying. In the interview with Ciment on Clockwork, I think Kubrick says that Alex is not supposed to be likable. I'm not sure I believe this: the first half of Clockwork is especially appealing to the adolescent male, if only at a surface level - Alex does what he wants when he wants, and is free (or so he believes). I wouldn't say my middle school friends regarded A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket with cultish importance, but I don't really know. These are movies teenagers milk for their sex appeal, violence, and shock value, but switched off when the plot becomes difficult and challenging. They were also the movies talked about and quoted by older kids, and watching them was a sort of "rite of passage" into high school. Jacket is obviously one of the greatest cult movies of all time. Clockwork, too, and maybe to a lesser extent, is enjoyed by jocks, stoners, artists, and theater kids alike. There's a universal appeal. Still, that the second half of both movies is often neglected speaks volumes about Kubrick's craft and intent. Watching only the first half is doing the film an injustice.
Maybe we don't admire Alex's actions, but we, like his droogs, sympathize with him, or, "identify with the aggressor." He holds us captive on screen, just as he holds his droogs captive to his orders (for a time). Yet we don't identify with the droogs who coldly turn on him - Alex is a fallen hero, but a hero nonetheless, while the droogs symbolize a ruthless mob. Even if Alex knows he is deceiving society by pretending to be cured, we still identify with him - surely, he has been the scapegoat of society, and cannot take full responsibility for his actions.
Anyways, Ziegler is a totally different character. Unlike Alex, we don't see his evil, we can mostly only imagine it. Ziegler's evil must outweigh Alex's in some ways, or, maybe, we are supposed to be attuned to a different sort of evil which Ziegler embodies. Whatever the case, it seems implausible that Kubrick didn't realize he was making Alex's evil behavior likable, fashionable. Of course, the film was banned and he removed it from circulation after some teens committed copycat crimes inspired by it. But that's the big difference - the evils (or crimes) of Eyes Wide Shut are far more sophisticated, organized, and structured. It would be difficult to emulate those crimes, but, there's no shortage of sins shown on screen: flattery, lust, sloth, envy, anger, pride, and gluttony - if spending money is considered a form of consumption, which I think it is.
Ziegler doesn’t seem to have a family, or kids. He only has his wife, who appears more like a youthful “girlfriend.” He is living proof of Sandor’s quip about marriage - if we reverse the roles.
SS: You know why women used to get married, don’t you?
AH: Why don’t you tell me.
SS: It was the only way they could lose their virginity…and be free to do what they wanted with other men, the ones they really wanted.
AH: Fascinating.
As far as we can tell, Victor and Ilona would be an inversion of this. Victor marries Ilona, but we only see Victor having an affair. Furthermore, Sandor’s motivations are obvious: his talk is aimed directly at Alice. He is simply cajoling her to sleep with him, offering an anecdote purportedly true to the “original” motivations for marriage. Once again, we can see that Ilona could very well be truly disappointed and depressed by Victor’s actions. Maybe she is the true victim. Sandor tries to exploit the idea of liberation and empowerment, setting the groundwork for Alice’s victimization. It doesn’t look like Alice buys it, but, who knows, maybe she is fascinated by this creepy old man’s anecdotes.
Bill’s innocence is somewhere between salvageable and destroyed, hence the crisis. The first two shots of the “baby” dropbox include Bill, while the final shot includes the stalker. This could suggest that the stalker is following Bill’s tracks. Perhaps the dropbox is a clue left behind by Bill - Bill is taking “baby steps?” Ziegler admits that he knows Bill visited Nick’s hotel. The degree of surveillance is somewhat shocking: in a matter of hours (or minutes) Ziegler can learn of Bill’s whereabouts. This tells us at once that Bill is playing a losing game - he cannot outsmart Ziegler.
Recall Ziegler’s paternalistic act at the near-end of the film: he offers easy answers for difficult (incriminating) questions, and ultimately threatens Bill if he doesn’t quickly change his tune and show obedience. Bill’s idealism echoes a youthfulness long dead to Ziegler, who, judging by his (Pollock’s) age, could easily be Bill’s father, again adding to the paternalistic, or, Bill-as-baby theme.
Alpha
And as one last note, I tend to read the text above the "baby" tag as "alpha." It looks more like "alpa," but mentally I fill in the letters. Bill as an "alpha baby?" The funny thing is that "Alpha" appears on the back of a van in the establishing shot just after Bill returns his costume at the Rainbow. This is the shot of the MetLife Building at 200 Park Avenue. Is Bill trying to be "alpha?" I would argue yes, and, I would argue that maybe he is still a baby (child).
Intertext
Concerning the “baby” theme in Kubrick’s other films, the Star-child is possibly an elderly Dave Bowman reborn as a cosmic baby. Lets recall Alice’s mocking words directed at Sandor Szavost regarding Ovid: “Didn’t he end up all alone, crying his eyes out, in a place with a very bad climate?” Bowman ends up all alone in frigid outer space. And, though we don’t see any tears, we can infer that if in fact Bowman survives the Jupiter mission, maybe he is a little sad. Surely at some level the mysterious bedroom at the end of 2001 is allegorical and not supposed to be real. Maybe the bedroom is a view inside Bowman’s mind: maybe this is Bowman imagining his own death as he actually dies in some strange, dark abyss. We’ll return to 2001 in a bit.
Bill’s idealism also echoes Lord Bullingdon’s puerile, stubborn attitude in Barry Lyndon. Bullingdon rejects Barry every chance he gets, even in social settings before crowds. He challenges Barry to a duel and shoots his step-father’s leg, leading to an amputation. Bill has more in common with Barry, with the exception of the billiards room scene when Bill wants to level with Ziegler - in this scene, Bill begins to resemble Bullingdon (who also resembles a rebellious Lolita trapped in her own Electra Complex). The “Bill” in billiards is similar to the “bull” in “Bullingdon,” possibly an allusion to the mythical bull in the maze - though we think of the bull as virile, not impotent.
Oedipal associations are less overt in Eyes Wide Shut. There is no reference to Bill’s father - instead, Bill plays father to the many “orphan” women, though never “committing” to the role. Marion looks to Bill who arrives at her father’s opulent condo only minutes after his death. She impulsively declares her love for Bill and makes advances, much like Alice admits she imagined doing with the naval officer. Bill is on a “sexual odyssey:” the word “odyssey” reminds us of the sea. Bill is also a naval officer, of sorts - a doctor “adrift” in the (urban) sea. It doesn’t hurt that Manhattan is an Island, like Long Island, where the mansion is located.
We could presume that Marion was very attached to her father, Lou. This would validate the argument that her Electra Complex was broken by Lou’s death. Lou’s wife, or Marion’s mother, is not in the picture, and Rosa, the maid, does not play a substantial role. Mostly, she plays a “gatekeeper.” Bill, therefore, stands in for Lou, as well as Carl, who is a near-double of Bill. Bill and Carl’s similar physique and features maybe suggests Bill has disguised himself as Marion’s lover, confusing her.
Ziegler isn’t a step-father, but a fatherly, older patient. Ilona is not Bill’s mother, or step-mother. However, their role in the story is somewhat central. Ilona must be either willfully blind to, or complicit in, Ziegler’s (double) life. In Barry Lyndon, Lady Lyndon catches Barry courting another woman, and we see cold disappointment (or indifference) on her face. There are complex family and social roles that persist throughout the film, arguably more so than in Eyes Wide Shut, which is primarily concerned with Bill.
There is another possibility: blonde-haired Ilona is pictured only once, wearing a red dress and pearl-like diamond necklace. Like Red Cloak at Somerton, red is linked to power and sex. Blonde hair echoes the countless young blondes Bill flirts with - Marion, Domino, Sally, even Ilona (in a split-second shot where Bill plays peek-a-boo behind Alice). If Bill does want to kill/overcome Ziegler, it may be significant at a symbolic level. Bill would be reunited with the “taboo” colors “red and blonde,” which point to power and sex, and youthfulness, respectively. If we interpret blonde as “gold,” then we can also add money to the list. Red and gold isn’t far off from “pink and gold,” Wendy’s favorite colors, and two colors used in the “Gold Room” in The Shining.
Power, sex, youthfulness, and money - the pursuit of these things certainly defines humanity in a large way, though we’re missing one thing: love (fidelity). Unlike in 2001, we see Bill and Alice at the end of Eyes Wide Shut, although their daughter, Helena has disappeared (is Helena “sacrificed” for the sake of their marriage?) This could suggest a loss of innocence, and ties back to Herod's infanticide (although Helena is seven). We can note that Helena is dressed in a black wool coat with black cap, while Alice wears a camel fur coat, and Bill wears a black coat with a red sweater underneath. With a critical eye, Helena’s outfit mirrors the women at Somerton with black hooded cloaks and masks. Alice bears some resemblance to the stalker - she is watching and following Bill. Bill looks like…Bill; that is, like almost everyone else in the store wearing a black coat - he is anonymous. The “sacrifice” of Helena is reinforced by something several critics consider to be a suggestion of prostitution: there are two men in black coats Helena runs toward in the toy shop. The two older men are the same two men seated at a table (with their wives?) at the base of the staircase in Ziegler’s mansion.
I don’t want to go into the darkest implications of this suggestion, since the toy store itself is probably one of the most disturbing scenes in the film (this is another topic). But, in a general way, we can say the two men are a symbol of moral decay. We can say they are generally a symbol of evil, like Ziegler, and that evil is generally synonymous with sexuality, although, conceptually, evil, like the men, is “old,” while sexuality is “young.” In many ways, all of these points combine to suggest that Eyes is an "unmasking" of the banal evils of, say, the film industry, the fashion industry, and modern life in general. But this is yet another topic.
Another CMB
Like some other critics, I have also interpreted “CMB” as Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, which was theorized in the late 1940s (if not earlier) and "discovered" in 1965. Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation appears in searches for “CMB.” Without the accidental discovery of CMB, the Big Bang theory would have much less support. Eyes Wide Shut might not be a “space” film, in the traditional sense of the word, but, I think there are connections worth mentioning.
In a rudimentary sense, Dave Bowman's "trip" in the "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" sequence of 2001 is a masterful imagining of the experience of radiation in outer space. It's a trope often referred to as "space madness" which is actually far from a joke or sci-fi MacGuffin for agencies like NASA, who conducted thorough psychological tests on astronauts (like Buzz Aldrin) before and after missions to outer space.
I also think of "STOP CMB" here, as "stop radiation." What kind of radiation? I would have said neon lights, which frequently accompany Bill's anxious wanderings around New York. Actually, fluorescent lights, not neon lights, have been known to cause UV radiation, though at a minimal amount. So this doesn't make sense, though I think maybe the neon signs and allure of "night life" work on Bill like a gaseous, atmospheric sort of radiation. Maybe our modern, urban notion of "night life" is, like CMB radiation, a sort of vestigial, unconscious remnant of our distant reptilian-brain past: food, drink/drugs, and sex are all core urges Bill seems to have often repressed prior to his "odyssey." Again, to find a reference to our possible hominid or neanderthal past, we can look back to 2001, particularly, obviously, the "Dawn of Man" sequence.
Space in Eyes Wide Shut? Consider the idea of doorways and spaces through which Bill passes. The billiard balls on Ziegler's table also seem to allude to planets, and Ziegler to a mythical Zeus (not to mention that oak wood and eagles are symbols of Zeus - the billiards room finished with wood panelling and the eagle-eyed mail-boxes alluding to Ziegler who sends the stalker after Bill).
To get back to the history of the theory itself, scientists Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1978 for their work on Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. Soviet physicist Pyotr Kapitza is also unofficially recognized in the US as a recipient of the award. We'll dive deeper: Penzias is Jewish, as is Kapitza. Wilson’s middle name is “Woodrow,” confusing his identity with that of the 28th president who served two terms from 1913-1921. In a small aside, “1921” is “13” when added as 1+9+2+1. The photograph at the end of The Shining is also dated July 4, 1921, picturing Jack in the center as the “caretaker.” Robert Woodrow Wilson, from CMB radiation, may be an oblique reference to themes in The Shining (history is written by the ...victors).
As early as the 1940s, the Big Bang theory was discussed by physicists Robert Herman, George Gamow, and Ralph Asher. Herman, Gamow, and Asher also, all happen to be Jewish. It has been suggested that the accidental discovery by Wilson and Penzias in the 1970s wouldn’t have a strong foundation without the work of Herman, Gamow, and Asher. Maybe it's a surface reading, but perhaps “CMB” is a roundabout way of alluding to Jewish Genius - Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, after all, impacted the world in more ways than one, and set a strong foundation for cosmological theories like the Big Bang. “CMB” points to a lesser known, or forgotten, tradition of academic and experimental theoreticians. Gamow was a top-selling science author (born in Russia), who inspired literally thousands of young people to study the sciences. Herman and Asher ultimately predicted that a type of residual radiation would exist following a “big bang” explosion. All three were distinguished professors who played significant roles in other disciplines (traffic science, DNA, etc).
CMB is a type of radiation not visible to humans which is thought to have been “leftover” from the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago. It is present as a low-level hum which is technically audible when a television set is tuned to static. Subsequent discoveries built upon the initial evidence of the radiation’s existence. Another point is that the “Big Bang” is basically a scientific “creation” myth. It’s a theory that has gained traction with evidence that supports its basic claims. But even the best scientist or team of scientists will not discover what preceded the “Big Bang,” or what preceded the thing preceding the Big Bang. We’ll have more theories, maybe. We’re left with myth. “CMB” is a testament to this. Similarly, the “star-child” in 2001 is in some ways an allusion to the “Big Bang.” Man and universe are inseparable.
In Eyes Wide Shut, Christmas, or the decorations of Christmas, symbolize the historical or mythical “birth” which shapes the atmosphere - Jesus Christ. So, “CMB” at once points to the Biblical Magi, who celebrate the birth of Jesus, while also pointing to the scientific (secular) “birth” of a theory about the birth of the universe. Note that Gamow, Herman, and Asher make a group of three physicists, and Wilson, Penzias, and Kapitza also make a group of three. Pitting the latter group against the Magi, we have a grouping of six. There's a shot during Bill and Victor's mano-a-mano in which Bill hands Victor the news-story he has cut out. The six green lamps hovering over the billiards table reflect on the glassy surface of the coffee table. The fire-place is the center-point of the one-point perspective. Are the Magi in competition with the Scientists? As far as "creation" myths go, they sure are, but not necessarily so.
One More CMB
Some cursory research reveals that "CMB" is also the acronym for 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd. The group has an album from 1991 simply titled C.M.B. Some of the tracks include "I Wanna Sex You Up," "Heartbreaker," and "Thinkin' Back." I tried to end with humor, but the lyrics of the first mentioned track begin as follows: "Come inside take off your coat / I'll make you feel at home." This sounds and looks like Domino's plans for Bill as she preys on him just outside her apartment. "Stop Color Me Badd?" Is their music that "badd?"
