The portrayal of the elite in *With Eyes Wide Shut* As I see it, the portrayal of the elite and everything associated with them in this film is an allegory for dreams. The whole movie is about dreams. Dreams are hidden thoughts, desires, secrets, the shadow of your life—the things no one sees in everyday life. They are incomprehensible, confusing, and unknown. It’s just that all of this is “brought to life” through dreams. The “hidden elites of society” have the same meaning in the movie. In the film, the protagonist accidentally ends up at an event hosted by the elite, where he notices strange and frightening things. But even after he leaves the event and it seems like it’s all over, the “elite” begins to follow him: through hired thugs, strange occurrences, a mask on the protagonist’s bed, an incident at the hotel, and so on. Additionally, the protagonist notices people and their activities that may be connected to the elite or involve them (for example, the men’s suit salesman and his daughter). In other words, not only does the elite not leave the protagonist alone even after he has left them and promised not to reveal anything he saw, but they are also constantly present in the protagonist’s daily life. They don’t just seep into his life; they have always been there, simply “behind the scenes” of his daily life. And the hidden elites of society themselves possess so much power and money that they are capable of satisfying the strangest and most sophisticated desires, as shown in the film. The “hidden elites” are just as incomprehensible, frightening, and full of secrets; they are invisible in everyday life and unknown to people, but they are present and influence that everyday life. Actually, one might think that the scene with the social elite is just a PR stunt to draw attention to the film. Although the theme of the elite isn’t really explored… except perhaps through the imagery of dreams, again. It’s simply an allegory of meaning. There’s absolutely no point in even talking about “elites” in terms of conspiracy theories in the context of this film.