The Dark Meaning Behind Ariana Grande’s Short Film “Brighter Days Ahead”

In many ways, Ariana Grande is following in the footsteps of Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. Like these two pop stars and many others, Grande started in the industry at a young age, and in a notoriously toxic system: Nickelodeon. In a recent interview, Grande stated that she is “still processing” her experience at Nickelodeon while strongly alluding to some traumatic events she cannot fully disclose:

“I think the environment needs to be made safer if kids are going to be acting and I think there should be therapists. I think parents should allowed to be wherever they want to be and I think not only on kids’ sets.”

In the past years, numerous individuals who worked at Nickelodeon (most notably Dan Schneider) were accused of a wide range of disgusting acts, such as sexualizing young stars on set or all-out sexual abuse at the hands of dialogue coach Brian Peck. The recently deceased Michelle Trachtenberg, who also started her career on Nickelodeon, hinted at abuse while she was a teenager.

To put it bluntly, Grande – like other child stars – was surrounded by a bunch of pedophiles. Then, she “graduated” and became a sexualized pop star, who remains tightly controlled by the industry, even as a full-grown adult. And not unlike other former child stars, everything surrounding her act is replete with imagery relating to trauma-based mind control.

For instance, the video No Tears Left to Cry is one of the most blatant videos about Monarch mind control ever released.

While these former child stars appear healthy and thriving for several years, cracks often start to show around the age of 30. Past and present traumas become difficult to hide while substance abuse – a way of coping with the system – begins taking its toll. Eventually, celebrities such as Britney Spears and Amanda Bynes completely break down.

Ever since Ariana embarked on a bizarre association with Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo (who gives off strong witch vibes), everything about her seems “off”.

At the 2025 Oscars red carpet, Ariana stated that she could not remember her career plans because of the memory erasure procedure she had undergone at the Hollywood clinic. This answer raised eyebrows; many could not tell if she was serious. Was it her way of plugging her upcoming video, Brighter Days Ahead, which is precisely about a memory-erasure clinic? Or was she literal, and, like other pop stars, her “art” reflects her actual life?

The industry loves to “celebrate” its control over pop stars by turning their plight into “art.” Ariana’s recent offerings are pure Monarch mind control disguised as “emotional stories.”

We Can’t Be Friends

In 2024, Grande released the video We Can’t Be Friends which introduced her fans to Brighter Days Inc. – a clinic that specialises in memory erasure.

The name Peaches is said to be inspired by the character Clementine from the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is the main inspiration behind Grande’s recent videos.

As we’ll soon see, there’s a reason why Grande uses a pseudonym in these videos: Peaches is the name of her alter-persona.

In short, her perception of reality is wholly controlled by outside sources. This story set the table for the next video – a 26 26-minute short film that is replete with MK symbolism.

Brighter Days Ahead

Brighter Days Ahead was directed by Christian Breslauer, an industry favorite who worked on projects such as Doja Cat’s super demonic videos Demons.

Brighter Days Ahead takes place 70 years after the events of the video above, and Brighter Days Inc. now offers a new service: Customers can relive cherished memories one last time.

Peaches is back at Brighter Days Inc. to relive four core memories one last time before they’re deleted forever. Why should they be deleted? Not sure. I guess they really like to delete memories.

Peaches’ first memory mainly involves her family. This segment is basically a montage of actual home videos of Ariana Grande’s parents, making it highly personal. This confirms that Peaches is not a fictional character created for this video. This is about Ariana Grande, and Peaches is an alter-persona.

The memory above features Ariana’s father, Edward Butera, who was estranged for several years. A 2013 Seventeen article stated:

“Grande has had a major feud with her father, graphic designer Edward Butera, for the past year, and it has been one of her biggest struggles.

“Falling out of touch with my dad [was the toughest thing I’ve ever dealt with],” she told Seventeen magazine in the September issue. “It’s private, but it happened last year. It took me so long to be okay with it.”

As we’ll see, Butera plays a significant role in that short film, and many found it “emotional.” However, when one understands the context of the video, his role is actually highly disturbing: He’s her MK handler.

While the first two memories are firmly grounded in Ariana Grande’s real life, the two others are completely out there. They have a dream-like quality where the concepts of space, time, and logic are not respected. That’s because these memories did not occur in real life; we’re seeing her twisted perception of reality as an MK slave. In other words, we’re seeing Ariana turning into Peach through trauma-based mind control. And, of course, the symbolism of these memories – and even the song lyrics playing in the background – allude directly to mind control.

This is happening in her head. The setting represents her core persona being destroyed by her handler through trauma.

In actual Monarch programming, MK slaves are sometimes given teddy bears so they can seek comfort and get attached to them. Then, this bond is used by sadistic handlers to further the trauma. Several paintings by ex-Monarch Kim Noble describe the horrific ways these teddy bears are used.

During this memory, Ariana sings Twilight Zone, and the first verse perfectly describes the plight of a dissociated MK slave.

Did I dream the whole thing?
Was I just a nightmare?
Different dimensions
Stuck in the twilight zone
Is this a black-and-white scene?
If so, then I’m in the gray one

Despite her surroundings, Ariana walks calmly as soft music plays in the background, adding to the dissociative feel of the scene. She sings Supernatural – a “love song” that is more about a handler controlling a slave and, on a spiritual (and supernatural) level, demonic possession. The chorus says it all:

It’s like supernatural
This love’s possessin’ me, but I don’t mind at all
It’s like supernatural
It’s takin’ over me, don’t wanna fight the fall

Then, we discover the source of the destruction around Ariana: A massive UFO. And it decides to abduct her.

In mind control, dissociation is described as a “feeling of weightlessness, as if floating on air”. This scene symbolizes Ariana being subject to trauma so intense that she’s dissociating.

The final memory relived by Ariana is experienced through her father’s perspective.

Meanwhile, we hear Ariana singing:

I left my heart at a pub in Hampstead
And I misplaced my mind in a good way

Everything about this scene describes the plight of an MK slave. Then, she sings:

I don’t remember too much of the last year
But I knew who I was when I got here
‘Cause I’m still the same but only entirely different
And my lover’s just some lines in some songs, mm

Yes, Ariana literally sings about dissociation and amnesia (possibly from MK treatments such as electroshock). The words ‘Cause I’m still the same but only entirely different refer to the creation of an alter-persona.

We understand that Ariana’s father is the founder of Brighter Days which has all kinds of disturbing implications, notably that he’s her MK handler.

Seeing that his abomination is not coming to life, the doctor becomes very angry. However, he comes up with a great idea: He’ll play some piano.

The “treatment” worked. Ariana is alive. More precisely, the alter-persona Peaches was successfully programmed by the sadistic MK handler.

Is this a happy ending?

In Conclusion

Ariana Grande’s fans and media sources all interpret Brighter Days Ahead in a specific way: After being “torn apart” by the press, Ariana is pieced back together by her loving father, and everyone is teary-eyed. However, this interpretation purposely ignores all of the video’s symbolism and events in Ariana Grande’s life.

The short movie depicts Ariana’s father as the founder of a mind control clinic that erases memories. After being subjected to trauma and dissociation, Ariana is pieced together and brought to life through electroshock therapy. This creates Peaches, an alter persona that will routinely revisit Bright Days Inc. to get her memories erased. Meanwhile, Ariana sings lyrics that describe the horrific steps of mind control, from amnesia to dissociation, while not forgetting outright demonic possession.

Considering how industry slaves often break down in their thirties, I am not convinced that Ariana Grande has … brighter days ahead.

Source: https://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusiness/the-dark-meaning-behind-ariana-grandes-short-film-brighter-days-ahead/