Bunny:
This film was filled with religious symbolism. The choice of the
use of a rabbit as the film’s protagonist is an interesting choice given the
serious subject matter of the film. The moths in the film, analogous at times
to angels, serve as the primary means of advancing the plot. The importance of
the moths in bringing about the conflict reflect a theistic belief, namely that
the agents of a higher power are acting in an attempt to influence or decisions
in one way or another. This is done by the moths going towards the light and
trying to show the elderly women the way to go.
The other concept of climbing into an oven in approaching the afterlife
seems to run contrary to the otherwise wholesome values of the film. I thought
this was an interesting film because you often see love like this in elderly
couples.
Northfork:
This was an interesting film that consisted of a lot of symbolic
imagery. I'm not sure of the overall meaning of the film but the individual
clips shown helped to show how framing can portray to the viewer what you want
them to see. In the first scene when they show the church against the backdrop
of mountain it shows the openness nature can have and symbolizes God's massiveness.
It shows we are connected to nature when in fact the irony was they had to pick
up their stuff and move elsewhere. Another scene that was interesting to me and
symbolizes mainstream society versus those who don't conform was the image of
the buffalo and the boy going in opposite directions. Lastly, the coffin on the
car gives the viewer a perspective of death that we normally don't see. The
mood and scenery was ominous and filled with dark clouds and you could feel
despair in the air. The unnaturalness associated with moving the dead after
they had been buried, let alone on the top of a car gave a weird feeling, as we
were able to maybe see a crossing over from the profane to the sacred in this
instance?
Paris, Texas:
This was the best film of the night to me because it was
relatable especially in our society today. A simple theme emerged after watching
clips from this film: humans desire to communicate, but often times just don't
know how to do so. Everything from the dialogue to the panoramic shots supports
this claim. Travis walks through the desert, following telephone wires, passing
mailboxes, and still he cannot communicate to his brother why he is searching
and walking. Many shots from the film focus on mediums we use to
communicate--trains, airplanes, cars on the freeway, telephones, etc. Despite
the vast number of technologies humans can use to communicate, Travis still
cannot express what he wants to say. I think this movie asks viewers to
reconsider the barriers we build up that prevent us from communicating with
each other- be it cars, roads, houses, etc. A simple face-to-face conversation
without any medium can be the best ways to express our thoughts to someone.
This is shown when Travis talked to his wife, you were able to see the
communication barriers between the two as they couldn’t even face each other
when trying to explain how they really felt, but the communication meant so
much more because you can see and hear the emotion and meaning of what they
were saying to each other.
The Wall:
The Wall by Pink Floyd clashes religion, music, education and
culture through imagery and symbolism. While the images themselves are
disturbing to say the least, the meaning behind them is much easier to relate
to and understand. The idea of the conveyor belt in the education system argues
that students are forced to lose their identity, or creativity, in schools. The
headmaster as a puppet suggests that it is not him that is creating these laws,
but rather those who control schools—the government. Once children graduate, they
are bred to become players in the grand orchestra of imperialism and
capitalism. The climactic judgment scene uses music to demonstrate the battle
between the main character, Pink, and his surrounding culture. However, the
idea that we are encouraged not to think for ourselves, or to rebel against
social norms, is not something new to young adults. Further, I believe the confrontational
and outrageous imagery not only demands the audience’s attention, it also
demands reflection about the self as well as hegemonic ideals. The revolution by
the kids is especially shocking because children are expected to adhere by all
rules, especially in the classroom.
Cabeza de Vaca:
This clip was more difficult for me to follow as the night
pressed on and I got more and more tired however there were aspects of it,
which I found very interesting. The battle between civilizations as nature was
present as the Native Americans were losing their lands to the west expanding
whites. That was depicted in the film when the main character talked to the
leader of the intruders, as they talked, some ten feet apart, there was a chasm
in the ground between them symbolizing the chasm the two men have as people.
Again, that is not something I typically would have noticed had I been watching
the film and not looking for it.
