Water the Elephants
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Written by; Richard LaGravanese
Jacob Jankowski is minutes away from writing his final exam in Veterinary school when he gets called out of class with news of a fatal car accident killing his only family, his parents. Without any money left to keep his house or pay for the rest of Veterinary School Jacob is on his own, jobless and homeless left to figure out what to do with what's left of his life.
Not knowing where it would of taken him, Jacob jumps onto a moving train in the night to find out in the morning he had joined a travelling circus and soon finds himself accepting a job as their vet. With little knowledge on the circus life Jacob is happy he has found a job in doing what he loves most but soon discovers it's not all it's cracked up to be. The man in charge, August, cares about no one and nothing except for the success of his circus, meaning he will kill any circus person or animal that gets in his way. While staying under the radar of August throughout Jacobs circus experience he soon discovers the most beautiful and sincere woman of the circus is August's wife. Making sure to stay clear of August Jacob begins to get to know Marlena and soon discovers she was a young misfit herself. Overtime Jacob teaches Marlena of the beautiful life a beautiful women such as herself could and should be living outside her star act and abusive husband.
Water for elephants is a beautifully written love story of Jacob and Marlena, as she teaches Jacob to takes chances and Jacob saves her from the life she always felt she was destined to.
In the last scene of the movie when Marlena finally stands up for herself to August, he attempts to kill her, when Jacob steps in and saves her with the help from Rosy the circus elephant.
The Main Characters experiences many different journeys as the circumstances in his life drastically change.
At first as Jacob is walking along the rail road tracks on night just days after the news of his parents death Jacob has begun the quest for identity; he is trying to figure himself out, and what to do with the rest of his life now that this circumstance of loss has overcome him. This journey is soon taken care of FOR him when he jumps onto the train that night and is offered a new life; in the circus, in which he is so desperate he willingly accepts.
Jacob then begins a second journey when he discovers the life circus people, and it is of great trials and incredible abuse from August the leader of the circus. His new focus is now to save his people. After becoming closely acquainted with many people on the circus it kills him to see them in suffering throught the barbaric actions of August. Jacob devises a plan to jump the train with Marlena and many other circus friends before August has another break down and threatens the life of another person.
Jacob also experiences a death and rebirth; through his parent's death, his life in some ways opened up many new opportunities for him. One of these lead him to his soon to be wife, Marlena
.
Hero can easily be found in Jacob, who saves the circus people and the animals from August
Evil Figure - August - a man with an uncontrollable temper
The Temptress - Beautiful Marlena Jacob falls in love with and saves from August
The Mentor - Jacobs roommate on the train that gives him the low down on how the circus works when he first arrives there.
There wasn't a lot of symbolism I could find in this film that could be related to Greek Mythology except for the color scheme displayed.
August is always found in a red suit symbolizing his anger and rage
Marlena's costume in the circus was always white symbolizing her innocence and purity.
Jacob was also dressed in white which i think symbolizes the similar backgrounds of where they came from. Although Jacob is always covered in dirt and not spotless like Marlena. I believe this reflects the tragedy Jacob overgone prior to joining the circus and the weight it still had on him, as the story wears on you see Jacob begins to be treated better and better, and it reflects through his appearance - it symbolizes his transformation after the tragedy in his life.
2 thumbs up for the movie Water the Elephant
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Bridge to Terabithia
The movie Bridge to Terabithia written by Jeff Stockwell and Produed by David Paterson tells the inspiring story of an incredible friendship between Jess and Leslie. Both coming from difficult home lives the two see past their differences on the outside and find a strong bond and connection with eachother; in their personal circumstance forms the base of their friendship. Being the daughter of 2 writers, Leslie has grown up with a strong imagination. Together Jess and Leslie build a virtual world in their back yard that allows them to cope with the real world.
To get to this world Leslie and Jess created together they have to swing across a river on a rope to the other side where their kingdom awaits. The once first step to Leslie and Jess's new adventure was also the author of it's ending when Leslie tries to swing across on her own one morning and has an accident. Jess comes home to the news of the death of his best friend who drowned in the river when the rope gave way and fell into the rushing river below.
A huge theme I would give for this film is Transformation:
Through
The Green lush forest that awaited the children for adventure everyday after school symbolized its meaning: hope. It gave them something to look forward to, it gave them something past their circumstances.
The River that took the life of Jess' best friend represented life force, in that there are things in life we can't control, we can't stop bad things from happening, no matter how many different ways we try to look back and play it over in our minds, it is the nature and of life.
Throughout the story one of the conflicts Jess faces at home is the relationship he shares with his five year old sister that drives him crazy. At the end of the story after Leslie dies, later after Jess experiences an Initiation. He truely and finally discovers the happiness Leslie brought to him simply through sharing her imagination to build this beautiful world. The tragedy he experienced allowed him to open his eyes to the life he was living, and he grew a new appreciation for his family. In one of the last scenes it shows Jess bringing his sister to his virtual world he once kept her far away from and in secret as he crowns her the new queen to take care of their land, for Leslie. As he crowns his little sister, they are both stopped in the middle of a bridge. This represents the transformation he experienced through the friendship he had with Leslie.
Hero: Leslie - as she saved Jess from the depressing life he was living before her.
Mentor: Jess and Leslie's school teacher who helps Jess in his grieving process after his best friend died, and was ironically with Jess when she died.
The Devil Figure could be a series of people in this film. It could be the father of Jess that is so busy with work he leaves no time for his son. It could also most definetely be the school bully; a girl with abnormally large feet, that wouldn't let anyone go to the bathroom during recess, or the boys in Jess' class that constantly name call him. It could be all three of this characters in this film.
Bridge to teribithia was a heart renching well made movie, and it allowed me to ask myself whether I take any of my family members for grandit, it allowed me to see my life through a different pair of eyes.
To get to this world Leslie and Jess created together they have to swing across a river on a rope to the other side where their kingdom awaits. The once first step to Leslie and Jess's new adventure was also the author of it's ending when Leslie tries to swing across on her own one morning and has an accident. Jess comes home to the news of the death of his best friend who drowned in the river when the rope gave way and fell into the rushing river below.
A huge theme I would give for this film is Transformation:
Through
The Green lush forest that awaited the children for adventure everyday after school symbolized its meaning: hope. It gave them something to look forward to, it gave them something past their circumstances.
The River that took the life of Jess' best friend represented life force, in that there are things in life we can't control, we can't stop bad things from happening, no matter how many different ways we try to look back and play it over in our minds, it is the nature and of life.
Throughout the story one of the conflicts Jess faces at home is the relationship he shares with his five year old sister that drives him crazy. At the end of the story after Leslie dies, later after Jess experiences an Initiation. He truely and finally discovers the happiness Leslie brought to him simply through sharing her imagination to build this beautiful world. The tragedy he experienced allowed him to open his eyes to the life he was living, and he grew a new appreciation for his family. In one of the last scenes it shows Jess bringing his sister to his virtual world he once kept her far away from and in secret as he crowns her the new queen to take care of their land, for Leslie. As he crowns his little sister, they are both stopped in the middle of a bridge. This represents the transformation he experienced through the friendship he had with Leslie.
Hero: Leslie - as she saved Jess from the depressing life he was living before her.
Mentor: Jess and Leslie's school teacher who helps Jess in his grieving process after his best friend died, and was ironically with Jess when she died.
The Devil Figure could be a series of people in this film. It could be the father of Jess that is so busy with work he leaves no time for his son. It could also most definetely be the school bully; a girl with abnormally large feet, that wouldn't let anyone go to the bathroom during recess, or the boys in Jess' class that constantly name call him. It could be all three of this characters in this film.
Bridge to teribithia was a heart renching well made movie, and it allowed me to ask myself whether I take any of my family members for grandit, it allowed me to see my life through a different pair of eyes.
The Parent Trap
Annie and Halle were identical twins separated at birth through their parents divorce at a very young age. In plans to never have to speak to each other again, both spouses moved to opposite sides of the country; Nick moves to Napa California where he owns his own vineyard and Elizabeth the mother moves to London England and starts her own wedding design company. Everything was working accordingly to plan until one summer 13 years later the 2 girls meet at camp and everything seeps out. Through a series of different experiences and childhood stories shared Annie and Halle realize that their identical looks and same birthdays are more than just a coincidence. Soon after their new realization they devise a plan to get their parents back together after switching places for the rest of the summer when they arrive back home. Over-coming many setbacks such as the father meeting someone over the summer and planning a wedding soon after, to the distance between both homes, to the long left unresolved feelings of the 2 spouses the two brilliant sisters succeed in the end and bring their family back together.
There are many examples of symbolism in The Parent Trap that all relate back to Greek Mythology.
The first example has to do with the significance of the size of the family. There are two children and 2 parents equaling a family of four. This number in Greek mythology represents life. In this story the the #4 represents the destiny that belongs to this family that they were always meant to be together as four.
The second example of Symbolism in this film is the Rain. The Greeks believed that rain reflected the giving of life. In the last scene of the movie, the mother is too afraid of falling in love with Nick again that she decides to go back to London with Annie and let the girls visit each other and leave it at that. As Elizabeth and Annie arrive at their house in London they are soaked head to toe in the pouring rain as they enter their house to find the father and Halle waiting for them. Nick then confesses to Elizabeth he should of chased after he that horrible day 13 years ago when she left and his daughters made him realize that he never wants to lose her again. This soon follows with lots of crying, making out, sappy music, and later on a wedding that reunites the family once again. The rain in this scene symbolizes the giving of life back to the family. The rain was used as a foreshadowing of everything that would of happened to Elizabeth, Nick, Halle and Annie seconds after walking through that door; a new giving of life, a new beginning.
Meredeth Blake the soon to be evil step mother has nick wrapped around her finger with her charming good looks and fake kindness towards Halle when she secretly plans to send her off to boarding school as soon as she gets the chance. In almost every scene of the film Meredith is always wearing a different black dress that is meant to show her sense of class, but it also accentuates her character of pure evil. (the color black)
The plan begins to seep out of it's secrecy when the grandfather finds Annie calling the REAL Annie from a pay phone during lunch one afternoon. He then leads her to the park overflowing with trees where they go on a walk and she tells him everything. The trees in this scene represent knowledge, and learning, as Halle confesses everything to her grandpa.
The shape of a rectangle in Greek Mythology represents what is most rational and most secure. As 2 points of a rectangle are close together but far apart from the 2 corners on the other side of the rectangle, this reflects the distance between the 4 family members split in half and the rationality Elizabeth is consumed with when she begins to think of the life she once lost been giving back to her. The rationality of just giving up, overwhelms her.
Lastly the two sisters take on a 5 step journey to bring their family back together again:
Stage 1 Departure: Halle and Annie meet at summer Camp to soon discover they are sisters, followed by their quest to meet the parents they never knew and ultimately bring their family back together.
Stage 2 Initiation: Throughout the next eight weeks of summer camp the girls "train" one another how to be each other so they can easily fool their parents in playing each others part
For the next couple weeks the girls are on a quest to
1. Meet their long lost parents.
2. Figure out why their parents split up in the first place
3. Find out how they met (Incorporated into how they will meet again)
4. Tell their parents what they did and in the process of switching the sisters back, hope that when the parents see each other again they will fall in love all over again.
5. Bring their family back together
Stage 3 The Road of Trials:
They endure a series of trials such as getting rid of Meredith, helping their spouses resolve old feelings and physically getting them together again from across the country.
Stage 4 The Innermost Cave: When the mother loses hope that this new life could ever work and goes back to London with Annie
Stage 5 Return and Reintegration with Society: The father chases after his wife and daughter to fight for what he loves more than anything; his family, to soon succeed and become rewarded with a wife and set of beautiful twins to spend the rest of his life with.
In conclusion the directer of The Parent Trap Nancy Meyers did an excellent job of portraying many aspects of Greek mythology in her work.
There are many examples of symbolism in The Parent Trap that all relate back to Greek Mythology.
The first example has to do with the significance of the size of the family. There are two children and 2 parents equaling a family of four. This number in Greek mythology represents life. In this story the the #4 represents the destiny that belongs to this family that they were always meant to be together as four.
The second example of Symbolism in this film is the Rain. The Greeks believed that rain reflected the giving of life. In the last scene of the movie, the mother is too afraid of falling in love with Nick again that she decides to go back to London with Annie and let the girls visit each other and leave it at that. As Elizabeth and Annie arrive at their house in London they are soaked head to toe in the pouring rain as they enter their house to find the father and Halle waiting for them. Nick then confesses to Elizabeth he should of chased after he that horrible day 13 years ago when she left and his daughters made him realize that he never wants to lose her again. This soon follows with lots of crying, making out, sappy music, and later on a wedding that reunites the family once again. The rain in this scene symbolizes the giving of life back to the family. The rain was used as a foreshadowing of everything that would of happened to Elizabeth, Nick, Halle and Annie seconds after walking through that door; a new giving of life, a new beginning.
Meredeth Blake the soon to be evil step mother has nick wrapped around her finger with her charming good looks and fake kindness towards Halle when she secretly plans to send her off to boarding school as soon as she gets the chance. In almost every scene of the film Meredith is always wearing a different black dress that is meant to show her sense of class, but it also accentuates her character of pure evil. (the color black)
The plan begins to seep out of it's secrecy when the grandfather finds Annie calling the REAL Annie from a pay phone during lunch one afternoon. He then leads her to the park overflowing with trees where they go on a walk and she tells him everything. The trees in this scene represent knowledge, and learning, as Halle confesses everything to her grandpa.
The shape of a rectangle in Greek Mythology represents what is most rational and most secure. As 2 points of a rectangle are close together but far apart from the 2 corners on the other side of the rectangle, this reflects the distance between the 4 family members split in half and the rationality Elizabeth is consumed with when she begins to think of the life she once lost been giving back to her. The rationality of just giving up, overwhelms her.
Lastly the two sisters take on a 5 step journey to bring their family back together again:
Stage 2 Initiation: Throughout the next eight weeks of summer camp the girls "train" one another how to be each other so they can easily fool their parents in playing each others part
For the next couple weeks the girls are on a quest to
1. Meet their long lost parents.
2. Figure out why their parents split up in the first place
3. Find out how they met (Incorporated into how they will meet again)
4. Tell their parents what they did and in the process of switching the sisters back, hope that when the parents see each other again they will fall in love all over again.
5. Bring their family back together
Stage 3 The Road of Trials:
They endure a series of trials such as getting rid of Meredith, helping their spouses resolve old feelings and physically getting them together again from across the country.
Stage 4 The Innermost Cave: When the mother loses hope that this new life could ever work and goes back to London with Annie
Stage 5 Return and Reintegration with Society: The father chases after his wife and daughter to fight for what he loves more than anything; his family, to soon succeed and become rewarded with a wife and set of beautiful twins to spend the rest of his life with.
In conclusion the directer of The Parent Trap Nancy Meyers did an excellent job of portraying many aspects of Greek mythology in her work.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Stranger than Fiction
Summary
In the movie Stranger than Fiction the main Character Harold Crick, once monotonous, boring, and repetitive, has his life turn upsidedown when he begins to hear an author inside his head narrating his life.
As Harold sees many therapists and psychiatrists in fear that he is going absolutley insane, he recognizes the voice in his head. It's blaring through his televesion set one evening and he discovers the extraordiarily accurate voice narrating his life is an esteemed author on a talk show that reveals to her audience her thoughts on how her character Harold Crick in her next book is going to die.
Harold has to find the narrator of his life and ultimately the author of his death before its too late and his future is published and printed on his grave.
In this film there are many well-defined Character Archetypes
The evil figure with an ultimately good heart: The author; Karen Eiffel, is such an incredible author of her books the characters become real people but sadly all die in the end. Karen does not purposefully TRY to kill the real life version of Harold Crick, but could be characterized as the evil figure because she is the source of conflict in Harold's life. After the unfortunate death of Harold after her book publishing she has a change in heart and from then on, all of her books did not end with a death scene.
The Temptress: is the young girl who works at a bakery that Harold Crick falls in love with. Through her bubbly and happy personality she brings life into Harold and teaches him how to really live, before he died.
The Mentor: Harold's psychiatrist acts as his mentor and gives him the answers to figuring out what is happening to him and how to find the author of his life. When everyone else thinks Harold is going crazy, his psychiatrist believes Harold and helps him change the end of his story.
Lastly
The Hero: Harold Crick is his own hero. Although in the end he decides to let the author publish her story, he became his own hero as he saved his own boring and monotonous lifestyle by making it meaningful before he died.
Many scenes from this film can be characterized into archetypes of Greek mythology.
Harold experiences the Initiation when he meets a beautiful girl in a bakery. For the first time in his life he has found something he is excited to live for. He discovers a life where he can live outside of his 50 brush strokes every morning, that he counts carefully, and the same red tie he wears to the work he takes a bus to, where he sits in the same seat every morning. He discovers the beauty of change and adventure. Harold shows signs of maturity as he begins to open up to these exciting changes in his life.
The Karen Eiffel experiences a moment of Death and Rebirth when Harold tells her to publish her book, meaning he is willing to die, for the life of the book. From then on she uses her literary talents for good and stops the tradition of killing the main character of every book she writes. Through Harold's character and courage she is inspired = death and rebirth of the author.
At the same time Karen is experiencing a rebirth of writing in her life she is also carrying with her an Unhealable Wound; looking back at all the best selling books she has written she also discovers it came with a cost. Not only did she kill Harold Crick, but her writing also put suffering in the lives of many other characters who were killed through the words punched from her typewriter. in the past.
Through colour scheme of each character portrayed a tone and mood set for the film.
Through out the story Harold Crick wears the same clothes every day but a different colored cartigan that is parrallel to the mood and tone of that scene
In one of the first scenes when Harold is counting his brush strokes as he brushes his teeth in the morning he is wearing a white t-shirt symbolizing his purity as he has not yet been exposed to change or tragedy in his life.
When he begins to hear the voice in his head, and become paranoid and depressed he is wearing blue which symbolizes coldness and darkness
When Harold meets his creator he is dressed in red; symbolizing the compassion Karen has for her characters, for when she saw Harold in person for the first time she recognized every feature of him that was carefully crafted and formed. The colour red was also a foreshadowing of sacrifice that Harold will become for Karen's career.
Red can also imply excitement; this emotion is caused in the excitement at the thought of an author being able to meet their characters in person, and the suspense as you watch Karen and Harold meet each other for the first time.
These are just some examples of Stranger than Fiction that portray aspects of Greek Mythology, and have enhanced the already incredibly original plot written by Zach Helm, and directed by Marc Forster, it is definitely on the list of movies you must see if you haven't already.
In the movie Stranger than Fiction the main Character Harold Crick, once monotonous, boring, and repetitive, has his life turn upsidedown when he begins to hear an author inside his head narrating his life.
As Harold sees many therapists and psychiatrists in fear that he is going absolutley insane, he recognizes the voice in his head. It's blaring through his televesion set one evening and he discovers the extraordiarily accurate voice narrating his life is an esteemed author on a talk show that reveals to her audience her thoughts on how her character Harold Crick in her next book is going to die.
Harold has to find the narrator of his life and ultimately the author of his death before its too late and his future is published and printed on his grave.
In this film there are many well-defined Character Archetypes
The evil figure with an ultimately good heart: The author; Karen Eiffel, is such an incredible author of her books the characters become real people but sadly all die in the end. Karen does not purposefully TRY to kill the real life version of Harold Crick, but could be characterized as the evil figure because she is the source of conflict in Harold's life. After the unfortunate death of Harold after her book publishing she has a change in heart and from then on, all of her books did not end with a death scene.
The Temptress: is the young girl who works at a bakery that Harold Crick falls in love with. Through her bubbly and happy personality she brings life into Harold and teaches him how to really live, before he died.
The Mentor: Harold's psychiatrist acts as his mentor and gives him the answers to figuring out what is happening to him and how to find the author of his life. When everyone else thinks Harold is going crazy, his psychiatrist believes Harold and helps him change the end of his story.
Lastly
The Hero: Harold Crick is his own hero. Although in the end he decides to let the author publish her story, he became his own hero as he saved his own boring and monotonous lifestyle by making it meaningful before he died.
Many scenes from this film can be characterized into archetypes of Greek mythology.
Harold experiences the Initiation when he meets a beautiful girl in a bakery. For the first time in his life he has found something he is excited to live for. He discovers a life where he can live outside of his 50 brush strokes every morning, that he counts carefully, and the same red tie he wears to the work he takes a bus to, where he sits in the same seat every morning. He discovers the beauty of change and adventure. Harold shows signs of maturity as he begins to open up to these exciting changes in his life.
The Karen Eiffel experiences a moment of Death and Rebirth when Harold tells her to publish her book, meaning he is willing to die, for the life of the book. From then on she uses her literary talents for good and stops the tradition of killing the main character of every book she writes. Through Harold's character and courage she is inspired = death and rebirth of the author.
At the same time Karen is experiencing a rebirth of writing in her life she is also carrying with her an Unhealable Wound; looking back at all the best selling books she has written she also discovers it came with a cost. Not only did she kill Harold Crick, but her writing also put suffering in the lives of many other characters who were killed through the words punched from her typewriter. in the past.
Through colour scheme of each character portrayed a tone and mood set for the film.
Through out the story Harold Crick wears the same clothes every day but a different colored cartigan that is parrallel to the mood and tone of that scene
In one of the first scenes when Harold is counting his brush strokes as he brushes his teeth in the morning he is wearing a white t-shirt symbolizing his purity as he has not yet been exposed to change or tragedy in his life.
When he begins to hear the voice in his head, and become paranoid and depressed he is wearing blue which symbolizes coldness and darkness
When Harold meets his creator he is dressed in red; symbolizing the compassion Karen has for her characters, for when she saw Harold in person for the first time she recognized every feature of him that was carefully crafted and formed. The colour red was also a foreshadowing of sacrifice that Harold will become for Karen's career.
Red can also imply excitement; this emotion is caused in the excitement at the thought of an author being able to meet their characters in person, and the suspense as you watch Karen and Harold meet each other for the first time.
These are just some examples of Stranger than Fiction that portray aspects of Greek Mythology, and have enhanced the already incredibly original plot written by Zach Helm, and directed by Marc Forster, it is definitely on the list of movies you must see if you haven't already.
Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
SUMMARY:
In the film The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe four ordinary kids; Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy are sent to their grandfathers house while war is going on at home in London. During their stay in their grandfathers huge mansion the youngest and most curious Lucy finds a magical wardrobe that takes her to a virtual world filled with talking animals, mystical creatures, a White Witch, and a magical lion.
What these four children don't realize is that this adventure was no mistake; the people of Narnia had been waiting for them, to fulfill a long lost prophecy.
"When Adams flesh and Adam's bone
sits at Care Paravel in throne
The evil time will be over and done"
When word spreads through the forest that humans were spotted in Narnia, the White Witch does everything in her power to kill them before the long lived prophecy unfolds and destroys the White Witch and her powers over the land of Narnia.
To the utter fear of the White Witch the Majestic and powerful Lion Aslan, who had once ruled over Narnia shows signs of return when the White Witch's land filled with her cold spirit, begins to melt into the season of Spring.
Aslan is coming back, but until then, the four children must keep faith that he will return and hold strong so the legacy can be fulfilled and truth and happiness can be restored to the civilians of Narnia once again.
This story symbolizes many Greek archetypes between the Holy and Majestic Lion vs. The White Witch such as Light vs. Darkness, Water vs. Desert, Heaven vs. Hell, Fire vs. Ice
Light vs. Darkness - Aslan the true King of Narnia that holds the key to happiness through his incredible wisdom and unconditional love for his people; he is the light and truth. This battles against the darkness and despair that tempts the thoughts of the Narnians, in fear that their king will not return, as well the lies and Darkness the Witch fills their minds with that they have no hope and she is too powerful for light to defeat her.
Water vs. Desert - Aslan is like water in a desert to the Narnian's that have suffered endless barren land without him.
Heaven vs. Hell - Aslan represents a God figure in this story and blesses all those who believe he will be coming back by rewarding them with the beautiful life lived in heaven with him, but for only those who wait, as many Narnians give up hope and join the White Witch's army out of fear in rebelling against her do not receive the rewards of having faith in Aslan that he will return
LASTLY
Fire vs. Ice -This is clearly shown through the seasons both forces represent. The White Witch creating a cold and fierce winter that melts in the light of Aslans return.
On every different angle this film portrays many aspects of Greek mythology
The number 4 in Greek mythology represents mankind - 4 limbs, 4 seasons, therefore in this film the 4 children together represent life. Because of their entrance into Narnia they brought the key to life back by fulfilling the prophecy.
With the White Witch's powers of creating an everlasting season of winter over Narnia, it symbolizes her character of a heart completely barren and cold towards everyone but herself.
Aslan portrays many aspects of Greek mythology in the figure he represents in this story.
He is portrayed as God.
His golden main represents Majesty, sun, wealth, life dependency and truth.
Through this story every character at one point in the film whether they didn't admit to it at first relied on Aslan who held the truth, everything revolved around Aslan and his incredible wisdom, love and majesty.
The color white represents light, purity, peace, innocence, goodness, spirit, morality, and spiritual thought.
Throughout the story while the Witch is still in power and winter is on its everlasting coarse, the sky; although filled with clouds, portray the mystery in the hearts of Narnian's questioning Aslan's return, are completely white. This represents the spirit and hope that Aslan is watching over his people even in their despair and it is foreshadowing his return.
The Greeks also believed the sun symbolized a hero, son of heaven, knowledge, the Divine eye, fire, life force, brightness, splendor, active awakening, healing, resurrection and ultimate wholeness.
As the sun melts the snow revealing the beauty of spring it reflects and symbolizes every aspect of the definition of sun in Greek mythology in concordance to the character of Aslan and what he brings with his return
These are only a few examples of the symbolism and Greek Mythology hidden in the inspiring story The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
But one of the most crucial, powerful, and defining moments in the film where Greek Mythology did an incredible job in empowering the message was at the end of the film in the bridge scene; it was the final battle against the White Witch and Aslan, standing on either side of a bridge that crossed over a rushing river. It was the beginning of the final battle against good and evil. With fear in the Witch's eyes she began to charge across the bridge towards Aslan when we drew a tear wrenching ear bleeding growl and that alone killed the White Witch.
The River symbolized life force; no matter how big of an army, frightening or powerful, light will always defeat darkness. The life force of the water reinforced that as the Witch charged across it with fear in her eyes as she met her death.
The Bridge symbolized change and transformation; When the witch crossed the bridge, and she made her last attempt to defeat the light that would destroy her, she was killed, and Narnia was changed forever. It also started a transformation in the hearts of the Narnian's as they watched their King defeat their biggest fears, and all doubt of his power has left their thoughts.
In conclusion the Chronicals of Narnia; The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Greek Mythology exploded in every scene through the color scheme, character traits, setting and plot making this story incredibly powerful and inspiring to all who had the priveledge of watching it.
C.S. Lewis knows her stuff!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sucker Punch
In the movie Sucker Punch, Baby Doll, the main character, as well the hero, is on a Warriors journey to save her people. After being sent and locked away in a mental asylum by her evil Stepfather who plays the Devil Figure in this film, Baby Doll has to find a way to escape and save her friends from the asylum.
Through guidance from mentors she acquaints with in the asylum Baby Doll learns to take control of her thoughts; instead of dwelling on the fear of the unknown and the loneliness inside of her from past circumstance, Baby Doll uses her mind to take her to places in her imagination that enables to fight against all evil and tragedy she is faced with.
Baby Doll encounters an old man in her journey that acts as another mentor for her; He claims to have the ticket to freedom from all of her fears and circumstances. With given instruction on what to find she bands together with 3 of her young friends from the asylum to fight for their lives and for their freedom.
In order for BabyDoll to receive her freedom she needs to find 5 things
1. A Map
2. Fire
3. A knife
4. A Key
5. The fifth is to remain a mystery
Each one of these items Baby Doll and her warriors have to fight to find all symbolize the journey they are going on Mentally and Physically to find true freedom. The Map and Key symbolize the unknown and the journey they are going on to find what they are looking for; following a map brings you to your destination for you are unable to find yourself, and a key that holds the secrecy of what lies on the other side of the door, until you use it to unlock what you are looking to find.
The knife symbolizes the pain the characters have to face in order to over come them. And how much this freedom means to them for it determines how much they are willing to give up.
Lastly the fire; which in Greek mythology symbolizes the ability to transform, love, life, health, control, sun, God, passion, spiritual energy, and regeneration. - portrays how these young girls have to learn not to run away or forget about their haunting pasts and tear wrenching circumstances but in order to find freedom they have to FIGHT and in turn they will receive it. They have to find their freedom in the face of their trials by overcoming them; the fire represents their ongoing transformation.
After watching the trailer, just seeing the tone and mood, as well as color scheme throughout the 3 minutes, I have pretty well understanding as to how this story will end. Through the beginning of the trailer the scene is filled with sorrow and colors are dark and lifeless but as the trailer continues there are many scenes where the protagonist is fighting against fire and the tone and is of intensity, strength and confidence. As previously stated fire can symbolize transformation. This trailer portrays the transformation the main character goes through therefore revealing to the viewer in the end of this film the protagonist will most likely succeed in finding what she is looking for.
My prediction for this film is that it will end with the 4 main characters; Baby Doll, and her 3 accomplices, through the trials they will face the mentor will have revealed to them the freedom they have in themselves. They will see the freedom in their own minds no matter what circumstances they may have been in or will face, they can use just their mind to block out all fears and find freedom.
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