Symbolism in "The Hours"

The 2002 film “The Hours,” based on the novel by Michael Cunningham, weaves together the lives of two fictional women with the life of early 20^th century writer Virginia Woolf. The film repeatedly ties in themes from Woolf’s first acclaimed novel “Mrs. Dalloway.” For instance, Laura Brown, who is depicted in 1951, is married to a man although she appears to have feelings for a woman, much like Mrs. Dalloway. Like Mrs. Dalloway’s husband, her husband is also a veteran of war. Clarissa’s life also parallels the novel in some respects; her first name is the same as that of Mrs. Dalloway, and she is throwing a party for her friend Richard, who is actually Laura’s son. Moreover, Clarissa’s life partner is a woman. The film thematically explores suicide and homosexuality. Virginia, who suffers from depression and hallucinations, ultimately takes her own life when she decides she can no longer grapple with her mind. Laura, on the other hand, is desperate to escape her mundane life as a housewife. She contemplates suicide, but instead opts to abandon her family, choosing “life over death” in her own words. Clarissa is not suicidal, but must contend with Richard’s ultimate suicide. Moreover, each of the women displays sentiments of bisexuality. Virginia, who was known to be bisexual in real life, expresses feelings for her female friend Nessa, while Laura kisses her female neighbor and Clarissa lives with her girlfriend.

The protagonists’ distinctive reactions to flowers reveal their contrasting personalities. Virginia altogether ignores the vivid purple flowers arranged in her home, reflecting her spacey, detached personality. Laura notices the flowers that her husband purchases for her on his birthday and feigns pleasant surprise, concealing the fact that she is uncomfortable with her husband’s idealistic perception of her. Finally, Clarissa is excited to go buy flowers for Richard’s party, indicating her innate selflessness and eagerness to please. Thus, the flowers represent each of the protagonists’ outlooks on life.

"I'm Not There" as a Revisionist Biopic

“I’m Not There” depicts folk singer Bob Dylan as six different personae to represent different aspects of his personality and various stages of his career. The characters are delivered through a fragmented narrative, which director Todd Haynes constructed to convey the idea that a linear storyline featuring one actor cannot effectively portray the multiple dimensions of a figure’s personality. Dylan’s different personae include Arthur Rimbaud, Jack Rollins, Billy the Kid, Woody Guthrie, Robbie and Jude Quinn. Historically, Arthur Rimbaud was a gay 19^th century French poet; in the movie, he represents the persona of Dylan the poet. Jack Rollins, on the other hand, represents Dylan as an activist and a religious man. Billy the Kid symbolizes the rebellious, reclusive years of Dylan’s career. Woody Guthrie relays critics’ perceptions of Dylan as a fake because the character is a young black boy acting as Dylan. Finally, Robbie represents Dylan the film actor, while Jude Quinn Dylan’s speed-freak years.

“I’m Not There” parallels the unorthodox biopic “Citizen Kane” in numerous ways. Neither film directly mentions the name of their respective subjects, although they contain strong allusions to the life events of their subjects. Furthermore, neither film adheres to a linear storyline; they both draw from multiple perspectives to shape a more comprehensive view of their subjects. Because of these distinctions from the conventions of traditional biopics, both “I’m Not There” and “Citizen Kane” are revisionist biopics, although “I’m Not There” is certainly more outlandishly fragmented than “Citizen Kane”.

"Inception" as Film Noir

“Inception” explores a fictional phenomenon in which trained individuals can enter someone’s subconscious while he sleeps and extract or plant ideas in his mind. Dom Cobb learns the tragic effects of performing inception when he and his wife, Mal, accidentally trap themselves in a dreamlike state for what seems like decades and he puts the idea in her mind that their dream world is in fact the real world. When they finally wake up from their slumber, Mal is convinced that the real world is false. She struggles to convince Dom that, if they kill themselves, they will wake up in what she perceives as “the real world”. Dom remains firm, and Mal tries to manipulate him into killing himself by giving him an ultimatum. She tells other people that he is abusing her, and reminds Dom that if she kills herself, and he doesn’t do the same, people will inevitably think that he murdered her. When Dom does not comply, she kills herself, forcing Dom to flee the United States and leave his young children behind. In Europe, Dom makes a living using inception to perform corporate espionage. He gets an offer he cannot pass up when Mr. Saito agrees to help Dom return to the United States if Dom can infiltrate Robert Fischer’s subconscious and convince him to break up his late father’s energy conglomerate. With the help of his business partner Arthur, an architecture student named Ariadne and a host of other characters, Dom arranges to infiltrate Fischer’s mind during an airplane flight. Although the group is repeatedly hindered by Dom’s dream projection of Mal, who strives to undermine their operation, they ultimately succeed—although the audience must question whether Dom actually escapes slumber when he returns home at the end of the movie and appears to still be in a fake realm.

Mal (or Dom’s projection of Mal) serves to enhance the movie’s film noir ambiance by acting as a traditional femme fatale. She repeatedly tries to undermine Dom’s operation, betraying him at every turn. Dom ultimately must kill Mal after she inhibits him too many times, affirming the film noir ideology that women are scheming individuals with alternative motives and that men ultimately must put them back in their place.

"Intolerable Cruelty" Professes Revisionist Interpretation

The 2003 Coen Brothers film “Intolerable Cruelty” depicts the twisted, money-driven courtship process between golddigger Marilyn Rexroth and divorce lawyer Miles Massey. Marilyn first encounters Miles when she files for a divorce from her husband Rex Rexroth. Marilyn, who only took interest in Rex because of his money, had hired a private investigator to capture video footage of Rex cheating on her. Marilyn plans on using the video to her advantage in court, but crafty, clever Miles manages to find someone who can testify that Marilyn only married Rex for his money. As a result, Marilyn is left broke and desperate. She gets engaged to a man she claims to be an oil millionaire and asks Miles to create a prenup for them. However, Howard rips up the prenup at the wedding and Marilyn divorces him a few months later, supposedly acquiring his fortune. Miles, who is very attracted to Marilyn, marries her on a whim but creates a prenup so Marilyn won’t think he is simply marrying her for her money. However, Marilyn destroys the prenup. Miles soon learns that the “oil millionaire” she married was simply a hired actor and therefore Marilyn has no money. Because Marilyn destroyed the prenup, Miles is now vulnerable to losing his money. He hires a hit man to kill Marilyn, but then discovers that Rex Rexroth has died, leaving Marilyn a fortune in his will. Miles sets out to save Marilyn, but she has craftily hired the hit man to kill Miles instead. In the ensuing confusion, the hit man accidentally kills himself. When Marilyn and Miles meet to discuss the terms of their divorce, Miles asks for a second chance, signing a prenup to demonstrate his good intentions. Marilyn agrees to stay with him, and proceeds to tear up the prenup.

“Intolerable Cruelty” certainly adheres to various conventions of the classical screwball comedy genre. It illustrates a female-dominated courtship process, and depicts the lives of the wealthy. However, the movie is ultimately a revisionist screwball comedy, not a traditionalist screwball comedy because it does not promote the institution of marriage. The movie highlights the monetary benefits of divorce, whereas a classical screwball comedy emphasizes the emotional rewards of marriage. Because “Intolerable Cruelty” does not promote marriage, a crucial quality of the classical screwball comedy, it is a revisionist interpretation of the screwball comedy genre.

"Across the Universe" Incorporates Revisionist Narrative

The 2007 revisionist musical “Across the Universe” incorporates thirty-three Beatles numbers into a storyline celebrating the counter-culture of the 1960s and posing a social critique of the Vietnam War. Protagonist Lucy is a bright-eyed, innocent schoolgirl thriving in suburbia until her boyfriend dies at war. Devastated by his death, Lucy resolves to go to New York City to spend the summer with her brother Max and his friend Jude. Jude is also doing some soul-searching in NYC after travelling from England to America to explore his father’s roots only to discover that his father has started a family. Lucy and Jude, who initially met when Max brought Jude home for Thanksgiving, bond quickly, reveling in each other and the psychedelic spirit that NYC offers them. However, when Max, who has dropped out of college, gets drafted into the army, the carefree dynamic between Lucy and Jude shifts. Lucy starts working as a waitress and spends her spare time engaging in anti-war protests. Jude, on the other hand, is perfectly content to remain in the apartment they previously shared with Max and a host of other colorful hippie-like characters and cultivate his artwork. Jude grows steadily jealous of a protest organizer that Lucy works closely with, and eventually storms into the protest headquarters to confront him. Jude and the protest organizer get into a fight, prompting Lucy to leave Jude. Jude attempts to intervene and save Lucy from a protest that gets out of hand, but ultimately gets arrested himself and is deported back to England. Lucy becomes disheartened by the violent tactics her fellow protesters are using to make an impact, and severs ties with the protest organizer. Jude sees in the paper that some protesters Lucy was involved with were killed after trying to craft homemade bombs, and believes that Lucy is dead. However, Max, who has recently returned home from the war with profuse psychological damage, reaches out to Jude in a daydream sequence and assures him that Lucy is alive, encouraging Jude to return to the United States. At the end of the movie, Lucy and Jude reunite.

“Across the Universe” proves a revisionist musical in its distinctive narrative. Classical Hollywood musicals follow a linear sequence of events and adhere to a formulaic storyline. “42^nd Street,” for example, follows the typical backstage musical storyline, outlining the struggles of a group of actors, directors and producers to produce a successful show and incorporating romantic plotlines. “Across the Universe,” on the other hand, is episodic. The musical weaves together several characters’ unique experiences through a variety of spontaneous musical sequences. “Across the Universe” even infuses psychedelic, drug-induced musical numbers that deviate entirely from the plotline in nonsensical bursts of color. The musical further deviates from the Classical Hollywood musical narrative by adding cultural critiques to the typical romantic storyline. The film uses the Vietnam War as an allegory to denounce the Iraq War by demonstrating war’s radical impact on young generations, whereas a movie like “42^nd Street” serves no greater purpose than to entertain audiences with a trivial love story. Thus, “Across the Universe” boasts a revisionist interpretation of the Classical Hollywood musical.

"Invasion of the Bodysnatchers": An Anti-Communist Critique

The 1956 film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” details a revered physician’s realization that his entire community is being replaced one-by-one by look-alike aliens. Upon returning home to Santa Mira from a trip, Dr. Miles Bennell is confronted by numerous complaints from patients who believe that their relatives aren’t who they were previously. He believes that they are simply victims of mass hysteria until his friends Jack and Teddy discover a body that resembles Jack in their home. Miles then begins to theorize that his patients are correct. He decides to retrieve his girlfriend Becky from her father’s house, suspecting that her father has been replaced by a decoy. When he enters the home through the cellar, he discovers a body that looks like Becky. Miles takes Becky back to Jack and Teddy’s house, and then returns to her father’s house with Jack to inspect the body. However, they cannot locate the body. Becky’s father hears them in the basement and calls the police. The police assure Miles and Jack that they are simply being paranoid, and dismiss their theories that the body in Jack’s house is non-human. Soon thereafter, Miles, Jack, Becky and Teddy find duplicates of themselves growing in pods. They realize that the entire town is being gradually replaced by emotionless lookalikes and that the police chief has likely been transformed. Jack and Teddy leave town to seek help while Miles and Becky seek refuge in Miles’ office. They try to avoid sleep, convinced that if they fall asleep, they will be replaced by pods. Jack returns the following morning transformed, forcing Miles and Becky to flee the city. When they are hiding in a cave, Becky falls asleep and turns into an emotionless pod person. Miles races to the highway to find help outside of Santa Mira.

Critics have debated whether the film refutes or affirms the spirit of McCarthyism. There is strong evidence supporting the theory that “Invasion of the Bodysnatchers” is anti-Communist. The movie details the infiltration of the United States by an undetectable alien force. In the 1950s, Americans were fearful that Communists existed undetected in the US, quietly promoting their ideologies. Moreover, Communism discourages individuality, and the characters in “Invasion of the Bodysnatchers” that are replaced by pod decoys are void of emotion and personality. Therefore, it is likely that the film was an anti-Communist critique.

Television in "All That Heaven Allows"

“All that Heaven Allows” reveals housewife Cary’s inner struggle between feeling compelled to conform to the established norms in her suburban community and wanting to pursue a relationship with a younger man. After her husband dies and her children leave for college, Cary appears to feel lonely and unoccupied. However, once she begins to spend time with the family gardener, Ron, Cary becomes lively and inspired. She is awestruck by Ron’s simplistic, down-to-earth outlook on life and rustic lifestyle. But when Ron asks Cary to marry him, she is torn. She is well aware that her neighbors and friends will be shocked at her decision to marry a younger man with a lower social status, and she is worried about the impact that their gossip will have on her children. Nonetheless, she allows Ron to persuade her, and proceeds to tell her children that she plans on marrying Ron. They are outraged, and accuse her of being interested in Ron for superficial reasons. Hoping to get a better reaction from her friends, Cary brings Ron to a neighborhood party. The female guests gawk at Cary and Ron and toss catty comments at Cary. Then, one of the male guests starts a fight with Ron and Cary and Ron flee the party. The following morning, Cary finds her daughter, Kay, sobbing in her room because one of her peers made a mean-spirited comment about Cary’s relationship with Ron. Utterly discouraged, Cary breaks off her engagement with Ron, vowing that she will not allow him to come between her and her children. Eventually, however, Cary realizes that her children are growing up and permanently leaving the nest and that she needs to do what makes her happy and she thus reunites with Ron.

Television proves a dominant symbol in “All That Heaven Allows”. Cary’s friend Sara expresses concerns that Cary has nothing to occupy her time, and repeatedly encourages her to invest in a television set. In fact, she goes to the extent of sending a television salesman to Cary’s house to entice her purchase a TV. Ultimately, Cary’s children surprise her with a TV for Christmas, promising that the box will absolve her loneliness. Various characters’ emphasis on TV as a solution for loneliness is ironic because television is not an interactive or social activity. People frequently watch TV in solitude. Essentially, Cary’s friends and family would prefer that she sit alone at home and watch TV than maintain a relationship that they deem unsuitable. Thus, in “All That Heaven Allows,” television represents solitude and conformity. By refusing to buy a television, Cary resists conformity.