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.

"Citizen Kane" Analysis

“Citizen Kane,” which is thought to be based on the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, depicts millionaire Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles) transition from humble beginnings to a life of glamour, fortune and, ultimately, despair. When Kane is just a young boy, his parents discover a massive gold mine on their property in rural Colorado and, in turn, become millionaires. Kane’s mother resolves to send him to live on the East Coast, where he can receive a top-notch education. Throughout adolescence and early adulthood, Kane repeatedly demonstrates a disdain for authority figures and institutions, getting kicked out of several prestigious colleges across the East Coast. In an attempt to defy his childhood guardian and banker, Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris), Kane invests a large sum of money in a small newspaper called “The Inquirer”. Through outrageous displays of yellow journalism, Kane manages to bring “The Inquirer” into wide circulation and earn a name for himself. He proceeds to marry the president’s niece, Emily (Ruth Warrick), with whom he has a son. However, as Kane becomes increasingly involved in running “The Inquirer” and organizing his campaign for governor, his relationship with Emily falters. He has an affair with Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), which ultimately leads to his downfall. His main political opponent, Jim Gettys (Ray Collins), catches wind of the affair and threatens to leak the story to the press unless Kane drops out of the election. Kane is too proud to step down, so he allows Gettys to taint his public image and thereafter divorces Emily and marries Susan. Desperate to repair his image, Kane tries to mold Susan into a respected opera singer. Instead, he humiliates Susan, who opts to leave him, accusing him of throwing money at problems instead of fixing them. Thus, Kane is left in solitude with an enormous mansion, a vast collection of statues and very few true friends.

Kane essentially realizes the American dream. He rises from an undesirable socioeconomic background, receives an education and builds a lucrative financial empire. However, Kane’s final word, “Rosebud,” reveals that he was far happier with the simple, quaint lifestyle he had before he acquired wealth. Rosebud is the name of his childhood sled, which he last played with on the day that his mother sent him to live on the East Coast. Kane’s life reveals that, in pursuing the American dream, one often sacrifices sincere, simple happiness in favor of money and success. Kane achieved immense financial success in his lifetime, but died a very lonely, miserable person because he had no genuine friends to share his accomplishments with. Thus, “Citizen Kane” offers the crucial message that, in the search for success, one should be sure to maintain his friendships and relationships at all costs.

"The Maltese Falcon" Analysis

The 1941 film noir “The Maltese Falcon” outlines a hardboiled private detective’s swift efforts to determine who murdered his business partner. Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) immediately launches an investigation when he discovers that his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cohan) has been shot and killed during a routine investigation. After a little digging, he discovers that the man Miles had been tailing the night he died, Floyd Thursby, was killed shortly after Miles. The woman who requested that Miles follow Thursby, Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), admits to Sam that her initial story was false and that Thursby was actually her business partner and a dangerous man. She pays Sam to investigate the circumstances surrounding Thursby’s death. Sam then comes into contact with Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), who cryptically refers to an apparently valuable bird. He eventually discovers that a rich socialite, Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) is searching for “the Maltese falcon.” Gutman ultimately reveals to him that the Maltese falcon is a very valuable jewel-encrusted bird covered in black lacquer, and offers to pay Sam if he locates it. In the end, Sam ends up with the bird that Gutman believes to be the Maltese falcon. He uses it as a bargaining chip against Gutman, only to discover that Brigid has been lying about her involvement in the hunt for the falcon. She and Thursby were hired by Gutman to procure the bird, but Brigid had resolved to keep the bird for herself and therefore tried to evade Thursby by hiring Miles to intimidate him. However, when she realized that Thursby could not be intimidated, she killed Miles in hopes of framing Thursby. Thereafter, Gutman hired someone to kill Thursby to scare Brigid into returning the falcon. As it turns out, the falcon that Sam has is fake, so Gutman and Cairo set out to continue to search for the real falcon. In spite of his budding romance with Brigid, Sam decides to turn her in to the police.

Although Sam is clearly depicted as the protagonist of the film, he exhibits numerous harrowing qualities. For example, he does not appear particularly grief-stricken when he first learns that Miles was murdered. Although one might reason that Sam instead translates his pain into a desperate search to find Miles’ killer, the idea that Sam simply did not care about Miles is further supported by the fact that he had been having an affair with Miles’ wife before he died. Moreover, although Sam claimed to love Brigid, he coldly turns her in to the police at the end of the movie. Overall, Sam appears to be an indifferent and calculated—qualities that do not customarily characterize a movie’s protagonist. Perhaps Sam’s withdrawn personality is intended to reflect his masculinity. He is firm and composed while Brigid can’t keep her story straight and acts overly emotional. This would certainly seem consistent with film noir’s attempts to depict women harshly.

"The Awful Truth" Analysis

“The Awful Truth” is a fast-paced screwball comedy that chronicles an estranged couple’s comical attempts to outwit each other as they go through a divorce. Jerry Warriner (Cary Grant) is convinced that his wife Lucy (Irene Dunn) is having an affair with her voice coach Armand Duvalle (Alexander D’Arcy), while Lucy is equally certain that Jerry lied about his whereabouts when he claimed to be on a business trip in Florida. Resolute in their convictions that the other has been unfaithful, Lucy and Jerry resolve to get a divorce. Lucy moves into an apartment with her Aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham) and takes Mr. Smith, the dog she and Jerry previously shared, with her. Jerry uses his visitation rights with Mr. Smith as a means of gaining insight into Lucy’s love life. He is flabbergasted by Lucy’s apparent interest in Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy), her uncultured Southern neighbor. Lucy eventually realizes that she is still in love with Jerry, but inadvertently ruins their chances at reconciliation by giving Jerry reason to suspect that she is seeing Armand in addition to Dan. When Jerry starts seeing heiress Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont), Lucy becomes determined to win Jerry back. She sabotages his chances with Barbara by pretending to be his sister and leading Barbara’s parents to believe that Jerry is from humble roots. Ultimately, Jerry and Lucy put their differences aside and reconnect a few minutes before their divorce becomes finalized.

Although “The Awful Truth” depicts Lucy as a strong, independent woman in certain respects, the movie’s ending ultimately promotes the view that women are subordinate to men. At the beginning of the movie, Lucy eagerly meets Jerry’s challenge to file for divorce. She moves out of the apartment they share with her head held high. She is cool and composed in court, and craftily gains custody of Mr. Smith. However, after Lucy gets settled in her new apartment, it becomes apparent that she feels unfulfilled without a man in her life. She mopes around the apartment, lacking the motivation to go out. When Dan shows interest in her, she immediately jumps on the opportunity to make Jerry jealous. She even appears to temporarily convince herself that she is genuinely attracted to Dan, although she eventually realizes she is still enamored by Jerry. After an incident in which Lucy accidentally gives Jerry the impression that she is seeing Armand and leads Dan and his mother to believe that she is concealing affairs with Armand and Jerry, Lucy loses both Jerry and Dan’s affection. At this point, she becomes desperate. She makes a bold attempt to end Jerry’s budding relationship with Barbara, and ultimately wins Jerry back. Lucy clearly demonstrates a slew of admirable qualities; she is creative, witty and determined. However, these characteristics are not applied to ambitious endeavors. Instead, Lucy applies them solely to her various efforts to maintain relationships with men. Thus, “The Awful Truth” implies that women are defined by the men in their lives, and not by their own personal achievements.

"42nd Street" Analysis

Andi Hubbell

The 1933 film “42^nd Street” outlines the financial and personal struggles that the cast, crew and producers of a Broadway musical face as they aspire to create a successful show. Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is a demanding but brilliant director who aims to earn enough money from ticket sales for “42^nd Street” to be able to live comfortably in spite of his worsening sickness. He gains financial support for the play from millionaire Abner Dillon (Guy Kibbee), whose sole interest in the show is in the chorus girls it includes. In exchange for backing the play, Abner insists that its star, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels), date him. Dorothy does so although she is clearly still enamored by her former musical mentor Pat Denning (George Brent). When Dorothy informs Pat that she believes that they should stop seeing one another, he appears to take interest in an inexperienced chorus girl in the musical named Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler). Peggy, although rough around the edges, proves both lovable and talented. Throughout the rigorous five weeks of rehearsal that precede “42^nd Street”’s opening night, Peggy draws attention from numerous other suitors and easily makes friends with fellow chorus girls. Unfortunately, a few days before the show’s premiere, Dorothy spots Peggy with Pat and grows extremely jealous. She unleashes her fury the night before the show, when she insults an intoxicated Abner and fractures her ankle in a fit of rage when Peggy enters Pat’s hotel room. Just when the odds of putting on the opening night performance seem very bleak, Peggy’s quirky friend Ann Lowell (Ginger Rogers) convinces Julian to allow Peggy to assume Dorothy’s role. With Dorothy’s blessing, Peggy graces the stage and leaves a stellar impression on the audience. Dorothy, who realizes that she has been neglecting the possibility of having true love in favor of maintaining her stardom, becomes engaged to Pat.

In spite of its inconsistent, at times lacking storyline, “42^nd Street” proves a successfully executed film because it appeals to the dominant values of the society and time period in which it was produced. The musical fails to construct coherent romances between characters; Pat appears to have discarded his feelings for Dorothy in favor of pursuing Peggy, but ultimately disregards his developing romance with Peggy when Dorothy decides she wants to get married. Similarly, Peggy seems to be interested in Pat, but still shamelessly flirts with Billy Lawler (Dick Powell), who took a liking to Peggy the moment he met her. Moreover, the musical barely scrapes the surface of the immense financial problems most individuals had during the Great Depression. The only time economic hardships are mentioned is when the creative team frets about maintaining Abner’s financial support, and when Julian asserts that he must make a substantial profit from the show in order to be able to support himself. Nonetheless, “42^nd Street” was likely very appealing to audiences when it was released in 1933 because it played on the Great Depression era values of maintaining a hard work ethic and collaborating with others to achieve success. Viewers saw the cast and crew’s efforts to attain prosperity as congruent to American society’s struggles to overcome financial hardship and find success. In 1933, the expression of these values was probably more crucial to the success of a film than the depth and coherence of its storyline. The extravagant stage scenes that the movie revealed also probably enraptured impoverished audience members.