Water-Spirtual Perspective

The movie Water is full of many different spiritual connections that align with the plot of the story. The story follows the religion of Hinduism, which impacts the story greatly. In the beginning scene, Chuyia is sent away to live with the other widows of the town because it is spiritually unacceptable for her to participate in normal society anymore being that she is a widow. Her hair is shaved off to abide by the Hindu rules she must follow and she is dressed in a white sari.

The most interesting spiritual connection I made was in the character, Kalyani. Kaylani is a younger widow who is caught between what she wants and what she feels spiritually inclined to do. A young man who practices Gandhism and follows Ghandi, Narayan, tries to convince Kaylani not to get mixed into what she thinks is her spiritual obligation as a widow and to marry him. 

Kalyani and Narayan's story is interesting to me because it makes me wonder if some of the rules that have been set for the widow are actually connected to religion, or if it is what is pleasing to society. I think the two concepts are commonly connected when they should not be. Kalyani is sent off to be a prostitute to make an income for the widows, but that isn't spiritually acceptable so where is the line drawn and what rules have exceptions? The idea that Kalyani shouldn't be married because she will be reconnected with her deceased spouse in another life changes things because in theory she won't be alone forever. However, since Hinduism is a religion that is constantly evolving I did some further research to see if it is now acceptable for widows to remarry. In 1856, the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act was created allowing widows to remarry with exceptions. 

Interesting Use of Music

I found this clip from One Tree Hill to contain a very interesting use of music. In this scene, two of the characters are in the car and almost collide with another couple of characters on the road, forcing the first couple's car off the road. At first, I didn't think the music really applied because this is a sad moment but the music was extremely loud. You will notice in the clip that as the car is going into the lake the music gets louder. However, then I realized that whenever the camera is actually in the water where you can see the characters stuck inside the car, the music gets quieter.



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I believe that this was done to add anticipation to the scene as the car was going into the lake. The audience immediately begins to wonder if the couple will make it. Also, when Nathan jumps after the couple the music is loud again even though this is a sad moment between Haley and Nathan seeing that they do not know if Nathan will make it out alive. Before he jumps in when they are talking, it's not as loud but as he jumps in, the scene is set to slow motion and the music gets louder.

Special Effect

The following pictures are from an episode of Vampire Diaries. Vampire Diaries includes a lot of scenes with fog to set the mood and the setting right before something traumatic is about to occur. The fog signifies that someone is going to come into the scene or that a spirit is among the character.

In this first scene, Elena is casually writing in her journal. The audience can see a little bit of fog coming from the left side of Elena, but she is oblivious to it. 

In this next clip, she has become aware of the fog and you can see the concern in her face.

Tsotsi- Sound & Music

Music did an interesting job of setting the tone for the different scenes in the movie. In the scene where Tsotsi ran out of the bar, there was fast paced music, which set the mood for him running away. Afterwards, when he is in the rain, quiet soft music came on. This supports the sad reflective moment he was having. He was reflecting on past memories as a child so this music went well with the scene.

Music gives more emotion to scenes for the audience. It helps the audience empathize with the characters because they can sense how the characters are feeling.

Transition- The Fade

In the following scene of Grey's Anatomy, Grey is telling a story she recalled as a child. Throughout this entire scene there are several fade ins and fade outs to recall her memories through flashbacks. In the beginning a lit up candle fades into siren lights, and then her face appears as the lights fade out.

Throughout this clip, she continues telling the story from her childhood. However, the flashbacks are not of her as a child but of her memories she recalls with Derek. She's still telling the story of her childhood when she was on the carousel, even though the clips being shown are of her and Derek. This could be because she is explaining how memory is a funny thing in general, and the director is showing this connection by having these clips fade in and out of each other. Her story about the carousel is a representative of life, which is how this memory of her childhood is relative to her memories with Derek.

Historical Framework- The Whale Rider

The Whale Rider shows many different aspects of the Maori culture throughout the movie. The characters in this movie were very respectful of the environment that surrounded them, which is a custom of the Maori people. They spent a lot of time outdoors during the majority of the movie. I also noticed that there was a lot of story telling being passed down. One of the customs this culture carries is the exchange of stories, which this movie did a good job portraying. In the presentation we learned that it is common for people to follow in their ancestors' footsteps. This was especially prevalent when Koro was teaching the boys about culture in hopes that they would carry these traditions with them and keep them alive.

In past times, the Maori people didn't see women as leaders, which is why Koro did not want Paikea to be apart of these lessons.

Another strong historical connection in this movie is that the Maori people believed that they came from the 'whale rider.' This was carried on throughout the movie and the Maori people were very concerned for the whales. The entire community attempted to help the whales when they were on land, and were all devastated when they could not succeed.

The Road Home- Symbolism

The Road Home used many different symbolic objects throughout the movie. One in specific that I paid special attention to was the bowl the main character, Di, carried throughout different scenes in this movie. The bowl was designed with intricate detail so it was easy to identify it. She used the bowl to serve Mr. Luo and the other workers food, with hopes that Mr. Luo would notice her and her food. When Mr. Luo came to her house, she served him using this bowl. When he left the village, she chased after him holding the same bowl. To me, this bowl symbolizes the strength of their love. When the bowl broke, Mr. Luo had left and him leaving was a test to see the strength of their love. When Di's mother got the bowl repaired, it seemed like Zhang had more hope in her love for Mr. Luo. Soon after, he returned. Also, the bowl's detail was painted in blue. In the Chinese culture, blue symbolizes immortality. This could be to symbolize that Di and Mr. Luo's love will live on forever.