Rear Window

The relationship between Jeffries and Lisa can be closely examined by their reactions to the different occupants of the apartments that can be viewed. Miss Torso is a buxom woman who dances the tune of seduction even if she does not intend it. Jeffries can’t help but gaze at her like a teenage boy her first set his eyes on sex symbol of Hollywood. He makes different inferences about her life. His conclusions are compared to the conclusions Lisa. We are given two different conclusions as to what is going on with Miss Torso. It was revealing that Lisa gives credit to some of the things Jeffries says since she infers that she was once like Miss Torso. The reaction of Jeffries face was a point of comedy but gave insight into the relationship between Jeffries and Lisa.

Miss Lonely hearts’s life made Jeffries comment to Lisa that they should be thankful not to be cursed with a lonely existence. It is hard not to feel sympathy for a woman who has dinner with herself. The audience witnessed a man come into Miss Jeffries home. She is attacked and forces her attacker out of the house. A stunning occurance happens when she swallows pills in an attempt to kill herself.

The characters lonely life makes Jeffries and Lisa look into their own lives. They both wonder what is their relationship to loneliness. Jeffries seems fine with the status quo of keeping Lisa around only when he needs her. However, Lisa desires for something more; an emotional connection and maybe marriage and children. The uneven desires of both parties serves as a source of conflict that provides tension to the audience. It is as if the murder mystery unfolding before the audiences eyes is only a soundtrack to the drama between Jeffries and Lisa. The pink elephant is whether Jeffries will commit to Lisa or not. Even the ending, which shows a Lisa with a smile of content, makes one wonder if the status quo is continuing or has Jeffries finally allowed for a committed relationship.

The composer serves as comic relief for the most part. The character brings in his frustrations as an artist. Many displays of frustration are seen in the movie. We are treated to the composer playing a song for an audience. The composer does make the song of love and companionship far more appealing to Lisa who reacts positively. Lisa’s reaction to the composer is something constant through out the film and can’t be found as a reaction to the composer alone.

 The newlyweds showed Lisa and Jeffries as they could be if they were to marry. The bliss of the wedding day, wedding night and getting an apartment together shows the bliss of the couple. Eventually, reality sets in and the day to day of seeing the same wife, hearing the same sounds and seeking an escape from the monotony of marriage leads the newly minted husband to open a window and grab a smoke. He is sent back to earth as the sounds of a wife bring him back to the arena he is trying to escape, even if only for a few minutes. The relationship of the newlyweds can draw a parallel to how life could potentially turn out for Jeffries and Lisa if they chose to marry. Lisa would be in marital bliss but Jeffries would want out from time to time despite the happiness he would have in a relationship with Lisa. It is inevitable that once attraction is gone the caring of two partners must supersede the desire to see if the grass is greener elsewhere but it is a desire that Jeffries may not be ready to relinquish.

The Thorwalds are the dark side of Jeffries and Lisa. Lisa is a woman who nags while Jeffries is a man who desire to “shut her up.” It is one potential conclusion between the couple that is more akin to Jeffries who allows for morbid observation as opposed to Lisa who prefers to keep her feminine innocence by not speaking such evil. There is not enough evidence to conclude whether Jeffries could actually commit murder of Lisa;however, given his desire to be free and the cumbersome nature of marriage and monogamy, he may seek a way out, even if that means the death of someone he loves.

Overall, the movie investigates many areas of relationships. Man’s relationship to nature, love, evil and justice are explored in the movie. It is arguably one of Hitchcock’s finest and displays his talent not only as a director but a story teller as well. Lisa and Jeffries future is left up to chance but the film allows many interpretations to be drawn, all of them equally valid. 

King Lear

Coppelia Kahn’s observed Lear’s display of emotions after taking in Cordiella’s death near the end of King Lear and concluded that Lear had embraced his inner feminine. The argument comes through observation of Lear operating in a patriarchal society where gender roles are fully in place and any veering away from traditional expressions of gender is cause for concern, especially in regards to one’s masculinity or femininity.

I feel the discussion on what is masculine and feminine is very complex now that we are in a post-feminist world where traditional male roles are now available for women. The mentioning of feminism and the femininity of Lear is an interesting observation but I am confused as to what Kahn is getting at. For instance, she mentions that Lear shedding tears involves him embracing his inner feminine, an example of him feeling and having empathy. Men feel and cry just like women do. Some men may do it more often than others but all men cry, despite some openly denying an instance of crying in their lives. Understanding that, I find it hard to accept that Lear is embracing his inner feminine because he decided to cry having witnessed the death of his favorite daughter. Michael Corleone cried out in pain and agony when his daughter was gunned down at the end of the Godfather III. Was Michael embracing his inner feminine despite having the arguably the most patriarchal position in his personal and criminal family ever obtained?  I can’t say that her thesis is flawed given my disagreement with her on this point. I will say that if she is to argue the case for King Lear getting in touch with his maternal side she needs to do it understanding emotional displays should not be limited by gender roles.

Persepolis:The Story Of A Childhood.

Persepolis Blog Post

A little girl’s experience in Iran is documented with wonderful dialogue and excellent illustrations in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. The joy and curiosity of a child is expressed in numerous panel illustrations and dialogue. The story is told through the experience of a young Iranian woman seeking to assert herself on a world that forces her to grow up way before many of her Western counterparts have too. She is proactive in seeking out relationships with her family and friends but suffers from an alienation brought upon by her high intelligence, assertiveness and relentless challenging of the status quo. She navigates this existence and it is recorded in the form of a graphic novel. Persepolis is a wonderful narrative that showcases the beauty of Iranian culture. It is political in nature without risking alienation from a pro-Western audience. This achievement alone makes this book one of the best graphic novels to have ever been released and arguably the best discussion that an Iranian has had with the West since Iranian political activist Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The work covers many themes but the most reoccurring is the different examples of constraint. Perhaps the most notorious form of constraint that many Westerners comment upon is the wearing of the veil. The choice or requirement for a woman to cover herself attracts a lot of controversy. Many see the visual display of constraint oppressive and wish to modernize Islamic countries with women’s liberation in the form of freedom to wear what one wants. Marjane critique in her novel is not of the veil itself but the system that takes away choice.

One of the most touching scenes in the book occurred when Marjane spoke to a panel of men questioning the rules that required her to wear clothes at a greater length in order to cover herself. She pointed out that men could wear what they wanted and women had to follow rules set aside for them because of their gender. The exposing of the blatant sexism of the University showcased Marjane’s absent of fear when speaking truth to power, a trait that some of the greatest political activist in history all share.

Another constraint that one sees in the book is that of class. Marjane’s helper,Mehri, is a woman of poverty who can’t find love with a man across the street named Hossein due to their social relationship. It was a tear jerking scene to see how quickly Merhri was cast aside by Hossein who found she was a peasant and quickly departed from her life. This angered Marjane intensely and she found gravitation towards Karl Marx who envisioned a classless society where social interaction would be based on equality rather than hierarchy.

Both instances of constraint deal with the restrictions that an environment has imposed on a person. Marjane escapes to Austria and experiences a liberation she hasn’t felt before. She is allowed to go to grocery stores to buy what she wants, wear western attire, and pursue romantic relationships with boys without hiding public displays of affection. Of course, new freedom comes with new constraints. Her Iranian background quickly marginalized her and although she didn’t have to wear a veil in Austria, she still was confined to people’s perceptions of her, which largely came from negative stereotypes.

Persepolis gives an inside view into the culture of Iran through the lens of a family’s relationship to their country in one of the most turbulent time in its two thousand plus year history. Education can occur in many forms but a story is the most intimate way a lesson can be learned outside of personal experience. Marjane does this with superb writing skills, a personal story worthy of an academy award nomination, and a history of a people rich in culture. Although the theme of constraint is present, one feels liberated after finishing the book having been set free of their ignorance about a people who have given so much to the world as a whole. Persepolis is a wonderful achievement in literature and comes highly recommended by this author.

The search for meaning in The Moviegoer fits the narrative's title in that the main character, Binx, passes his time by watching movies and womanizing. The superficial life of the main character has depth with his inner dialogues and his relationship with Kate. In the beginning of the novel, we witness Binx who lives primarily for superficial pleasure. He goes to movies and seduces women to escape the real world. His hedonistic lifestyle leaves him searching for a life with meaning since one can't find fulfillment in the chase for sensation. The question of a deeper meaning to life haunts him since he had a religious upbringing and the question of the infinite plagues his mind. In an unending world of emotional isolation and intelligence, a man is forced to dwell in his mind in search for answers which lead him into a melancholy state as commented upon in the book itself.

The search is something that Binx takes upon himself in order to break away from his everyday life (13). He makes himself to be a seeker rather than labeling himself a believer, atheist or agnostic. He wants to avoid the malaise which he defines as the pain of loss (120). The disconnection from the world that leaves him isolated. Binx sounds like the making of a great artist who seeks to use his creativity to reveal truth whether through pen or paintbrush but his negativity and lack of vision leaves him seeking pleasure and contemplation. His only saving grace his is relationship with Kate. 

Kate provides a character with whom he allows himself to be vulnerable with. He understands her and cares about her, even proposing marriage to her (which she accepts at the end of the novel). His relationship with Kate shows his search coming to a conclusion around the same time he marries her. This is not to say that he is satisfied with what he has found but it does mark a point of conclusion. In response to his conclusion, one can say Binx has done the best he could in trying to find meaning in a life that up to the point of marrying Kate was meaningless. I am one to argue that he simply continues his search in the context of marriage. Life, outside of how one defines it, really has no intrinsic value. Hence the search for meaning isn't a search but a choice an individual makes to give one's life meaning. Life is defined by what you make of it.