For those of you that stayed on Friday watching "The Elephant Man" I would love to discuss the themes that the author implements through his use of imagery, symbolism, etc. These begin to quickly unravel in the opening scene of the Elephant Man's mother giving birth & the stampede of elephants! Here are a couple of things I found:a. Imagery of Light & Darkness
b. Symbolism of Mirrors
c. Humanizing Light Shed on Elephant Man
d. Society's Masked Personality
Feel free to elaborate on the following :) or to add your own interpretation of the movie and bring in original perspective.
Lesly,
ReplyDeleteI think that your four choices of topics are pregnant with meaning, especially the idea of society's gaze, and how what we show to others isn't always the truth. Was this wrong of Dr. Treves' contemporaries? We can only infer they were being polite, maybe even amused by John.
Some of you have wondered how John would be treated in today's modern society. This may also be a topic worth discussing.
Finally, what about a post that compares Johnn to Victor Frankenstein's creation? What are the similiarities in their plights?
Boy, what a film. Personally, I did not see as much correlation to "Frankenstein" as I thought I would see. Sure, there is the ostracism that John (Joseph) Merrick suffered as a result of the ineptitude and judgment Society displayed... just like the monster in "Frankenstein". However, this film told its own story, in its own way. As to the Black and White Imagery along with the reflections in the mirror, I was reminded of the duality that is Humanity. On one end of the spectrum, we embody goodness. However, at the opposite end, evil lurks and it is that evil that the monster and John Merrick encounter... and in subsequence are tormented by. Not only did the mirror represent what is between the lines of Society, but also the reality that we all live in. Human nature personified by a mere tool that is usually used to judge the outer appearance, not the inner.
ReplyDeleteok guys, well to me the movie reminded me a lot of frankenstein, perhaps not in the part that john was not accepted but in the part that he like frankenstein has to struggle with asepting himself. it also reminds me of siddharthat and how all along he had been trying to kill his self when all he had to do was asept who he was, frankenstein was the same, and that was why he became evil so he could find himself. i know it might not make sence but in a way frankentien was exploring his options, and sadly the only thing that was left for him was realizing that death was the best way. in the end he realized the revange was not the way and being good would never bring him favers and love because no matter what, people would see him through prejudice eyes. that goes back to John, he also explored his options and came to the realization that no matter what he would never be able to have pease and be normal, so he died at last and was liberated from his trocherd life, because no mater what nice intentions the people around had for him they would never be able to asept him as one of there own.
ReplyDeleteTo be candid,the film, or John more specifically, was odious to me. I thought he was grotesque. Even him enunciating was gross. However, as I reflected on what I had seen in the film, I felt sort of remorsful and empathetic towards John. Figuring in the relation or similarities to the creation in Frankentstein, I felt even worse. Of course there is the obvious deformity that makes them an oppostion to society, but the biggest sontrast I saw was within Victor from Frankenstein and the Doctor in The Elephant Man. Victor shunned his creation, whereas The Doctor nursed his. This crude ephipany made me realize how cruel society is.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to see a clear connection between the monster and John Merrick but I can actually see a connection between those two and Siddartha... if that makes sense. Each man is trying to find his place and/or answers to the obstacles in their lives.
ReplyDeletewell there are a couple of aspects that do show how there could be a connection to the monster in Frankenstein and John Merrick as both were created in horrific ways seen to the public. These feelings had branded a trust issue to both the monster and John Merrick, but both do open up the open world. How this is for the monster would be the chapter of the blind man who had accepted the monster as a human in his social sense as the monster did speak to the blind man and give a calm demeanor, with john Merrick his acceptance was at the moment when he began to talk to the doctor and allowed him to be open and be perceived as an equal as he talked.
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