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The Jacket and Shamanistic Ritual

Shamanistic ritual often involves pain and bloodshed in an effort to reach an altered state of enlightenment or consciousness. The drawer deprives Jack Starks of his physical mobility yet he is able to travel through time both forward and backwards in able to alter his timeline for the better. He uses his powers to help others in spite of the knowledge of his own impending death on the horizon. In a way, Jack knowing of his own death is a healing experience. In the life where he’s stuffed in the drawer he’s a lab rat for Becker but Becker has gifted Jack with the ability to escape and develop his own enlightenment by improving the lives of others around him. Throughout the film symbols representing improvement spring up when Jack is following the right path. One symbol in particular helps indicate what reality Jack is in. The dreamcatcher in Jackie’s car represents the two worlds. In the reality where Jackie’s mother is dead the dreamcatcher is torn and faded, representing the grim rea...
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Random-Apocalypse Now and Hypocrisy

Kurtz draws parallel to Kurtz in Heart of darkness he is a representation of man gone savage yet ironically enough he is much more philosophical than the officer. The officer played by Duvall is more insane than Kurtz but he enacts violence under a banner and the guise of war so therefore, his actions are justified. The purpose of the parallels of the insanity between Kurtz and the officer is to show just how maddening war really is. The apocalypse in the sense of the film is more of an end to the sane rational thoughts of man and the subsequent descent into madness. The war itself represents how the hypocrisy of those in power can be equally as evil as those they fight against, paralleling the hypocritical nature that religious organizations can take on certain stances. Many people complain that modern religion and churches mar the message that religion tries to convey in the pursuit of monetary gain.
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Cold Fever Analysis of Hirata

In Cold Fever the main character Hirata experiences transcendent significance throughout his adventure to perform his parent’s ceremonial last rites. During his journey to the site of his parents death Hirata is continuously and mercilessly faced with roadblocks and obstacles that seem to test him and his dedication to his parents rite of passage. The adventure to the site in itself is a ritual. From the process of purchasing and overpaying for the Citroen DS from a self proclaimed psychic and subsequently traveling across the icelandic countryside, getting robbed, experiencing icelandic western culture, drinking the strongest liquor in iceland and traveling through the tundra for  a stent on horseback. All the twists and turns in Hiratas adventure would cause most people looking from the outside in to question why he doesn’t just give up or wait for better weather. As individuals we often refuse to quit once we’re headed for a goal, regardless of what inconvenient obstacles are t...
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Thin Red Line

The key takeaway from Thin Red Line is that nature is indifferent to war. Man lives and dies but nature simply exists in time. Nature has no higher calling as it only exists in the present and objectively only does what is necessary in an effort to survive. Despite the war that is transpiring in the film nature slowly returns to normalcy as the smog of war settles. Man on the other hand never fully returns to normal after a conflict such as war. Man simply has to move on with life and reflect on how their actions impact their inner selves while nature is able to simply return to itself.   Within the context of the film nature represents the sublime as a whole. The wide panning shots of the hill particularly before the conflict begins command a sense of awe. The calmness and peace experienced within the shot of the grass rolling over the hill is quickly juxtaposed by explosions, gunfire, and death all around once man becomes involved with nature. Throughout the film the shots of nat...
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Opinion- Chip Coats

Most people cannot function without their phones or the internet. Speaking from personal experience limiting internet access and phone usage for a week can really make a difference in how much the awareness of your surroundings heightens when you aren’t buried in a phone. My family has a home in the blue ridge mountains with limited cellular service and no internet access. It’s strange in this day and age to actually have to have knowledge of where  you are going and not rely on gps. In my personal opinion deprivation of these modern conveniences actually helps reduce mindlessness.
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Vehicles in Film- Chip Coats

The director's choice of automobile in a film can have a major impact on how a character develops. Cars can be an object to show status or success such as the Porsche 928 in Scarface signifying how Tony Montana has made it in the world. In other cases, the vehicle which transports the main character in a film can help the character grow and develop within themselves. In Cold Fever, the fact that the Citroen DS even starts when the psychic sells him the car is symbolically a testament to how journeys through Iceland toughen things that wouldn’t otherwise hold up under less stressful circumstances. The Citroen DS has a notoriously complicated hydraulic lift system which realistically shouldn’t be functioning but, this specific car is “special” as if it has been toughened by the years in Iceland. With almost a herbie esque charm the DS pushes Hirata past his breaking point with its stuck radio. By challenging Hirata’s sanity the Citroen DS introduces Hirata to the brutality of the...
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Big Fish

Big Fish explores the relationship between a father and son and their journey to reconciliation. Edward, a charismatic traveling salesman with a fantastic sense of humor constantly tells the story of his life with a bit of embellishment and never really seems to take anything too seriously. Edward’s world is viewed through a lens of optimism that is infectious to almost everyone around him. His son Will, on the other hand is a wealthy businessman who seemingly can’t take a joke. Will constantly feels that his father’s tall tales are a means to hide his true self when in reality it is Will who refuses to acknowledge who his father really is. Will eventually learns that his father’s stories are slightly embellished for entertainment purposes but the people Edward met along his life journey are all real as are the lessons he learned. Bloom first meets Jenny in the town of Spectre when she is only 8 years old. When Bloom returns to Spectre the second time Jenny is 18 and tries to make a p...
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