The main message Super 8 tries to convey are immortalized in the simple words of a child, “I know bad things happen. But you can still live” (Joe Lamb, Super 8). The “bad things” in this film deal with coping with death are specific to each character. Joe’s anxiety about the loss of his mother is embodied in the locket, which he must let go of when the alien turns on the magnet.
I chose this image because it accomplishes several elements crucial to my interpretation of the movie. While it may be true that the adults have more control over the children because of their size and age, the children seem to have a naiveté in their experience with the alien that allows them to grasp a more accurate understanding of the train crisis better than the adults. I believe this image is appropriate in its portraying the children in the center due to the importance of their point of view.
Along the lines of these spatial proxemic patterns, the personal space between the portraits in this photograph align the children with one another, while the disconnect in lighting and lines of sight separate the adult, symbolizing the failure to identify with them or the alien. This becomes the major conflict in the film in terms of the alien. Held by humans since its arrival, the alien perceived humans as somewhat of a threat, so when it escapes and just wants to go home, the ignorance of adults and the army prevent them from communication.
The density is also important in this tight shot. While the children take up a good 2/3rds of the frame, eye attention is most immediately drawn to the light at the top. This seems to provide the only source of light for the characters on the poster, while maintaining the ultimate message of the film: there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I chose this image because it accomplishes several elements crucial to my interpretation of the movie. While it may be true that the adults have more control over the children because of their size and age, the children seem to have a naiveté in their experience with the alien that allows them to grasp a more accurate understanding of the train crisis better than the adults. I believe this image is appropriate in its portraying the children in the center due to the importance of their point of view.
Along the lines of these spatial proxemic patterns, the personal space between the portraits in this photograph align the children with one another, while the disconnect in lighting and lines of sight separate the adult, symbolizing the failure to identify with them or the alien. This becomes the major conflict in the film in terms of the alien. Held by humans since its arrival, the alien perceived humans as somewhat of a threat, so when it escapes and just wants to go home, the ignorance of adults and the army prevent them from communication.
The density is also important in this tight shot. While the children take up a good 2/3rds of the frame, eye attention is most immediately drawn to the light at the top. This seems to provide the only source of light for the characters on the poster, while maintaining the ultimate message of the film: there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I agree with your interpretation of the movie and especially liked your insight that the “thesis” of the film is Joe Lamb’s quote. This can be seen not just in the alien, but also in Joe, Alice, and their fathers. In fact, the alien itself seems to represent the pain that these four must learn to accept and let go. Joe’s release of the locket, as you mentioned, seems to support this, as the alien can leave only after he allows the locket to fly away.
ReplyDeleteI also like the picture you chose. It’s a very effective image, drawing the viewer’s eye to Joe, whose face is only partially illuminated. Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch, but this may also show the degree of understanding the children have. They’re young, naïve, and unable to understand the adult world (hence the dark half), yet they’re more capable of approaching and dealing with both their personal crisis and the alien crisis.
There is a great deal of political context in your interpretation that may be amiss in your analysis. In deciding upon the "bad things" dialogue spoken by Joe as the prominent focus of the film, you essentially dismiss the ideological content through which the quote originated. The primary reason for the alien's sense of loss, which ultimately allows Joe to empathize with this creature, was because of the historic clandestine, strong-arm approach of the U.S. Air Force in the cases of human life and beyond. From hidden agendas to non-disclosure to outright lies and the forced quarantine of the residents of Lillian, the military force in the film embodied the most prevalent dangers we face by allowing ourselves to be "protected" so stringently. I hardly believe that J.J. Abrams would send a message via film that would encourage people to accept such rights violations as "bad things" that "happen" with which we must "live."
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