Monday, April 19, 2010
Intermission: Discussing and Viewing House of Sand and Fog
As we continue to view the film House of Sand and Fog we have had many opportunities to discuss characters, particular events, and themes. We noted the similarities between the Colonel and Baba from Kite Runner. We couldn't miss the obvious cultural conflicts that escalated the tension between Lester and the Colonel or the pride that contributed to the destruction of three families. However, we haven't really talked about the imagery - the trees, the birds, or all the fog and sand that seamlessly link the story events together. Why are they there? What do they mean? In today's blog response select just one of those repeating images and tell us what you think it might mean and how it figures into the story. (Oh, you cannot say a tree is just a tree here.)
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It was one image that connected to the movie, which was the ocean water with the fog running on the top of it. This image connected with the movie because the time that the director decided to show that imagery scene was right before things started getting even worse for Cathy. Like how the fog was running across the ocean water, the landscape was then racing into place of the very intense scenes appearing one after another. The imagery of the ocean and the running fog gave the audience a link to what mood was showing up next.
ReplyDeleteone of the things that appeared a lot through the movie is the shore of the ocean. to me this means that every family was standing in sand which was moving as the water came to shore. meaning that either of the families was standing strong because they all had conflicts within them which as we all know sand isnt strong so it cant hold as long. the water to me is all the events rushing in that led to the end of the story. the more the water the more it disolves the sand. for example the overdose of cathy leads to lester's threats which leads to colonel sons death which leads to him killin his wife and then himself. everytime i saw the ocean i knew another important event was comin up.
ReplyDeleteThe images seemed to describe the emotion and feeling behind each scene. For instance, in the beginning it was bright and sunny, a perfect day at the beach. The beginning was peaceful and not as emotional as the rest of the movie. The ocean represented turmoil in the movie; an ocean is never at rest. After any new event or change it appeared to mostly show the ocean. The fog symbolized dread and bewilderedness. Any time that there is fog it gives the audience a feeling of confusion and eeriness. The fog was constantly rolling in to foreshadow that something bad was going to happen. Fog is generally understood to be a shroud or cover for things to come. The imagery was used to describe the mood after each scene.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie, the ocean water is shown several times and it reflects the moods of the characters and shows the conflicts the have. When Cathy went back to her house after she was evicted, Behrani and her get into an argument. When things get intense and they start yelling at each other, the water is shown rushing and flowing rapidly. Later on at the end when Behrani kills his wife bofore he takes his own life, the movie shows the ocean again and the water is really calm and the sun is setting.
ReplyDeleteI think that the nature scenes shown throughout the movie serve several purposes, one of which is to identify with characters. For example, in the movie, Cathy is often associated with a bird, such as when the Colonel’s wife first refers to her as a “broken bird” and in the dream she later has about the bird trapped in the house, which is a symbol for Cathy’s obsession with the house which the Baranis’ help her to rid herself of. Also, Cathy is often shown with birds, especially on the ocean dock by herself. The nature scenes also represent the main themes in the movie, such as ignorance. The fog and the trees obstruct the views of all the characters in the movie, making them unable to see what is right in front of them. This is the attitude they have towards the people in their lives as well, where they don’t look past the first impressions and the trees and fog that cover them up to find out who they are and what is going on in their lives. Finally, the ocean represents the final goal: the house and happiness. Many of the characters end up at the ocean, and Mr. Barani cut down trees and built a new deck so that he could see it, so it was like hope and happiness for him and for many other characters.
ReplyDeleteOne repeating symbol that had a reoccurring presence in the movie was the bird. The bird is mostly present in the life of the Beranis - mainly Mrs. Berani. The bird first appears in the birdbath outside the Beranis' new home, when Mrs. Berani is washing dishes and looking outside at the beautiful view. I believe the bird represents freedom to the woman’s family, because now they are finally in their own home and not an apartment. This is proved by a dream that Mrs. Berani has after her son is shot; a bird is trying to escape the home and is released when Mrs. Berani opens a window/door. Even though the family is free of being like “every other arab”, being back in their own country would truly set them free. However, after Mr. Berani has poisoned his wife, and suffocated himself, Kathy sees a dead bird in the water, which to me shows that the freedom is dead.
ReplyDeletei think that the images in the movie both describe a character or the mood of the movie. A example for that was when Berani wife died. Berani gave his wife some tea which had poison in it. they both sat on the deck where she contiune to drink and watch the sun set. She then laied her head slowly down and spilled the tea. After that th sun was set.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that this movie shows a huge amount of conflict between the characters, their families, and even themselves. However imagery is as important as the plot of the film. An imagery that stood out to me was the fog. The fog was as attached to this movie as the color on fruits. In the beginning the fog was light and airy, almost as if it wasn’t really there. I saw this as the beginning of everything. It was the start of coming trouble. This about the time when Kathy loses her home and soon after Lester becomes close to Kathy, and the start of the Colonel’s family coming to demise. In the middle of the movie the fog has creped in and has become much denser and is seen moving rapidly over the inlands of San Francisco. As a viewer we get a sense that things are changing. The Colonel moves his family but is having a hard time with keeping his new home. Kathy and Lester have now become homeless. Then lastly at the end the fog is utterly dense, a grayish color, and it is blocking the house from the viewer’s view. This signifies the end of everyone. Kathy has now lost her home because she doesn’t even claim it, the Colonel’s family has died and Lester ends up in jail for his crimes. Each phase of the fog shows how problems between the characters and their selves intensify and ends in a pile of pain.
ReplyDeleteThe imagery throughout this movie is very apparent relating to events and even the mood and tone of the movie itself. It begins with a beautiful shot of the beach as the son is setting and part of the Behrani family frolicking in the sand. The not long after Images of cut down trees foreshadow the events to come for the Behrani family and how their life would soon go down hill. As trouble would occur rushing raging oceans and fog would begin to roll in creating an ominous feeling, also foreshadowing how the characters in the movie only saw what was right in front of them and did not seek to see the full picture. Birds also played a major role in this movie. The birds began to appear when one landed on the bird bath in the back yard after the Behrani family had moved in the Colonel's wife reflected on how it reminded her of the garden they used to have. The birds were also tied to Cathy's character because after meeting the Behrani's the Colonel's wife referred to her as a bird, a broken one. This also seems to foreshadow her attraction to the house and how she is unable to let it go especially when Ms. Behrani had a dream of a bird trapped inside the house. Images of sand in the movie seem to portray the instability of life and how one day everything is going fine and the next day everything is changed.
ReplyDeleteAn imagery object that shows up a lot in the movie is fog. I think the fog represents the coming of an extremely bad event in the movie; I say this because every time an event with conflict comes about in the movie it shows more and more fog coming into the picture. So example right before the man from the county came to tell Kathy that she was being evicted from her home it shows a lot of fog around the house. Fog was also shown right after Kathy got into the altercation with the colonel who bought her home, which she claims he stole from her. Another event in the movie where fog appeared was when Kathy pulled into the driveway and attempted to shoot herself. The last time the fog is shown in the movie is when the colonel killed his wife and then committed suicide.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the imagery of the ocean and the fog simply reflected the events that were occurring. For instance at the beginning of the movie when the colonel's wife and son were enjoying the day on the beach the ocean was clear and sunny. As the events transedended into worse situation the fog seemed to thicken and begin to cover the ocean. For example toward the middle of the movie when the colonel and kathy begin to have issues in their own ways. The colonel begins to have to fight a battle for his home that in reality he didnt need to or deserve and Kathy was kicked out of her home which was a mistake of the county both were suffering which is where the fog became more dense. Also at the end of the movie the Berhani family was no longer alive and Kathy no longer wanted to live in the house the ocean simply vanished and the fog became very heavy and the last image was the fog covering up the house. What to me meant that the house came no good to anyone at the end after all that had happened.
ReplyDelete