The affiliation of film company logos and mythical symbols establishes a precedent of transportation to another realm for the viewer. By prefacing the movie with symbols like Pegasus or the golden gates of heaven, the viewer unconsciously slips into a certain mindset. It is as if they are being prepped for transference into another world. Mary Douglas explains this phenomena with her quote regarding ritual – “a marked off time or place”. Film companies establish a particular framework in which the movie and the moviegoer will operate within. These realms, like myths, have clear delineations between good and evil. They are an ordered world in which life, which is so often chaotic, is sorted out for us. As such, making it far easier to understand the appeal of these worlds. Films, like myth and religion, can be used as a means of escape. Although the classic elements of mythology are reconfigured in films, the basic elements remain. This fundamental component being an ambiguous world wherein lines that are blurred in reality became clear. Why is escapism – in its many forms - so attractive to us? Is it because it gives us limits where we have none?
No comments:
Post a Comment