I put it together with Brazil because at some level they both concern the breakdown of society and the individual's attempt to balance his reality and his perceived reality. Whence the (unrealized) expectations in these characters (Prufrock and Sam)? What is it about their societies that prompts such (seemingly disconnected) expectations? Additionally, can you discuss the forces at work on thee characters that prompt such? We know that Brazil is visually rich. Does Gilliam use this texture toward anything more than baroque excess?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
of Prufrock and Sam
I suspect that the poem for this week might present some challenge. That's OK. In class, we will spend some time breaking it down; that is, we will work through much of the poem to discover how it makes meaning (which is similar to the ways we perform cinematic analysis: breaking down scenes in terms of cinematography, editing, etc. to find out how meaning is made). Do be sure to read the poem and try to work through some of it on your own.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I've seen the director's cut of Brazil, and the narrative is already hard enough to follow. The edited version makes it even more difficult to follow along with the story. In fact, some of those cuts just don't make any narrative sense, especially the way in which the film was concluded. Perhaps the messy narrative is a reflection of Sam's state of mind? Referring to the director's cut, I think it gets increasingly harder to differentiate Sam's reality from his dreams, as both seem equally outlandish to me. I think this occurs because I am not sure what either Sam's reality or his dreams are capable of, given that this story takes place in a sci-fi, futuristic world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement above, I have not seen the directors cut but I feel that the edited version is incomplete and leaves the viewer a little confused because less information is presented. I see the similarieties between Prufrock and Sams character because they are both intelligent people with complications with confidence, although Prufrock seems a little more neurotic.
ReplyDeleteI saw similarities in Sam and Prufrock as well. Both are well educated men from seemingly well off families, but maybe because of their intellect they seem more aware of their circumstances and situations in their 'broken societies' and are therefore burdened with being the only ones who realize how despairing it really is.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason it was difficult to follow the story in Brazil was due to the lack of initial exposition. The narrative only gives us the bare bones of the story and it leaves us feeling frustrated and confused. (perhaps as much as Prufrock and Sam?)
ReplyDeleteBoth narratives (the film and poem) seem to function as a sort of commentary on the absurdity of a certain social norm. Bureaucracy in one and the expectations of spatial and temporal existence. Brazil becomes satirical in certain moments such as when the pieces of paper attack Tuttle at the end. This is a somewhat comedic scene, but more so stands as proof of the absurdity of bureaucracy. Similarly, the poem is constantly toying with the notion of time and space through the use of personification and metaphors. The reader is left wondering exactly when and where the narrative is taking place, but understanding (hopefully) what it is that the poem is trying to argue.
ReplyDeleteThe forces at work against each of the characters in these certain texts comes from the society in which they inhabit. In Brazil, the technological advancements of the bureaucratic government have evolved objects to take on a life of their own. Anytime the innards of the walls are unveiled, the wires appear as organs of a living, breathing entity. The present society has also made objects out of high class woman, obsessed with the continuous utilization of plastic surgery in order to appear younger, and in competition of whose surgeon's methods are better. These, among many other forces, are what work Sam into the disconnected feelings he has, in turn, making his dream world an escape in which he is able to conquer that society. On the other hand, Prufrock's inner monologue reveals his inability to connect to that society, the forces at work against him being a result of his inaction. "Love Song," as well, anthropomorphizes the urban setting of the poem. The forces of society at work against Prufrock are communicated through these representations, either of the urban setting or the appearance of women (or, woman), that in his old age have left him feeling isolated and unhopeful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew’s discussion of the many forces which “work Sam into the disconnected feelings he has, in turn, making his dream world an escape in which he is able to conquer that society.” In the beginning of the film, the differences between the world in which Sam lives and his dream world are made quite obvious (ie. He awakes from his dream world and we find him lying in his bed). As the film progresses, however, the line between the two realities becomes more and more blurred until it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is happening in Sam’s physical presence and what is happening in his imagination. At this point, it seems that attempting to decipher what is physically occurring versus what is happening in Sam’s dream world is irrelevant—the difference between the two doesn’t matter. Sam’s experience of the world is as much occurring in his physical presence as it is in his head. His imagined reality becomes his predominant reality. The only way Sam is able to express and experience his emotion is through his use of “objective correlatives.” The terrifying robot-samurai creature and the drones with baby-doll masks come to serve, in Sam’s mind, as the different parts of the bureaucratic society in which he is trapped. By the end of the film, Sam’s dream world has become the way he experiences his physical world.
ReplyDelete(My apologies for any discrepancies between this post and the movie viewed in class—I missed the screening and rented the director’s cut instead, so I don’t know to what extent the two versions differ)
Both Prufrock and Sam seem to be victims of their respected environments. For one, Prufrock, from what I can tell, lives within a decaying, urban setting. There are "half-deserted streets" and "one-night-cheap hotels" along the way. The same could be said about Sam regarding setting, a man surrounded by ridiculous chaos of the sciene-fiction variety. However, what seems to offer some hope to both Sam and Prufrock (the possibility of escaping this environment) is the idea of potentially finding a lover. This would allow an escape ("Let us go then, you and I...") for both Sam and Prufrock from their environments to occur, and would ideally result in satisfied egos for both protagonists.
ReplyDeleteI think the "speaker" in Eliot's poem is being self-criticisized by his superego, since the entire poem is being taken place within his imagination. The poem is entirely read as cognitive thought and mirrors how a person's self-image is constantly being shifted depending on the highs and lows of self-confidence. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker's self-confidence is relatively high upon approaching "her" and then transcends to "I am not Prince Hamlet."
ReplyDeleteMy comments (with apologies) also refer to the director's cut.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the general consensus that "Prufrock" can be read into one's assessment of Sam. Prufrock and Sam are both asking "Do I dare disturb the universe?" Prufrock believes that the rewards for action are illusory. The mermaids do not sing to him because Prufrock forsees "human voices" intruding upon the palliative effects of the sirens' song; consequently, "we drown."
Sam has also "heard the mermaids singing each to each" but has succumbed to the illusion. Sam believes that he has "dare[d] to eat a peach." He is left strapped in his chair, smiling. The human voices - for reasons internal or external,sympathetic or bureaucratic - have not awakened him.
I agree with all of the aforementioned comments concerning the intelligence and well-being of both Sam from Brazil and Prufrock from the T.S. Eliot poem. Both men appear to be lost in their respective worlds and try to survive by questioning those same worlds. When I read T.S. Eliot's poem, I see Prufrock in a blank white environment similar to the one in THX-1138. While in this world, he contemplates the world as we know it in his mind. His world is nonexistent. He talks about this woman that he seeks as if she were his true love. However, he gets more egotistical as the poem goes on. In order to satisfy his ego, he questions the world around him-that in which seems to exist only in his mind-in an attempt to find a sense of belonging. Therefore, he not only love this woman, but only wants her for the sake of satisfying his ego.
ReplyDeleteAs for Sam in Brazil, the outside world that he is in appears to be in even more disarray than the world in his mind. Furthermore, he is truly adrift in his world. For instance, he initially turns down a huge promotion offered to him. He only decides to change his mind about the promotion when he realizes that he can find out more about Jill, who is the woman of his dreams. Jill, however, is sought by the authoritarians who structure their society. As we later discover, she is pursued by authorities because she witnessed a wrongful arrest (and eventual murder) courtesy of those very same authorities. That just goes to show how screwed up their world is when a witness to a crime is seen as a terrorist. When Sam finally gets Jill, he is less egotistical and more genuine in his love for her. Ultimately, she becomes a part of his fictitious world in the version we saw at the screening as they are seen flying through the sky in medieval outfits.
I like the statement made above about satisfied egos. Their need for a relationship is made more apparent by their lack of self esteem so that the audience will want to see them succeed in the relationship above all else because it seems to be their only escape from mediocrity and the dysfunctional societies in which they live.
ReplyDeleteIn these fictional worlds it is not just the metaphorical escape that the characters are seeking but both are quite literal. Sam and Jill need to flee because she is in danger of a corrupt government. In the poem, Prufrock opens with "let us go then you and I."
They both have the intelligence and self-awareness to realize the corruptness around them and their need to reject it. But both characters need a woman to escape with and to help them discover their worth.
I think both are indeed commentaries on the faults of society, Brazil being the more obvious one.
ReplyDeleteBrazil being a commentary/satire on consumerism and how materialistic people are, all the while letting the government control every aspect of their lives blindly. Everything is done by machine and everything is artificial. I recall one scene where there are neon trees, rather than real trees because everything in Sam's world is artificial.
The materialism comes to a head in the director's cut, where after realizing the happy ending is a dream, Sam is detained and questioned, being told that if he confesses to everything, his credit rating won't be affected. Of course we hopefully find this to be ridiculous, a credit rating not being something threatworthy, like a family, but in the world where materialism is everything - the world Gilliam hopes to avoid, and we could be frighteningly close to, it is very threatening.
I feel like I was the only one who didn't see the connection with society in Eliot's poem. I have a hard time I think ever connecting things with society, I don't know if that makes me dumb. But because of the title, I was hooked on him talking about love, and that instance when you think you should do something but don't, that instance that you want to do something, but don't. Even after breaking the poem down, all I gathered was how cleverly he wrote about that fleeting moment he was describing. I don't think I saw anything more.
ReplyDeleteI'm with AmadaP on this one. When I read The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, I was only focused on the fact that he was at a party and couldn't gather up the nerves to talk to a girl. It was written very beautifully, but I don't find myself thinking about the current state of society when I read the poem.
ReplyDeleteI think the society in which they live in affect the ways in which Prufrock and Lowry act. Both of these stories seem to have a sexual undertone in them and that is what is driving our society today and seems to have always driven our society.
ReplyDelete