Metaphor In Motion Pictures
Metaphor is a term to describe an object or a phrase that means more than what you see or hear. It is used in literally every film that has ever been made whether the filmmaker meant to or not. Shapes, objects, colors and sounds all represent something to the individual when it is seen. It is when the universal shape, object, color or sound is used to represent something in a film that it normally does not represent that should translate to the audience from the filmmaker's point of view that is can be called a metaphor. Metaphor in films are used to represent an idea or feeling without literally having the character say it aloud. Motion picture is just that, moving images that give us an impression of an idea that someone wants to share with us. Different shapes and colors represent different things, but when using metaphors, the filmmaker should use specific objects to represent specific ideas based on a theme they are trying to express. A director that does this as well as any of them is David Lynch. Lynch uses color, art direction and costumes to set the mood for his films and then uses objects and even characters in his films to represent the ideas and themes of his film. Let's take the film Mulholland Drive, for instance. In this film, a beautiful, young, naïve, blond girl comes to Hollywood expecting to find a friendly place with friendly people. For most of the film, we think she has. She meets so many friendly people and is happier than she ever has been. Unfortunately, this is all a farce that she has created in her head. In the beginning of he film, she "meets" this old couple on the flight to California who wishes her all the best. The young girl is so excited to get to Hollywood. She herself, being naïve, is a metaphor for every eager actress or entertainment professional in Hollywood who thinks they have the balls to make it in the industry. They believe that although there might be struggles, they will love it in Hollywood. When in fact Lynch's truth is that Hollywood is a wasteland that truly messes sweet innocent people up and drags them don until they have changed into different people. The couple represents the dream that Hollywood is so beautiful and wonderful with people in it who will help you get your career started. Besides just those two characters, there are many other metaphors that include a blue box in which no one knows what it is actually for. Boxes with an unknown entity inside are a signature move in abstract films to use as a metaphor for something. In the film Seven starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, a madman goes on a grievous killing spree in which he kills those who have committed the seven deadly sins. Its lighting and camera angles all represent a mysterious yet inviting tale. In the end of the film, a box is brought to the two detectives who are investigating the crime. We all find out what's in the box in the end but for a while, we are not sure. The box is real and what is inside is real, but in the moment the box represents the life of a man who has lost everything. In one single moment, his life goes from good to devastating because of box, because of his sin. There can be multiple metaphors on one object or in one film. Another film involving a box is Barton Fink by the Coen Brothers. Fink is a 1940's screenwriter who is troubled every day by the stress of writing a good wrestling picture, his barging-in neighbor and the woman he has come to love. Everything goes sour for Fink as he sinks deeper and deeper into depression after he finds out that someone he knows is a murderer. When he cannot reach his family, his girlfriend winds up dead, and his career is ruined he receives a box. Everything from his life is gone except for this box. He has nearly lost his mind and goes to the beach in shambles with this box. He still doesn't know what's inside but one can almost guess. The box can represent many things to many people. For some it is about being lost and not wanting to accept it. For others it about wanting to punish ourselves for not trusting our instincts. It can also represent death. Some think that if Fink opens the box, that means he is truly dead. So, almost anything in a film can represent something else. The filmmaker just has to know exactly what they want to convey and choose carefully what they want to do with it. As long as the filmmaker knows his/her themes and ideas, the audience can at least have a reference.
www.imdb.com, www.wikipedia.com, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAMetaphor.htm, Metaphor and Film by Trevor Whittock
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