As I sat down to write this blog about Elephant, I really struggled to grasp what I wanted to say. I was even having trouble deciding how I wanted to feel. I’ve tried to avoid media that deals with tragedies like Columbine, 9/11, and any war really. When I know that a movie is based on real life, it makes me really emotional. I think it’s related to the fact that the characters represent real people, and it seems really horrible to know that something bad is going to happen to them as you are getting to know them. That was exactly how I was feeling as the plot was unfolding in Elephant. I felt an overwhelming sense of dread, and I found myself questioning which characters were going to live and which would die.
However, there was something different about this film, and I think it might be related to the title, Elephant. I could not figure out what this title could mean, but as I was watching on Youtube, I scrolled down to read some of the comments on the film. I found that a commenter had suggested that it refers to “the elephant in the room”. Taking this idea and running with it (since I had no idea of my own at that point), I began to try and make connections with this theme.
When Columbine first occurred, the public outcries seemed to sum up to “why didn’t they see the signs?”, or, “why did they ignore the signs?” Perhaps, this concept that the signs were overlooked are highlighted in this film. These “signs” exist as the elephant in the room. They’re there, and they’re big, but no one wants to acknowledge them.
One thing that I noticed, and inhibited my ability to connect with the characters, was the self-absorbedness of the characters. It was a true representation of high school, but it made me want to scream at the characters. (As a funny side story, YouTube viewers seemed to HATE Benny for seeming so oblivious, and were literally ranting at him in their comments) In particular, I had a hard time feeling much sympathy for the girls in the bathroom. Their discussions and attitudes (as well as the bulimia) set them up to be despicable characters. Not that I’m saying they got what they deserved, but it was as if the director set them up as the stereotypical teenage girls in order to highlight self absorbtion. This obliviousness to the world around them, allowed these characters to overlook the “elephant” in the room.
A couple of other scenes seemed to highlight this overlook to the extreme. On YouTube, one individual commented, “didn’t anyone call the cops?” It would seem that police were not on the minds of many of the individuals in the movie, or any reaction to the shooters in that case. It seemed ludicrous that as the boys are standing in the hall, heavily armed with automatic rifles, you can see someone strolling in the background without any concern. In another scene, the boys pass a custodian who doesn’t do or say anything. Most ridiculous was Eli’s reaction to the boys: he takes their picture. That action could not have summed up obliviousness and self absorption more, and Eli was one of the characters I kind of liked!
Coming back to my discussion of characters and my sense of dread tied to their fates, I’d like to discuss the fact that this film had a really interesting take on characterization. Several factors contribute to a “creeper” point of view that, while letting us in on the characters’ lives, leaves the viewer somewhat removed as well. On Youtube, on commenter called the style of shooting a “stalkercam” and the phrase kind of stuck with me. Most of the film, we are watching the backs of characters’ heads as they walk down the hallway. In other films, camera angles might try to replicate intimacy, so that the viewer feels connected to the characters. In Elephant, the viewer is less than a bystander, and I think this highlights the feeling of helplessness and dread we feel for the characters.
Looking back on it now, as I’ve word vomited out all of my thoughts, I think that the trouble I’m having with deciding my feelings of the film relates to my inability to connect with the characters. For me, that connection is what always makes me so emotional in RL based movies. Instead, I felt removed from the characters because of camera angles, and sometimes angry at the characters for being self-absorbed. However, despite my identification of what in the film makes me emotionally confused, I still feel very emotionally confused. But, it’s a lasting impression, and I think that’s the goal of the film.
However, there was something different about this film, and I think it might be related to the title, Elephant. I could not figure out what this title could mean, but as I was watching on Youtube, I scrolled down to read some of the comments on the film. I found that a commenter had suggested that it refers to “the elephant in the room”. Taking this idea and running with it (since I had no idea of my own at that point), I began to try and make connections with this theme.
When Columbine first occurred, the public outcries seemed to sum up to “why didn’t they see the signs?”, or, “why did they ignore the signs?” Perhaps, this concept that the signs were overlooked are highlighted in this film. These “signs” exist as the elephant in the room. They’re there, and they’re big, but no one wants to acknowledge them.
One thing that I noticed, and inhibited my ability to connect with the characters, was the self-absorbedness of the characters. It was a true representation of high school, but it made me want to scream at the characters. (As a funny side story, YouTube viewers seemed to HATE Benny for seeming so oblivious, and were literally ranting at him in their comments) In particular, I had a hard time feeling much sympathy for the girls in the bathroom. Their discussions and attitudes (as well as the bulimia) set them up to be despicable characters. Not that I’m saying they got what they deserved, but it was as if the director set them up as the stereotypical teenage girls in order to highlight self absorbtion. This obliviousness to the world around them, allowed these characters to overlook the “elephant” in the room.
A couple of other scenes seemed to highlight this overlook to the extreme. On YouTube, one individual commented, “didn’t anyone call the cops?” It would seem that police were not on the minds of many of the individuals in the movie, or any reaction to the shooters in that case. It seemed ludicrous that as the boys are standing in the hall, heavily armed with automatic rifles, you can see someone strolling in the background without any concern. In another scene, the boys pass a custodian who doesn’t do or say anything. Most ridiculous was Eli’s reaction to the boys: he takes their picture. That action could not have summed up obliviousness and self absorption more, and Eli was one of the characters I kind of liked!
Coming back to my discussion of characters and my sense of dread tied to their fates, I’d like to discuss the fact that this film had a really interesting take on characterization. Several factors contribute to a “creeper” point of view that, while letting us in on the characters’ lives, leaves the viewer somewhat removed as well. On Youtube, on commenter called the style of shooting a “stalkercam” and the phrase kind of stuck with me. Most of the film, we are watching the backs of characters’ heads as they walk down the hallway. In other films, camera angles might try to replicate intimacy, so that the viewer feels connected to the characters. In Elephant, the viewer is less than a bystander, and I think this highlights the feeling of helplessness and dread we feel for the characters.
Looking back on it now, as I’ve word vomited out all of my thoughts, I think that the trouble I’m having with deciding my feelings of the film relates to my inability to connect with the characters. For me, that connection is what always makes me so emotional in RL based movies. Instead, I felt removed from the characters because of camera angles, and sometimes angry at the characters for being self-absorbed. However, despite my identification of what in the film makes me emotionally confused, I still feel very emotionally confused. But, it’s a lasting impression, and I think that’s the goal of the film.
I agree pretty much whole-heartedly with what you're saying: the characters were pretty much self-absorbed and, at times, completely oblivious to what was going on around them. In thinking back to my high school years (or, rather, what I remember of them), I'd like to think that I wasn't nearly as self-absorbed as these people. Also, if I heard gunshots, I'd probably have called the police. But, that's just me thinking logically as a 24-year-old Master's student.
ReplyDeleteI also felt this disconnection to the characters of the movie, mainly because we never really got to know any of them: we got no backstory and most of the focus on the character was from behind, like they were characters in a game with a third-person camera (like Link in "The Legend of Zelda" or Commander Shephard in "Mass Effect"). As a result of this and the disjointed presentation of the story, I didn't feel much of a connection to these characters; I didn't care about them.
As for the warning signs and the "elephant in the room," I have mixed feelings about that. I didn't really see any warning signs or any real traces of that proverbial elephant in my viewing of the movie. I guess, in retrospect, it would be exactly like Columbine: the signs weren't seen until after-the-fact. Speculation can be made prior to the event, but hard facts won't present themselves (more than likely, at least) until after all is said and done. It's a really dissociative feeling since it's that feeling of powerless-ness.
I agree that Van Sant portrayed the characters as self-absorbed to point out how Eric and Alex could have slipped through the cracks in their high school world and planned the massacre without anyone catching on. I didn't have the same problem connecting with the characters, though; despite that self-absorption, I saw the reality in the depictions, and brought to the film my memories of high school and how most teenagers are just trying to get through the school day so they can be free. And really, even as adults, there are many people who never look outside themselves, so I was more interested in the truth of the behavior of the students than whether or not I liked them.
ReplyDeleteVan Sant makes a point of showing that Eric and Alex aren't the only students who were bullied at school. Michelle is teased by the girls in the locker room. The girls with bulimia clearly have something in their life that has pushed them to purge after lunch -- bulimia often has an emotional/psychological trigger behind it, and can become a compulsive habit. John deals with the stress of having an alcoholic father. The film makes the viewer think about why Eric and Alex are the ones to commit this act, as opposed to any of the other students, but also doesn't provide a concrete answer to that question; we don't get enough backstory to know when they started down that path and why. This uncertainty seems to add to the feeling of powerlessness (as Steve said) and inability to see how the massacre could have been prevented.
Isn't it funny when we already know the outcome of something? Like you, I sat there waiting for the dreaded massacre and hoping I wouldn't become too fond of any of the characters -- yet, that was rather difficult like most everyone has said! While I understand the lack of empathy for the characters due to the lack of character development, I think what Van Sant was attempting to do with "Elephant" was offer a microcosmic view into a national incident we all reacted to, formed some type of humanistic link to and, for at least a moment, prompted us to address this new elephant in the room.
ReplyDelete