New York in the Spring
Mysterious ForcesMysterious Forces are the two major conflicts in The Birds and The Mist. In both movies we get characters who attacked by these unnatural phenomenons. In the birds we have a town that is small in size and yet a new female comes into town. When this happens we take a turn for the unexpected. Several different species of birds start to attack everyone. The reason this is important is because birds don't do this naturally. It's a concept that something so evident in everyday life can change for the unexpected. The point of using something supernatural is that there is a symbol of lack of control. This lack of control is extremely evident in the ending scene of the Mist when our main character Thomas decides that he will kill the remaining survivors so that they wouldn't have to be taken by the mist. To me this showed a lack of control, they were unable to fight or even run from the mist which is like backing an animal into a corner. This decision to kill the remaining people is caused by a feeling of lack of control. The only thing they get to control in this situation is how they will go out; to the overpowering and scary mist or by your own means.
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Small Towns
Small towns are a very notable concept in Affliction, Virgin Suicides and the Birds. In all three there are similar concepts revolving around small towns: Everyone knows each other, news spreads fast, and outsiders are looked down on. Affliction is the movie that gives us the best idea of how everyone knows each other. A good example of this would be the time when Wayde is in the bar and overhears a few other people telling the story of Wayde's father being drunk and verbally abusive. They all know the story. In Virgin Suicides we get to see how fast news travels. When the movie is beginning we get to see constantly how the boys are putting together evidence from what they knew or heard from other people. There is actually one quote that stood out to me about how news spread (basically gossip): "Did you hear about that Lisben girl?... of course it was the parents fault!" These two women who are talking about what happened to Cecelia even though it was most likely non of their business. The final aspect, how outsiders are looked down upon, comes up only slightly in The Birds however I thought it was important. When in a small town where everyone knows everyone and word spreads fast it becomes second nature to trust some of the people you come in contact a lot. When someone knew enters the area there is a huge amount suspicion and doubt about them, its considerably foreign.
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Mental IllnessMental Illness is a very evident in both Affliction and Virgin Suicides. In Affliction we get an idea of obsession and distorted thinking. We get to see how Wayde is basically tortured from his dad to the point in which it haunts him. This on top of the pressure from his brother to continue looking into this "hunting accident" which then leads him to obsess and constantly think about it. We get to watch as Wayde is torn up and distressed by the idea that everyone is going to destroy the town. So Wayde trying to protect it goes around accusing people (who have really done nothing but care for him) of serious crimes. This leads to his inevitable decline mentally. Virgin Suicides has a different kind of mental sickness, depression. Depression is a very serious mental issue that will end up distorting how someone views everyday things. Depression can make the things you enjoy doing or the people you enjoy seeing not worth the effort. Depression can limit energy and motivation and cause even more debilitating illnesses such as lack of appetite and constant stress.
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