Affron, “Performing Performing: Irony and Affect” (coursepack)
Dyer, “Stars as Signs” (coursepack)
Wikipedia entry on Lana Turner
Optional: Gaby Wood, “In Lana Turner’s Bedroom”
Post your responses in the comments field by 8pm Wednesday night, Oct. 31.
1) Sum up one key idea from Affron’s essay.
2) Dyer is a long essay, and you are responsible for the whole thing. However, we’ll focus the reading responses on the 10 ways character is constructed in the cinema (pp. 120-132). Give an example of how the character of Lora Meredith is constructed in five (5) of the ways Dyer identifies on p. 121.
Everybody must include an example of how mise-en-scène helps to construct her character, but the other four areas are your choice (from Dyer’s list). So, for example, you might tell us how and what we learn about Lora Meredith’s character based on: audience foreknowledge (of Lana Turner), her name (what does the name “Lora Meredith” tell us about her character?), gestures she makes (Mulvey discusses one of these from the opening scene; find another example), actions she takes in the film, and mise-en-scène (i.e., what do the visual details of a certain setting—say, her apartment, some part of her home, the stage, or her dressing room—tell us about her character?) Be very specific: e.g., don’t just tell us “Lora wants attention” as an “action” she takes; instead, give us a specific action and how it constructs an aspect of her character.
3) Every reading provides a critical tool we’ll try out on the film under discussion. So, suggest one scene from IMITATION OF LIFE for us to look at in class. What "research question" would you like to ask about that scene? Explain how and why Dyer’s or Affron’s approach or ideas might be helpful or interesting to use when analyzing the scene. Be very specific.
9 comments:
Week Nine
Christina Freiberg
Afforn, in “Performing Performing: Irony and Affect,” discusses how “Imitation of Life” deals with the issue of race and motherhood. He first discusses how Anne, who is taken into Lora’s household as a maid and caretaker, gives love through generous and enduring qualities, like most mothers. Lora, on the other hand, loves her child, but loves her profession and succeeding more, which means, as Afforn put it, buying her child’s love with money, gifts, and proper education. One key point that Afforn points out is that while Anne is caring and affectionate, but her time and devotion is geared towards Susie and not Sarah Jane. Both girls do not have a father figure in their lives, only seeking out men for an intimate relationship. By neglecting Sarah Jane, Anne seems to be like Lora: putting more focus on her career as a caretaker than dealing with Sarah Jane. This could be one of the many driving forces leading to Sarah Jane’s rejection of her race and running away to be considered “normal” (aka White).
Dealing with Dyer, in the subsection, “audience foreknowledge,” he lists how the audience will perceive a character before watching a film based on their star status. In relation to Lana Turner as Lora Meredith, is the star/genre expectation. When released, the public had already known about Douglas Sirk films, seeing this was his sixth one. Just fresh of the Stompanato murder case, Lana Turner’s image in Hollywood was a little bit tarnished, but read like a soap opera. Married seven times on eight accounts, the actress was seen as someone who loved men (even Lana Turner said so herself). So, when people view “Imitation of Life” today, it seems acceptable as it did back in 1958 that she was cast in the role. The genre is melodramatic, so the audience is expecting Lana Turner to give an over-the-top performance. Also, her character in the film is a single mother and whose occupation is an accomplished actor. The movie could have served as an autobiography for Lana at the time, but just a more pleasant, idealistic version.
Going off the star machine and the audience expectation of an actor to play a certain role, Sandra Dee seems to be overshadowed or completely forgotten about in the articles read on “Imitation of Life.” Sandra Dee was stereotyped as that blonde haired, blue eyed, innocent girl next door. Throughout her career, despite marrying Bobby Darrin, she was always that nice girl. Do I have to break out into “Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee” from “Grease?” Getting back on track, my research question would be is how do these stars get stereotyped? Granted, it could be a factory of the Hollywood Studios, but it is also the audience at fault here. By analyzing Sandra Dee, in relation to her movie career, what visual and stylistic motifs automatically make the viewer think of her in a certain role? Also, the image she creates, does she voluntarily transfer it into other roles so she can garner success?
Joshua McClain's response
Charles Affron writes in his essay “Performing Performing: Irony and Affect” about the differences Douglas Sirk made between the two starlets in “Imitation of Life” The two women are mothers, and putting them side by side one another allows the viewer to see the very different styles of motherhood. Sirk paid close attention to the give and take relationship between Lora and Annie. Lora was a very distant mother who in a way went to battle with her daughter in matters of womanhood. Lora had no time for her daughter, who wanted to spend time with her. On the other hand Annie’s Daughter, Sarah Jane, wanted to nothing to do with her mother and her race, but all Annie had to give to Sarah Jane was time. He makes a very good point when talking about the costumes for the film, Lora had some 34 costumes whereas Annie had around seven and Annie’s were all muted colors and version of blues and earth tones. The differences between the mothers in “Imitation of Life” were only amplified by their costumes and surroundings.
Richard Dyer explains in great detail in “Stars and Signs” the steps in which filmmakers construct a character for their films. Many variables come into play to create a believable character that has resonance all over the film world. An area of attention to look at is the area of the construction of the character. The areas of construction he purposes are: Audience Foreknowledge, Name, Appearance, Objective Correlatives, Speech of Character, Speech of Others, Gesture, Action, Structure, and Mise en scene. These areas of construction can be used in part or in whole when looking at a character. Looking at the way Douglas Sirk constructed his character of Lora Meredith in “Imitation of Life” will allow us to use these tools.
1. Just as we look forward to a performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, after his role in “Capote” people in 1959 knew exactly who Lana Turner was, and had a knowledge of the current events preceding her role in the film. In the spring of 1957 Lana Turner had just been involved in a serious murder investigation, so seeing a woman on the screen that was surrounded by such controversy would add to the spice of the films topics.
2. Another area of interest in the character of Lora Meredith is the appearance and wardrobe that she had for her role. Lana Turner by this time had been in almost fifty other movies prior to “Imitation of Life” and she was known for her outfits. The “Lana Turner look” was sought after by the housewives of the 1950’s and 60’s. Douglas Sirk made much of this past history and dolled her up with many costume changes. His intent was to present a woman obsessed with flattery and impression. Throughout the whole film she is never in an ugly outfit.
3. Objective Correlatives in Lora Meredith’s character are the placement of her character in the world. Through the film’s entirety we never see Lora in a compromising situation outside of a run down building, or in a doggy section of town. Lora’s setting is controlled to fit her persona.
4. The mise-en-scene of “Imitation of Life” lent all of its technical qualities towards making Lora Meredith look fantastic. The lighting of her in the film always accentuated her femininity and “whiteness” with beautiful soft lights. Also noticing the music of her character was light and chipper throughout and only was encroached upon with differing melodies when other characters were present.
5. The speech of Lora Meredith was always very correct grammar and polite in nature. Even in areas of stress, she kept her thoughts together and was able to communicate thoughtfully and intelligently. This no doubt was to show more difference between herself and Annie.
When thinking through the ideas and tools brought up in the Affron reading I wondered if Lora ever once tried to discipline her daughter. I know of many instances when Annie tried to discipline Sarah Jane, but I can’t think of one are with Lora and her daughter. How was Lora’s discipline structure different from Annie’s, and did Lora even have one?
Reid Goldberg
In his article, “Stars and Signs,” Richard Dyer discusses several ways in which character construction is achieved in a film. In Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life, the character Lora Meredith is comprised of several of Dyer’s components. First, the film’s mise-en-scene embodies Lora and contributes to her character. All of her homes throughout the film are plain white, full of sparkling glass and made to be glamorous. This is a clear reflection of her star power, which grows during the course of the film. Her name, Lora Meredith, is another ingredient of her character’s construction. A last name that could also be a first name is common with celebrities, especially actors. Both names are obviously female and have a pleasant sound, and when combined reflect an actress’ high profile. Lora’s overall appearance in the film provides great insight into her character. She dresses herself in glamorous, exuberant clothing, which reflects her star-like qualities even before she is established as a serious actress. Once that happens her wardrobe becomes even more exaggerated as she douses herself in expensive jewelry and wildly colored items of clothing. Another component of Dyer’s examination is gesture, and one of Lora’s in particular illustrates her character just minutes into the film. She stands on the boardwalk, shadowing her eyes and leaning over the railing, as if all eyes were on her. This moment is one of if not her most prominent moments as an aspiring star/actress. Finally, Lora’s speech contributes greatly to her character. She speaks intelligently, with grace and elegance. She does it in a way that suggests she wants people to listen to her, as if she is the center of attention.
A scene I’d like to look at again is when Lora desperately lies about her star status when dealing with the agent. I think her appearance, as well as gesture and speech say suggest a lot about her overall character, mainly her desire to be a star. Could this moment of the film feature her first real star quality? She is quite convincing, even thought at this point she is relatively inexperienced. However, I feel that some of Dyer’s ingredients for characterization are included in this scene.
One key idea from Affron’s essay argues that mise-en-scène during Annie’s funeral precession--lighting, framing, color, composition, and placing of actors--demonstrates both the notion of spectacle in Hollywood and within the character of Annie, who is a servent and a minority, but from what we know from this final spectacle, deceptively affluent.
The mise-en-scène of “Imitation of Life” becomes a form of deconstruction, so to speak, and not a construction of Lora’s character with regard to her as a single mother who is no longer readily physically identifiable with Annie. In the opening scene on the promenade, Lora’s costume and make-up are a lucidly shoddy attempt to pass for upper-class. Lora’s costume here, her scarf, shirt, dress, and so forth all help frame her as beautiful but real, real as opposed to artificial, or forced in appearance: she appears to come from a tangible reality. Moreover, when both Lora and Annie first meet under the promenade, only color schemes separate the two women’s costumes. As the film proceeds however, together with the success of Lora’s acting career, her costume and make-up appear more artificial via direct lighting which emphasizes either’s extravagance. This transformation comes in three significant parts: 1) when Lora and Susie are arguing about money and affection; 2) the scene of Lora coming down the steps to meet the Italian director; 3) when Lora is weeping at Annie’s deathbed. This final contextualization between the costume and make-up between Lora and Annie evidences the polarized nature of the aging process for both characters. While Annie is the one on her deathbed, it is ironically Lora who looks more used up at this point, as her ornamented clothing style reaches gaudy levels and her make-up is visible to the point of tangibility--all of which suggesting that an attempted cover-up is taking place for Lora.
The actions of Lora at Annie’s bedside clairifies how Lora truely feels towards Annie. While the two are never in a fractious relationship throughout the film per se, this scene has Lora thrashing about, smashing her head time and again into Annie’s bed, as if to morn the oncoming loss of a parent or role model. One gets the sense from this scene of true loss and pain for Lora, something which cannot easily be gleaned beforehand.
The scene when Lora is confronted by Sarah Jane during Lora’s meeting with the Italian director is a succulent moment of “speech of character” operating as a personality trait of Lora’s character. Sarah Jane’s role play here works loose some racists, granted they are latent, within Lora. While Lora’s reaction is acute embarrassment, Sarah Jane’s speech evokes profound fear within Lora, since Lora is at once in this scene both fearful of losing the spotlight and of her guests being under the impression that she is unsympathetic towards minorities. Furthermore, the décor and setting of Lora’s new home post-stardom, when juxtaposed to her prior living circumstances upon first meeting Annie and Sarah Jane, speaks to her transformation into artificiality. For instance, the décor of the new home is far more expensive but ironically less ornamented compared with her former apartment. The new home is, like Lora’s clothing, make-up, and personality, becoming rather cold and detached, in other words, stylistically synthetic.
Finally, what’s in a name? Or, more simply, why does Lora have two first names? To be sure, a transformation takes place in this film for “Lora Meredith,” and I have referred to it as one from “reality” to “artificiality.” One can only speculate, however, if we are first seeing “Lora” or “Meredith” on the promenade in the opening moments of the film and vice-versa at the conclusion: in either case, they are two sperate characters in this film. I suggest that we are watching “Meredith” in this opening scene, since one sees a loving parent in despair over a lost child and, subsequently, overt nurturing characteristics once all four characters return to the life in the small apartment. Thus, as I argue, one sees the character “Meredith,” or “Mere” (French for “Mother) in the first half of the film, until the post-stardom “Lora” takes control in the second half.
For tomorrow, I would like to revisit the beating of Sarah Jane in the ally, through the lens of “action” in the light Dyer refers to it on page 164, to explore the following: what physical actions take place in this scene which can help explain Sarah Jane’s continued, downward spiral into total indignation towards the black race? If this scene never took place, was such a downward spiral still inevitable? Or, are their specific physical actions in this scene that helped confirm Sarah Jane’s prior attitudes towards the black race which she carries thought the film?
In Dyers article, he talked about how the image of a star has morphed through the years; from good ideals and ideas and the hero, to everyman and regular relatable person. It talked about what makes a character unique, so that we can believe them, in a story that they are pursuing through. It says how characters have to be unique and have their own way of living on the screen. In the movie, Lora is made to look interesting in the ways that she supports herself and her daughter, which is trying to be an actress and mailing letters from the house. She wants to be famous and her drive makes you hope that she will. Her discrete identity is that she has the visade of high class and wealth, when she realizes she has neglected the true parts of life, like her daughter, and she is remorseful about it.
An example of mise-en-scene that I thought of was how, no matter what living condition Lora is in, she tries to dress like she has a level of class and wealth. Also, all of her houses look and feel extremely white and clean and sterile and an extremely suitable place for someone to live.
Charles Affron, in "Irony and Affect" dissects "Imitation of Life" by looking at it's stereotypical symbolism (good mother/bad mother ideals, the falseness of Hollywood) and hangs it's argument on the one line of Sirk's that all film analysis seems to hang on, "...you don't believe in the happy ending, and you aren't supposed to."
I think that the real maneuver of irony for Sirk though, is not the fact that these issues are exposed in melodrama. The real irony, the real cynical end for Sirk, and Affron, is the idea that there could be a happy ending at all with all of these unresolved dramatic issues of race, motherhood, truth and honor.
This leads directly into Dyer's "Stars as Signs, and in particular the "signs of character" he proposes. It is the foreknowledge of Lana Turner's stardom that Lora pit's herself against. That idea that she is too late for her own career in the eyes of the world, and yet she keeps at it, achieving success.
From the opening scene, she appears as starlet, and the mise-en-scene supports her separateness from the world with her sunglasses, her hair, and her loudness. Her stardom is supported by the camera in the scene being drawn to her as Steve takes a picture of her yelling from the boardwalk.
Using Dyer's tools, Sirk's ironic stance becomes that it doesn't matter how a woman acts, or a black woman acts, they still wind up beset by the same evils that hollywood and society offer to all. Lora's speech is always reasonable, always self-assured. It is the very type of self-directed woman we are supposed to have sympathy for. Annie is the same, and in both cases they seek to provide for their daughters at every turn. In the very simplest of foreknowledge, the name Lora means "protector of the home."
Throughout the first half of the film, the audience of her rising stardom fills the front row with those who were wrong about her. Those who attempted to break her honor.
In the ending scenes, that idea is recalled at the funeral, as we see those same people along side those which we haven't seen previously. If we look at this scene through these five areas of Dyers, and through the irony that Affron proposes, Sirk's ending isn't happy at all, nor does it pretend to be. It's just rows upon rows of people seated before death realizing that they were wrong, and that this is the reality of the future.
Charles Affron writes that Sirk’s “Imitation of Life” provide ironic commentary on many things, most notably race and motherhood. By playing on stereotypes of the good/bad mother, and the proper role of blacks and whites in society, he subverts dearly held societal ideals of most of the people in his audience. What is it to be a good mother? Who is a bad mother and why? Should black people stay in their place? What is the ideal of black/white coexistence? Is independence to be condemned? Is surface appearance important? All of these questions and many others are asked, subtly undermining and subverting 1950’s American ideas and ideals. Lana Turner was certainly an ideal to many, for example, and showing her focus on celebrity over family undermines her as an ideal.
The Dyer article “Stars as Signs” suggests a listing of ten signs of character in film that help us construct the movie image on screen. These signs are given to the movie viewer to understand a character, and his/her trajectory and nature. The case of Lana Turner as Lora Meredith in “Imitation of Life” is an excellent example of many of those signs.
First, audience foreknowledge of Lana Turner’s life is a pretty important part of how the audience understands the character of Lora Meredith. Turner is obviously seen as an object of sexual desire as “The Sweater Girl” – as emphasized in the famous scene where she leans over the railing to look for her daughter. Turner is a star – if a declining one – and that star sexuality defines who she is in a movie. The tabloid Stompanato case was also fresh in everyone’s mind and could not help to enter audience minds in relation to the mother/daughter sexual interest in the same man from “Imitation of Life.” Her real life, and people’s judgment about that life, had to make it easier for the audience to viewer Turner critically as a sexual creature with little feel for protecting her daughter. The character “Lana Turner” had been constructed for the viewing public over many years, and by the time of “Imitation of Life” that persona was a huge part of any role she performed. The audience would not have understood an unknown actress in the same manner as Turner, even if the performance matched exactly.
Second, appearance is a defining characteristic of Lora Meredith. Just as the cascading diamonds of the opening credits sent a message, the numerous costume changes and perfectly coiffed and extensively made-up character speaks volumes. Her appearance screams out to the audience that this is a woman that cares most about surface appearance. This is a woman that cares about looking good and putting on a show. This is a woman who takes the time to pose for ogling men while supposedly looking for her lost child. She looks rich, cold and distant and the audience subsequently understands her as rich, cold and distant. Annie has a persona of her own that matches the unthreatening domesticity of her clothing. Costume and appearance lead directly to the audience’s judgment of a character. In the case of Lora Meredith, they see her as a star with all the vanity and stereotypical flaws of that type. If Sirk has Turner in a sweatshirt and jeans, the audience would reach significantly different conclusions about her character.
“Objective correlatives” certainly speak volumes about the character of Lora in “Imitation of Life”. The homes that surround Lora Meredith are certainly character defining. Even her first apartment is white, sterile and cold. As she becomes famous – in this artificially stagy way – her homes become larger and more and more cold and impersonal. They are not warm and comfortable places to raise a family. These homes are places to show people that Lora Meredith is somebody. The audience certainly gets the message that she is somebody, but they also get the message that these trappings are rather false and disconnected from happiness. Everything appears in its proper place and surface order is closely maintained. The constant, grinding emphasis on appearance – both regarding physicality and place – provides a certain unavoidable subtext of insecurity in the character of Lana Turner as Lora Meredith.
The name Lora Meredith also sets the stage for our understanding of the character. First, the spelling of “Lora” is rather out-of-the-ordinary pretentious, but in a very white-bread manner. Despite it’s slight differentiation from the norm, the name Lora Meredith is a generic and anonymously white American kind of name. The name sounds fake, almost like John Wayne or Kirk Douglas or Lana Turner – names that mean nothing, inoffensive empty shells that have no history and no meaning – a void filled by the publicists and the filmmakers who build nothing names into viewer icons. Just like Lana Turner, Lora Meredith is an empty vessel that can be turned into anything the image-makers require.
Dyer writes that mise en scene “can be used to express the personality or state of mind of characters. In the case of Lora Meredith -- I was struck by the harsh and unflattering look of most of her shots. Turner’s hair was often up in what seemed a visual representation of icy royalty. The lighting often appeared overly bright, like in the scene where she is on the steps and asking for help in the kitchen, and this technique emphasizes the fact that she is no longer a “chicken”. As mentioned previously, her face is almost plasticized by the level of make-up. The gowns were also not very flattering, un-seductively exposing her arms, body and age for all to see. Although dressed to the nines, Sirk most definitely did not make Ms. Turner look good. She looked old, tired and over-the-hill. Sirk’s shooting of Turner in an unflattering light is an ironic rendering of a supposed ideal of looking good actually ending up looking very, very bad. I guess jewels and mansions aren’t all they’re cracked up to be – imitation of life I guess.
I suggest we look at the scene where Lora lies her way into the agent’s office to try and get a job. Specifically, it would be interesting to closely observe Lora’s behavior and appearance as it relates to the development of the audience’s understanding of her as a character. The Alda agent character could also be dissected in a similar manner – clothes, behavior, appearance, glances, etc. The mise en scene of the waiting area and the agent’s office are also interesting. What do the pictures on the wall say to the audience? What do the bit players in the room represent? Who is the old guy leering at Lora and what is his purpose? Turner’s performance, behavior, and the environment all speak to our understanding of her character and of the film and merit a closer look. It also feels like a representation of Hollywood in general and Sirk’s perspective in particular.
Charles Affron discusses the issue of motherhood in the film compares how both extremes are represented in the film. Annie is very overly loving and Lora is very overly egotistic. He claims that Annie is portrayed as the good mother, even though she neglects her own child to take more care of the white child. I would argue that she had to do that because she needs a place to live and money to feed her child. Lora, is supposed to be the bad mother even though she lets Annie and Sarah Jane live with them and she provides for both of the fatherless families. Neither of them are actually the good or the bad mother, but they represent what people expect of mothers. They are more a showing of what society views as how a mother should be in certain situations, not allowing the mothers to be pinned down as the right or the wrong way to do things.
The first and probably the most obvious way Lora is construced is her appearance. The way she dresses shows how she is as a person. She is almost always dressed up in fancy outfits, made to show her off and make her the attention of everyone. It seems like she is trying to get everyone to like her because she isnt happy with the way she is. She is a shallow person and very concerned with outward apperances. A second way she is constructed is her speech. The scene that sticks out to me is when Sarah Jane serves the director and agent and talks with a ridiculous black accent, when Lora takes her into the kitchen and talks to her. Even though she points out she never treated Sarah Jane different, she was asking her to help serve, and expects Sarah Jane to help her out with things, just like a servent would. A third way she is constructed is the speech of others. The way Annie talks to her is very much like a servant talks to their master. Even though they are supposed to be equals, I dont believe Lora ever actually treats Annie as one. Sarah Jane also talks about how they are always doing things for Lora. It really shows that Lora is in her own little world and is thinking of herself first. A fourth way is audience foreknowledge. Lana Turner was an infimous figure, and was always known to have many lovers and a crazy social life. It carries over into the movie as well because she is concerned with doing things for her career, and not building her home life and having a better relationship with her daughter. The fifth way is mise-en-scene. The first two scenes of the movie really stick out to me. When Lora is at the beach, she is in public and she stands out. She is dressed sexy and in her white stands out in front of the blue background. As soon as they go back to her home, she blends in with the walls and never looks comfortable. Its almost like she doesnt exsist at home. It really shows how her natural enviornment is in the public.
The scene I would like to look at again is the final funeral scene. I didnt really notice Lora getting Sarah Jane away as her making things not about Sarah Jane, I just saw it as her trying to help Sarah Jane, but knowing Sirk it probably was ment to show Lora keeping the attention off of others. I would just like another view at that part and see if my view changes.
Charles Affron’s essay discusses the use of character irony throughout the film in order to stimulate conflict to discuss and dissect the nature behind issues of motherhood, race and material necessity through opposing ideals / representations. Throughout the entire movie Annie doesn’t ask for much even in the wake of Lora’s financial success but before she dies, she wants a huge elaborate parade. Susie finally falls in love but with her mother’s love interest, Steve. This is also ironic because it is out of displaced rejection or lack of attention from Lora in the first place. Affron seems to have encapsulated a technique found in playwriting and stories alike that effectively proposes issues in a scientific manner.
The character, Lora Meredith, in Imitation of Life (1959) can be deeply analyzed with Richard Dyer’s breakdown of character construction using just five of the ten listed aspects.
In terms of appearance, a character can be analyzed from three aspects, physiognomy, dress, and by the actor or star. Lora’s Physiognomy is the very first aspect we see of her found in the opening scene of the film. Her legs and figure are flaunted right away, making her stand out in a crowded beach as she calls for Susie. Lora’s clothing changes from modest beginning to extravagant end as the character’s wealth improves through her fame and success. Finally, Lana Turner herself brings her personal body on screen, which incorporates her specific Physiognomy such as eyes, skin, weight, imperfections etc.
Analyzing Lora Meredith’s gesture is indeed a visual study but goes beneath appearance to measure/express what Dyer lists as personality and temperament. He says “gesture may be read according to formal (that is, recognized to be governed by social rules) and informal (or involuntary) codes.” Lora’s gestures when Steve Archer tries to propose to her are more stiff or restrictive than in comparison to her first night of success on Broadway when her and the director David Edwards express their attraction or infatuation of one another. These two moments differ to highlight what Lora truly values and wants: security through fame.
Imitation of Life gets a thorough study of all four main characters but the story seems dominantly encapsulated by Lora’s choices toward success and fame stated clearly in the beginning of the film. Another example is the initial action to take Annie and Sarah Jane in to live with her and Susie. Let’s not forget that Sarah Jane, Annie and Susie all have their own opportunity for individual action (plot progression) but it is ultimately caused by Lora’s initial set of choices, actions and goals.
Speech plays an interesting part when concerning how Lora speaks to different characters and also how she gets spoken to. One example of how Lora changes her speaking voice is when she calls home to say hello to Susie, Sarah Jane, and Annie after the first night of performance. She speaks to Annie in a different way then how she did when talking to her little girl Susie. This change is a convention found commonly when speaking to children vs. adults. The speaker tries to appeal to the child and even changes the subject to fit appropriately with what the child can understand or, sometimes, wants to hear. Another example of speech differences is the tone change Lora uses when discussing Annie’s “Spells” while they unpack their things into the newly bought expensive home. The ways in which other character’s speak to Lora are also important. Aside from tone, an example of formalities is the way in which Annie talks to Lora vs. the way in which Susie talks to her mother. Susie is much more informal than Sarah Jane or Annie who use “Ms. Lora” rather than “mom,” “mommy,” or “mother.”
Mise-en-scene is littered throughout the entire space of the film and found in the sets, props, lighting, costumes, and locations. Lora’s relationship with her mise-en-scene is a gradual transformation reflected in her surrounding materials. She becomes increasingly more linked with these materials as more and more expensive clothes and jewelry begin to adorn her body. (The need to manually start the fan in the original apartment vs. the convenience of cigarette lighters and maids/butlers who act like materials than human beings.) Her hair changes throughout the film as well to reflect age and stress as her career grows. Lora’s lighting also reflects her drama and intensity especially during the scene in which she is eating dinner with Steve as they discuss how both the girls are gone, Sarah Jane for her problems with her mother’s racial heritage, and Susie for her secret crush on Steve. The table is littered with delicate pieces of silver and enough nourishment for more than just two people. It’s these ironic images that subtly highlight the severed delicate ties of the estranging family. The darkest point in the film, reflected through the surrounding mise en scene of a character’s drama is truly an aspect that attributes to Lora’s character construction.
In terms of Dyers ten aspects of character construction, I’d like to revisit the final scene and watch as many visual aspects as I can for I feel this celebratory climax/conclusion encases the totality of the film’s message and visual devices/representation in accordance with the use of irony.
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