Religious Themes in Roman Polanski's A Knife In The Water and Rosemary’s Baby
Roman Polanski incorporated religious themes into his films, “A Knife In The Water” (Poland 1962) and “Rosemary’s Baby” (U.S. 1968). “ A Knife In The Water” contains some Christian imagery that is not incorporated into the plot or theme of the film. In contrast, the central theme of “Rosemary’s Baby” is religion. I believe this difference illustrates the fact that Polanski desired to make a radical religious film but was unable to do so until he came to The United States.
“A Knife In The Water” is a film about money and power. A wealthy couple picks up a young hitchhiker and invites him to spend the day with them on their yacht. Through out the day the older man, Andre, and the boy struggle for power. The struggle ends with Andre thinking he has killed the boy, and the boy sleeping with Andre’s wife. (Polanski 1962)
Christian imagery, and illusions to Biblical mythology, are subtly woven into this film. The boy is portrayed as somewhat of a Christ figure. At one point he is seen lying on the deck of the yacht in a crucifix position with the sun forming a halo around his head. He hangs off the boat while it is moving and attempts to walk on the water. The boy has wounds on his hands from holding the hot saucepan. Like Christ the boy wanders from place to place on foot. The most obvious comparison Polanski makes between the boy and Christ is that the boy is presumed to be dead after Andre plunges him into the water. He then “rises from the dead” after Andre swims ashore to contact the authorities. (Butler 39)
“Rosemary’s Baby” is very different from Polanski’s first film. This film is about an expectant mother whose husband allows her to become impregnated by the devil in exchange for success in his acting career. When Rosemary begins to catch on to the fact that her husband and neighbors are witches and worshipers of the devil she becomes afraid for her baby. She suspects that they are going to take her baby from her and use it in a satanic ritual. Both Rosemary and the viewer are shocked to discover that the coven of witches doesn’t plan to give her baby to Satan.
The novelist with Christian concerns will find in modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make them appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may be forced to take ever more violent means to get his vision across to this hostile audience. When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal ways of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the blind you draw large and
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is generally thought to be an autoimmune disease that attacks the myelin sheaths, or oligodendrocytes that cover nerve axons in the central nervous system (PubMed Health 2013). This immune response causes inflammation, which triggers immune cells to destroy axons “along any area of the brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord” (PubMed Health 2013). When the myelin sheath “is damaged, nerve signals slow down or stop” thus hindering the propagation of action potentials and limiting function (PubMed Health 2013).
Rosemary's Baby Rosemary's Baby is considered one of the best horror films of all time. Although it doesn't use shock techniques, the mood of the film remains disturbing. The director of the film, Roman Polanski, guides us through the film suggesting that the story is going to involve a loving couple expecting a baby. However, the film slowly progresses into suspense with the aid of structural components, such as the use of space, tonal and color compositions, and foreshadowing throughout the film. The suspense and horror of the film is extremely effective.
After Abigail Williams and the girls are discovered dancing in the forest by Reverend Parris, there are rumours of witchcraft among them, when Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are found "witched". Once the girls discover this, they become more and more frightened of being accused of witchcraft. Abigail is the first to "admit" to seeing the devil, and all the other girls join in, so the blame will not be placed on them. "I saw Sarah Good with the Devil. I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil. I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil."
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that involves the different areas of the central nervous system, the brain, and spinal cord. It damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects the
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to “cope,” pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed.
It is known that depression is a growing issue, but the question is why it is continuing to affect more and more people, specifically students. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific cause when there are so many theories as to what exactly causes depression. Some argue that it is genetic while others say it is a result of too much stress. This is not to say that there is only one cause of depression, but there has to be a reason why the number of depressed students has been increasing in the recent years.
According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugee is a term applied to anyone who is outside his/her own country and cannot return due to the fear of being persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a group or political opinion. Many “refugees” that the media and the general public refer to today are known as internally displaced persons, which are people forced to flee their homes to avoid things such as armed conflict, generalized violations of human rights or natural and non-natural disasters. These two groups are distinctly different but fall ...
Those who do not fear persecution are not considered in this definition, for instance, people escaping from natural disasters, because they do not have a fear of persecution. In addition, even though the individuals do face persecution, they are not considered as refugees if they are not ‘on the basis of’ of one of the protected grounds. Even those who face persecution on the basis of a protected ground, they cannot be declared as refugees because they are not outside their country of citizenship. The most controversial notion is that those who have been driven from their homes but who have not crossed international borders, so-called ‘Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs), are not in the definition of refugee, even though they have all the characteristics of a refugee except that they have not crossed an international border. The UNHCR has played their part in helping such persons in the last thirty or so years, but has still not considered them as refugees which makes them hard to have full benefits of what refugees should get. Hence, Lister aims to portray that these restrictions have a rational
The two films Psycho and The Birds, both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, share similar themes and elements. These recurring themes and elements are often prevalent in many of Hitchcock’s works. In Psycho and The Birds, Hitchcock uses thematic elements like the ideal blonde woman, “the motherly figure”, birds, and unusual factors that often leave the viewer thinking. Hitchcock’s works consist of melodramatic films, while also using pure cinema to help convey messages throughout the film.
shows the witches are ones who believe in evil spirits, as most witches are portrayed as.
Rosemary’s baby, Adrian, does not appear until after his dramatic birth toward the end of the film, and yet his cameo in the poster suggests that the evil is after him despite that until the climax Rosemary is proven to be a paranoid mother. In the poster the silhouette of an old fashioned stroller is on a rocky hill. This hints to a constant danger as it is obvious that with the smallest movement the stroller can go over the hill. This simple choice of location plays on the human emotions because the audience cannot help but fear for the child. While one can argue that it is a metaphor for Rosemary’s fear of the safety of her child her willingness to believe in the supernatural and frantic behavior causes the audience to question if the
which is the second theme of the story. He quickly grew from an innocent, young boy into a confused, disillusioned adolescent. The boy arrived ...
Australian director Jennifer Kent’s debut film, The Babadook, is an intense psychological horror that will leave even the most veteran of horror watchers waking up in the middle of the night. Amelia (Essie Davis), a widow and mother to the troublesome six year-old Samuel (Noah Wiseman), defends her home from the monster of a bedtime story gone ary. The Babadook, characterized as a film-noir stop-motion style creature, comes to life after Sam selects “Mister Babadook” for a bedtime story. Not only does the book scare the sleep out of little Samuel, but also causes Amelia quite a bit of discomfort, so she decides to get rid of it. But, despite her several attempts to do so, it continues to reappear mysteriously causing more anxiety. This proves