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[edit] Reaction to the Wall

At first I did not feel deep enough to compare my life to something as emotionally powerful and socially ‘legit’ as Pink Floyd’s, The Wall. Contrasting seemed so much more appropriate. My immediate reaction to the movie evoked imagery of movements of the Sixties, when people seemed to give a damn; when people struggled for what was right. Now it seems, the teenage masses do very little in the way of fighting for what they believe in, if they believe in anything at all. My life, while obviously more complex than generations before me due to advancements in western culture, has been easier than perhaps it should have been. However, after looking around, I realized the fight is still there. To be socially accepted, one must find a group to relate to become part of. Or at least, that’s what we’re told. Fear of ostracism drives us to fall into line, to go to class, to buy Gucci or Abercrombie, to color our hair, tease a classmate, accept bribes while on the campaign trail, to smoke, to laugh, to wear all black. The scene that struck me as a long lasting theme in society was the dictator type lecturing a group of mesmerized teens, absorbing, not questioning his speech. I feel like no matter what you do, if it is as a group, you are missing something if you do not question the actions performed by the group. Coming to college is supposed to be a liberating experience, but in reality it’s just another form of societies control over large (sometimes very large in Umass’s case) amounts of people. The Wall paints a picture of control being a bad thing, but in some cases, while it’s not all good, it is the most effective way to please the masses. I think it takes a long time to figure out what’s systems are pure evil or just pure human. In the case of the girls using sex and sexuality to get them what they want to get backstage, I have seen enough of that in the first few days here to relate. Basically, just for being a girl, I should have VIP written on my head. Dressing yourself up helps, but basically you can get in anywhere, get anyone in anywhere, just by batting your eyes a bit. It ranges from innocent flirting (more my style) to downright selling yourself to get into a frat party. Depressing, but effective. This movie tends to allude to most of life being depressing, but effective. Changing the subject to imagery, I thought the movie did an excellent job at conveying the idea that just because something is beautiful on the outside doesn’t mean it is at all. One of instances I found particularly arresting included the little baby carriage, an innocent enough image, with a white dove floating by. Suddenly the dove bursts violently into a menacing, black hawk, tearing through the skies and causing grief and destruction. I took this to mean that this little baby, while small and helpless, is destined for a life stricken with demons that he cannot control. This becomes evident when he grows older, can’t hold on to a woman who loves him and is reduced sleeping in the fetal position. Punching home the point, the animated imagery of two flowers drawn in a way to suggest a man and woman having having sex. Two beautiful things, engaging in what can be a beautiful thing, turn violent. Lastly, it reminded me of the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brian. O’Brian uses vivid imagery to evoke emotions to tell a ‘story truth.’ Perhaps the details are not facts, but they are the emotion of each moment, the feeling that you can only feel as you are experiencing it, that no one else will know. No one else, unless it is illustrated with powerful imagery. I took a lot of that book, as I will with this movie. It made me realize that exaggerations may not be so bad, because it is the human experience that is important, not always the facts.

[edit] Analyzing Megan's Wall Paper