Honestly, what's with the mirror
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kr-write2 — 11 years ago(June 01, 2014 06:36 PM)
When I saw it I thought she was having some sort of dissociative state like some victims of incest do and it wasn't the first timeremember the "rough patch" after her Dad died? I liked how they made that moment linger so you would wonder if she is going to go off the deep end for good but then she snaps out of it and she appears normally in the mirror as she leaves the restroom. Great scene.
I think it could serve two purposes in the film. It is symbolic of how she was split on the topic of her father and how she turned her back on her mother. -
edonovan2 — 11 years ago(October 21, 2014 05:53 PM)
I remember watching a TV review of the movie that featured that part and the critic commented that it was the worst scene in the movie, which was otherwise very good. It was bad enough to keep that scene in the movie, let alone use it for preview purposes!
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RumourdProd — 11 years ago(November 15, 2014 05:15 PM)
Jesus Christ. Read more books, see more foreign films, view more art. If you can't figure out why this is such a powerful, potent image within the story's context, then you're probably a redneck. Or uneducated. Or you need every goddamn thing in a movie spelled out for you because you're too lazy to do it yourself.
Avoid watching "Inception"; your head might explode. Or turn its back on you. Heh. -
eweland — 10 years ago(October 27, 2015 08:25 AM)
La reproduction interdite, 1937
(Not To Be Reproduced) is a famous painting by Ren Magritte, the Belgian surrealist.
Taylor Hackford borrowed this visual concept from Magritte's painting, for his film. Magritte invented the image back in 1937 - NOT the other way around. Those familiar with the artist's work will immediately recognize the shot.
It absolutely represents Selena's mental breakdown over her repressed sexual abuse from her father. Even the mirror will not look at her, face-to-face. What a great way to show a person's denial of their past! One of the most incredible scenes in the film. And it is shocking, but whoever has used similar ideas in more modern horror films owes the surrealistic concept of it, to Magritte.
_
Kubrick's film -
will always be the definitive version of
THE SHINING
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Dragonfly — 4 years ago(July 12, 2021 09:26 PM)
Because you cannot see the back of your head i was disappointed and annoyed with what I immediately thought outrageously careless and stupid.
Even though you can draw different conclusions to its meaning it was unrealistic and very lame hurting the integrity of this film. Big turn off. Didn't fit with the rest of it. -
StrangeReason — 3 years ago(May 29, 2022 04:09 PM)
I think it's brilliant and the first time I saw it, it terrified me!
Basically, and I speak from experience, when a person who has a 'dissociative disorder' looks in a mirror, often they literally cannot recognize themself. It's as if you're staring at a stranger or an alien. It can be VERY disturbing and disorienting.
This movie scene does an excellent job of symbolically representing that exact disturbance in identity with the resulting disorientation.
Mirrors usually assure us of who we are, but when our world has become unstable, what we seek in the mirror is unaccessible.
The narrative establishes that Selena can't remember things that happened to her. We know she drinks and medicates to alleviate symptoms of repressed trauma. But, on that ferry ride, she "witnesses" and thereby remembers what her father did to her. Forced to confront the truth, she feels unsettled and is overwhelmed by this breakthrough. This causes her to have a brief dissociative episode while trying to see herself in the mirror.
Further info:
According to the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Dissociative Disorders are characterized by a ‘disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior.' -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(May 29, 2022 11:16 PM)
Selena remembered, she just tried every darn thing she could to block it out, hence all the booze and the pills.
With what had gone before with her mother and being on that ferry, it took courage for her to face up to her past and accept it. It helped her to understand the blame she was placing on Dolores and that she had distorted judgement due to her own trauma.
Interesting subplot segue that opens out the film, as adult Selena is not a character in the novel. She is only mentioned by Dolores and her other 2 sons, one of whom had died.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
Cheeky — 3 years ago(May 29, 2022 11:22 PM)
Yes, because her father was such a disgusting POS, I'm pretty sure everyone who saw this movie was glad Dolores did what she did
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(May 29, 2022 11:29 PM)
Strathairn is such a genius character actor. One of the best!!!
What an ugly role he played and how well he approached it. Joe was one disgusting and vile pos and he gave him no sympathy, only that he was just one of the world's most pathetic and sorry losers. He made it work brilliantly without turning his character into an ott parody.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
Cheeky — 3 years ago(May 29, 2022 11:32 PM)
Strathairn is such a genius character actor. One of the best!!!
Couldn't agree more, he did a fine acting job as well. They brought their A-game to this movie
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana -