Lady in the Water - Essay Example

?Lady in the Water The theory of Karma, though originated from Hinduism, has its influence on every theology. In Karma theory, it is mentioned that we have been sent on the earth by Almighty power to perform a certain task. It is our duty to perform the task (action) as it is the wish of Ishwara (God). Being a human being, we have some moral responsibilities and commitments as described by Christian Smith. According to him, “We need a theory of culture specifying the means by which people construct strategies of action, but also culture as providing the normative ends toward which people act. We need a theory of culture that recognizes the powerful influences on human action of forces that do not operate directly through human consciousness and intention, but also of forces that importantly motivate human action through consciously held ideas, beliefs, and commitments. And we need a theory of culture that accounts for the very real operation of rationally self-interested choice in human life, but also the pervasive and powerful human enacted affirmations of moral commitments that are not reducible to self-interest..” (Christian Smith 2003) When I studied the film “Lady in the Water,” for my paper, I found the same theory advocated by the writer and the director of the film. The story initially was a bed time story. In Every period, every culture of the world, story-telling has been the common activity. Stories have been proved as a good moral stuff for the children. It conveys the moral message, values and the visions of the respective community. The stories have knitted the people together. Lady in the Water is the story which was a spontaneous and unplanned story told by the writer and director of this film, M. Night Shyamalan to his children. But when this kids’ story came in form of the film, it has not become a mere kids’ story. It was because some of the scenes shown in the film are not suitable for kids. Fairy tales can work effectively on pages as well as on screen. They take you in the world of fantasy and imagination. “Lady in the Water” also has the same attributes. It is a complex and fantasy-filled bedtime story. It is the story based on the current situation. The story conveys the message to the adults who have lost their capacity of deep thinking due to materialism and excess of individualism. According to the writer, we have lost our capacity of deep listening. Today we are surrounded by the bogus stories which are actually far away from reality, especially on television. These stories contain a certain amount of violence, and horror as well as humour. But the real purpose of the bed time story cannot be attained in television programs. According to Christian Hamaker, "The film is often inspirational, contemplating the worth of humankind, showing how those who are emotionally deadened can be reawakened by a power beyond themselves, and demonstrating how the bonds of a loosely knit community can be strengthened in a common cause. … [T]here's wonder in this story, which appeals to our hopes and aspirations, rather than to our fears and cynicism. Although not quite on par with some of the director's earlier work, Lady has its rewards." (Christian Hamaker, July 20, 2006) The power for cherishing goodness by defeating the evil things is there in every human being. Once it gets awakened, the evil has to be defeated. Every human and every living and non living thing on the earth have occupied with divine soul. But unfortunately the materialism of life has made us to forget the divine qualities in us. The water in the film is associated with purity so as the aquatic creature. Again here there is an essence of Hindu theology of incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the troublesome period, to save the mankind, Lord Vishnu, one of the prime Hindu Gods incarnate himself and became a fish. This incarnation is known as Matsya (Fish). In this film also Story comes from water to assist mankind. Thus the water is associated with purity, sacredness, innocence while the land is associated with violence, culpability and nastiness. As in “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience,” William Blake has portrayed the two opposite natures of mankind, here also the writer wants to associate aquatic character with the purity and innocence while the people from land are crueller and more brutal. There is an apt dialogue in the film which is associated with this paradigm: Cleveland Heep: Once, man and those in the water were linked. They inspired us. They spoke of the future. Man listened and it became real. But man does not listen very well. Man's need to own everything led him deeper into land. The magic world of the ones that lived in the ocean... and the world of men... separated. Through the centuries, their world and all the inhabitants of it... stopped trying. The world of man became more violent. War upon war played out, as there were no guides to listen to. Now those in the water are trying again... trying to reach us. A handful of their precious young ones have been sent into the world of man. They are brought in the dead of night... to where man lives. They need only be glimpsed... and the awakening of man will happen. But their enemies roam the land. There are laws that are meant to keep the young ones safe... but they are sent at great risk to their lives. Many... do not return. Yet still they try... try to help man. But man has forgotten how to listen... (“Lady in the water) As mentioned before, God has allotted certain work for every creature on the earth. Certain time has also been decided for performing the task. God creates certain condition in the life of the creatures which makes him to perform its task. Till the time comes, the person is unaware about the purpose of his life. The protagonist Heep’s life was meaningless after he lost his family. At least he was under this impression. Story made him aware of the meaningfulness of his life. Story: [holding Cleveland's journal] Your thoughts are very sad. Most are of one night. A night a man entered your home when you were not there. He stole many things and killed your wife and children. That is when you stopped being happy. You were a doctor. I am very sorry for you. You believe you have no purpose. You help all that live here. Cleveland Heep: Anybody can do this job, Story. Story: You have a purpose. All beings have a purpose. The story revolves around depressed, disheartened person, the hero of this film. Heep’s life was meaningless after he lost his family. Due to the personal loss (loss of his wife and child) Cleveland Heep has closed himself off from the outside world. He only has his communication with the group of tenants such as a body builder (Freddy Rodriguez), a crossword-puzzled adherent, a film critic, an inspiring writer and his sister. The arrival of Story in his life brought a certain meaning to his life. He felt that he has a moral responsibility. Smith propound his view that the most adequate social theory "conceives of humans as moral, believing, narrating animals and human social life as constituted by moral orders that define and direct social action" (Christian Smith, pp. 147-48). (By "narrating," Smith wants to reveal that people get purpose in their lives by placing themselves in a "narrative" that systematizes human actions and events in a significant manner; Christianity, liberalism, and postmodernism are examples of narratives.) The protagonist’s life suddenly changes with the entry of a narf, a sea nymph Story, who dwells in the passageways beneath the apartment’s swimming pool. Story, the narf has become the purpose of Heep’s life. She wanted help from Heep and the other tenants to return to her home, the blue world. She also announces that she has been sent to perform a very important role in human history. But she has been obstructed and endangered by snarling wolf-monsters called “scrunts.” The message, given here is closely connected with the human philosophy and biblical allusions. Excessiveness of individualism is never ever useful. We need community more than ourselves. According to the religious philosophy, the collectivism is essential entity for attaining the goal. The entire community stands with Story, all of the community members join together to fight against the evil power. It was a journey of the community members from insularity to permissiveness. “Although our sensitive egos may disagree, our imaginations look out onto a rather narrow expanse. Yet when we are called on by the Transcendent, and we decide to cooperate, life becomes surprisingly three-dimensional and purposeful.” (Lyle Penner, “Vocation in M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water.”) It is Story who makes all the people unite together for a certain purpose and the purpose was to save her life. Cleveland Heep: I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Oh, I should have been there, I am always going to regret... just not being there. I miss your faces. They remind me of God. I'm so lost without you guys. I met this very nice lady, and her name's Story. I think you would have liked her. I think she might be... an Angel, she has to go home. I love you all, I love you all so much. In a 2006 interview with Time Magazine, M. Night Shyamalan says, “I feel like we are in the death rattle of religion right now. Its parameters which were totally appropriate and defendable for the history of man are on the verge of being obsolete, and that is because of this real and cyber global community that we are in now. Isolation of cultures, which was the glue, is vanishing. We need to have a faith, a type of belief that makes sense to everyone in the room who hears it. In the Buddhist philosophy, it is all boats to get us to the shore. We have to let go of the feeling that the boat is the shore. We don’t have to let go of the boat — we can still love the metaphors and they can mean a great deal to our cultures, but they have to be seen as boats.” (Shyamalan 2006) The emotions of mankind are directly associated with heart. The pool in which Cleveland Heep finds Story is also symbolic. It is heart-shaped. Shyamalan wants to tell his audience that the real change comes deep from the heart. I would conclude that the story does not have just a Biblical allusion, but it has a strong religious connection which is comprehensive and not confined within the periphery of a certain religious theology. Of course the film is based on religious concept, but it has a touch of fantasy and imagination. So Shyamalam certainly have not decided the target audience. It is because the story can neither be categorized under kids’ section completely nor can it be a film for adults. Sources: 1. Christian Hamaker, “Lady in the Water Not a Typical Shyamalan Splash,” July 20, 2006, http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/movies/features/lady-in-the-water-not-a-typical-shyamalan-splash-1408440.html 2. Christian Smith “Moral, Believing Animals, Human Personhood and Culture,” (Pg. 7) Oxford University Press 2003 3. Lyle Penner, “Vocation in M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water.” Website: watershedonline.ca/movies/reviews.html 4. “Lady in the Water,” Dir. M. Night Shyamalan, based on the bed time story of Shyamalan, DVD Warner 2006 5. M. Night Shyamalan, an interview with Times Magazine, 2006 Read More