The Movie Requiem for a Dream - Research Paper Example

of Analysis of the movie, Requiem for a Dream Requiem for a Dream explores the many issuesthat are at hand in the United States of America in today’s time and age. The movie depicts the descent into drug addiction in the lives of four people, Sara, Harry, Marion and Tyrone. The movie’s understanding of the situation of addiction and the additional problems that it may invite into the lives of a person has made it a classic as far as movies about this theme are concerned. The direction, done by Darren Aronofsky, is splendid and evokes the right reactions from the audience. The audience is invited to look at the various reasons for drug addiction and also the insidious ways in which it may reach the user. It speaks of several forms of drug addictions and their consequences. The importance of the film also lies in its ability to understand the ways in which family ties and bonds are severed irreparably through the use of drugs. The ability of the movie to manoeuver through the technical aspects of filmmaking is also brilliant. The movie is noteworthy not only for its deft handling of the theme but also for the team’s ability to use sound and lighting to weave itself into the story. The movie is not a long one and its runtime is just one hundred and one minutes. This means that the story is told without any additional frills. It stands on its own and this is thanks to the excellent editing that was performed on it. The scenes that are shown in the edited version of the movie reveals how details are squeezed into every frame in order to keep the runtime short and the pace quick. The pace of the movie varies according to the mood that its protagonists are in. Given that this is a movie that speaks of the metal states and social positions of drug addicts, there are several changes of pace that the movie undergoes. This is significant as it makes it possible for the viewer to understand better exactly what the mental conditions of the protagonists are. They are also able to understand better the situations that drug addicts put themselves through once they are deprived of what comes to become their lifeblood. This irony is what the changes of pace are able to convey in the movie without taking the viewer on an unnecessary roller-coaster ride that may have degenerated into melodrama. The movie’s slick editing makes it possible for the viewer to retain the message of the movie without the movie having to be preachy in its tone. This, according to many was one of the major victories of the movie. The lighting of any movie is something that complements its theme and enables the director to manipulate the mood of his audience. The dark and sombre colors that form a part of the landscape of this movie are deliberate choices. They enable the director to look at the theme in the darkest manner possible, conveying to his audience the gloom that pervades the lives of the people who fall prey to the clutches of drugs. The movie’s use of dim lighting, especially in scenes where sexual perversions are discussed, conveys to the viewer the dim possibilities that lie ahead of the protagonists of the movie. The lighting also reveals the problems within the minds of the protagonists. The dim lighting can also be seen as a reflection of the mental states of the protagonists. The lighting creates shadows in this film, owing to the use of hard light. It is also thrown from an angle, resulting in the shadowy effects that are visible in the movie. The use of hard and soft light is one of the most important decisions that modern filmmakers have to take as they affect the visual quality of the scene (Malkiewicz and Mullen 94). The lighting often clouds the vision of the viewer and instead of providing him or her with clarity as to what is going on in the screen, makes it difficult for her or him to understand things. This is also similar to the mindset of the drug addict who is often unable to understand what is happening around him in the short term and more importantly in the long term. In order to convey the effects that drugs have on their users, the movie’s lighting reveals a cloudy vision, something that is similar to the internal states of the drug addict. The movie thus, seems to suggest that once the internal decline of the drug addict has started, the external circumstances of the addict too would begin to go on a downward spiral. Apart from this, the lighting, or in many instances, the absence of it, may also suggest a lack of moral or spiritual light in the lives of the people who are victims of drug abuse. All of these effects form part of the intelligently put together mis-en-scene that seeks to convey the reality of the issue at hand. The use of sound effects is also significant in the movie. The movie employs songs in order to convey the mental states of the protagonists and this results in a better understanding on the part of the viewer as to what the mental and even to a certain extent, the social station of the characters are. In such a movie, if the messages are conveyed solely through the medium of dialogues, then it would not be possible to refrain from using a preachy tone. However, if the messages are conveyed through songs, then it would be possible to create a mood without losing out on subtlety. The fact that the director has managed to do this point to his immense abilities to channelize extra-visual media in order to evoke emotions and feelings in the viewer that he is catering to. The movie has a difficult task at hand. It needs to move its audience to feel the necessity to change the world around itself through narrating the tale of four characters. However, it needs to do so without creating a cathartic moment that may nullify the ability or the urge that the viewer feels to change the world that he or she is a part of. The use of songs at appropriate situations within this movie enables the director to achieve precisely this, without compromising on the quality of the movie as a whole. The movie also aims at conveying the individual angst of the characters, seen in the close-up shots that are a part of it. The problematic mental states are better understood through such cinematographic manoeuvres. Shots focus on the lead characters as well as those that surround them, seeking to understand the complicity of the society in the decline of the characters. The visual references of the movie also seem to be photographs and stills that may have influenced the pastiche-like quality of many of the sequences in the movie. This, as discussed earlier, also affects the pace that the movie moves along at. The visual references of a movie depend greatly on the background of the cinematographer (Frost 63). In the case of Requiem for a Dream, it seems that the cinematographer has a background in still photography as well. The theme of the movie needs to be discussed at length. The pervasive power of drugs on the lives of people needs to be discussed from the perspective of the society and the addict himself or herself. This is important as a two-way process would lead to a better understanding of the ways and means that may be employed in order to control this menace and restore order to the lives of many. The movie portrays how an elderly woman uses drugs in order to lose weight. Sara Goldfarb uses drugs in order to regain her youthful appearance so that she may be able to look better for a show that she had been invited to participate in (Aronofsky). This incident reveals the cruel nature of a capitalistic world where the protagonist feels the urge to dress herself up in order to appear for a show. What she does is to essentially package herself as a more attractive commodity for the capitalist world of the television. This then leads to complications whereby Sara becomes dependent on amphetamine. The lure of visibility in old age makes Sara a victim of drugs. This reveals the pitiable conditions in which the elderly have to live in this society. In most cases they have no outlet other than television shows that may not lead anywhere for them. They then seek outlets in ways such as the one that Sara does. This incident and this victim also reveal another fact- victims are not always homeless teenagers. Victims of drug abuse are drawn from various social strata and the problem thus needs a multidimensional approach. This is another way in which Requiem for a Dream is different from many movies that have been made to analyse this issue. The victims of drug abuse cannot be profiled in an easy manner so as to understand a way out. Also, the movie makes it amply clear that drugs may be purchased even from seemingly respectable sources and not just through shady deals. The effect of drugs is thus, a pervasive one. Christopher M. Moreno comments on this employment of unconventional spaces in the movie and the effect that it may have on the understanding of drugs and their use among the general public. In the essay, “Body Politics and Spaces of Drug Addiction in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream”, he speaks of the use of different bodies and spaces in order to destabilize conventional understandings of drug abuse and to formulate better policies to deal with it (220). In the case of Harry and Tyrone, the issues are much more straightforward. They are victims who can be profiled in a much easier manner and this enables the viewer to understand the problems that are created by drugs. They are pulled into this circle even as they are aware of its pitfalls. The advice that Harry gives his mother reveals his understanding of the problems that are created by drug abuse. He however, continues to use drugs along with Tyrone. This reveals the pervasive power that drugs have over the will of the youth that use it despite being aware of the problems that it is capable of creating. The pervasive nature of power itself comes to mind here, much in the way that Michele Foucault envisioned it. He spoke of the power that society has over its subjects and the manner in which they are employed. The power of drugs is pervasive and makes its victims act in manners that are predictable by the society that puts its victims there in the first place (Foucault 190). This then provides one with a method and path to understand the consequences of drug abuse and the ways in which this problem can be tackled by the powers of the society that one is a part of. The situation that Marion finds herself is equally complex. Her position is complicated by her gender and the fact that she is sexually exploited by the society that she is a part of. Her position is made even more vulnerable by the lack of any person who may be willing to help her out of her situation. This is made clear by the incidents involving her psychiatrist and her boyfriend, Harry. Both of them force her into the flesh trade and she is forced to turn her body into a commodity. This reveals the extent to which the female body is victimised by the menace of drug abuse, something that leads many women in this society to sell their bodies to keep the supply of drugs intact. The movie makes clear the commodification of the young female body through the character of Marion. This then is also connected to the desire that Sara has for the commodification of her body, something that would help her gain visibility. The visibility that a young Marion has and the sexual utility that she has becomes a burden rather than a blessing for her as she falls deeper into the pit of drug abuse. Her return to a normal life is made more difficult by the fact that there is demand for her body and she would be able to sustain a supply of drugs. This eliminates many possibilities of rehabilitation of such people. The situation of women who fall prey to this menace is thus worse than the situation of the men who do so as there are lesser opportunities for them to return to a life of normalcy. Gender is thus, another issue that the movie deftly weaves into its narrative through the character of Marion. Requiem for a Dream is thus, a movie that explores many avenues. It manages to make its viewer understand the several reasons for drug abuse, including several that may be considered to be innocuous. This is the reason why it can be considered to be essential viewing for people of all ages (Requiem for a Dream n.p.). The movie is thus, able to understand the intricacies of this complex situation and appeal to the society for a re-examination of the stands that are routinely taken when it comes to the issue of drug abuse. It also seeks to train society’s eye upon itself, making its role in this business prominent. Works Cited Aronofsky, Darren. Requiem for a Dream. USA: Thousand Words, 2000. DVD. Moreno, Christopher M. “Body Politics and Spaces of Drug Addiction in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream”. GeoJournal. 74: 219-226. (2008). Print. “Requiem for a Dream”. Literature, Arts and Medicine Database. 31 Jan. 2001. Web. 20 November 2013. Web. Foucault, Michel. The Foucault Reader. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print. Frost, Jacqueline. Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration. Studio City: Sheridan Books, 2009. Print. Malkiewicz, Kris; Mullen, David M. Cinematography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001. Print. Read More