The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Essay Example

Number] The Diving Bell and the Butterfly The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a story of a man, Bauby, who worked as an editor for a very renowned fashion magazine and lives a very extravagant and enjoyable life but unfortunately, he is sent into quite a long coma due to a stroke he suffered from. After waking up, he discovers that he now suffers from a weird condition called the ‘locked – in syndrome’. In this condition, he does not have any control over his whole body except for one eye’s movement and his hearing and mental abilities. This is quite tragic as he is now simply reduced from a famous writer to a helpless individual dependent on his wheelchair (Bauby 45). The protagonist of the film has been shown to have a greatly determined character. Even his disabilities do not discourage him to give up his profession and he puts great efforts in learning a different way of communication. Before his illness, Bauby had been aspiring to write a contemporary version of a classical story of the 19th century. With the help of his speech therapist, he learns to speak through blinking and thus, is able to complete the book he had long wished to write before his death. The helplessness of Bauby has been displayed through a series of varied scenes and images having a fixed and well – defined view point of Bauby himself (Nowak 32). We, the viewers, witness the world the way he witnesses it and feel the anxiety and desperation as he feels it. Our visions focus and adjust the way his does and we are observed by the same professionals and introduced to the same group of family and friends as he is. This imagery along with softly spoken narration intensifies the process of realization and adjustment and makes us painfully obvious of the fact that Bauby is a quite a rational fellow and all his predicaments are only on a physical level and none on the mental one. Throughout the film, many characters of variable nature tend to help Bauby with his needs and adjust properly after such intense suffering. All of them make their best efforts to maintain his dignity by blending in his visionary field (Nowak). We might find it surprising but not at all coincidental that most of these helping characters are professionals who are young and beautiful, something Bauby was once as well (David & Schnabel 12). We also witness a trace of humor, although quite dry, in Bauby’s grudges of being too ill – fated to not have met such elegant ladies in his better times. Such thoughts raise the level of the film to a whole new degree as we realize along with Bauby that his paralysis has made exceptional chances of progression rather than degradation available to him (Bauby). This discovered optimism certainly adds more life to rest of the story. Moreover, the images that have been used to depict this tragic tale are quite provocative, stimulating and powerful (David & Schnabel). In the film, the view point occasionally shifts from the typical of the main character to the rest of the members of the outside world. At such moments, we are able to catch the glimpses of the heart – breaking appearance of Bauby. This also happens in scenes which show Bauby looking at his reflection in mirrors or glass panels (Nowak). This shifting of the point of view continues to increase with the progression of the film and helps in strengthening the bond binding us to Bauby. Another element that contributes greatly to the film’s success is the slow and steady unfolding of Bauby’s characters through the narration, an insight of his thoughts and the discovery of his desires (Beaver). As mentioned earlier, the tenderness of his colleagues and acquaintances give the film a life full of emotions and helps the film cover great depths in the sentimental field. A beautiful strategy to win the hearts of the viewers was the regular use of flashbacks and memories to create a contrast between the present and the old Bauby (Beaver). This largely augments the extent of tragedy suffered by Bauby. When we see the fast and modern life of his before the stroke and the helpless and sufferable condition of his after the stroke, we are not only touched, but reminded of the fact that life never remains the same. Moreover, the flashbacks help in introducing us to Bauby’s father, children, ex – wife and different lovers and giving us to understand him on a highly personal and emotional level (Bauby 32). Then come the fantasies and dream sequences (Beaver). The protagonist has been discovered fantasizing about skiing on snowy mountains, enjoying wonderful feasts and having beautiful women for company (Bauby). All these fantasies help to preserve and retain Bauby’s original character and give him the spirit to live rather than giving up. Likewise, the dreams display the feeling of longing he holds inside him. Both the techniques used help in portraying the fact that Bauby’s mental facilities are still completely intact and it is only his body that has become locked or incapacitated. The effect of surrealism has also been found to be an evident part of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (David & Schnabel). The scene showing Bauby receiving treatment in an old and wrecked museum suggests the irrationality of his physical life in comparison to his brilliant mentality and is a pure representation of surrealism (Nowak 65). One of the key factors which make this movie interesting is the symbolism, which helps in explaining the title as well (Beaver). There is quite a powerful scene in the movie in which we see a diver, fully equipped with the diving suit, gear and bell, suspended under water and surviving only because of the supply of oxygen he is carrying on his back (Bauby). This diver has been clearly portrayed to represent Bauby himself and this symbolic representation reoccurs at different moments throughout the story. At other points, we see Bauby imagining a butterfly evolving from a cocoon. This evolution depicts his wakening from the coma in a different state than he was used to before and his complete acceptance of his fate (Bauby). Such symbolism is not only impressive but also makes us realize that Bauby is a man determined to grow the wings of a butterfly and keep his spirit alive, rather than indulge himself into self - pity over the drastic change in his life. Such brilliant symbolism adds the essence of creativity and innovation to the film. The musical side of the film comprises of many different styles and genres. While the characteristic music of the film is has a melodramatic effect along with lightness and sweetness like the chansons, we also come across something like U2’s modern hip – hop and classical ballads like that of Tom Waits (Nowak). The variation is basically according to the need of the scenes and the atmosphere (Beaver 11). The realistic drama of a paralyzed man who sets out to complete his book with blinking, that too by only one eye, as his only source of communication makes the Diving Bell and the Butterfly quite an apprehensive and anxious watch (Beaver). The bleak and depressing subject of this movie reminds us as all that cinema and Hollywood are not only about entertainment or fantasy (David & Schnabel). The movie helps in releasing the thoughts, emotions and spirit of a person that are ironically, locked inside his own body and thus, has been called an extremely brave story. The manuscript of Bauby’s thoughts and feelings might have been remarkable and thought – provoking but they would not have had the same impact on us without the scenario that the film so exceptionally presented. While watching the movie, we feel ourselves being led by a hand through the transition of scenes occurring throughout the movie. Each scenario helps us experience a different area of emotion and make us feel both exposed and safe simultaneously. Everything we see fills us strong feelings of happiness and gloom at the same time, for many of us might never have imagined any person to exist the way Bauby did and we get truly touched. It is evident that even the novel upon which the film was based would have been unable to affect the hearts of its readers in the way the film did (David & Schnabel 43). Adding to the emotional effect is the tenderness and compassion of the female actors demonstrated throughout the movie. The way they hover around Bauby, fuss over him, care about him makes him think of them as his butterflies. It is quite ironic that all of the females in Bauby’s post – stroke life love him, usually without any words of expression, and the one who uses the words ‘I love you’ is the one who cares more about her loss rather than Bauby’s (Bauby). Such irony truly breaks our hearts at several times during the film. It can thus be said that the central theme of the Diving Bell and the Butterfly is love and there are numerous scenes in the film that confirm this idea. For example, the lady who helps Baudy in writing his book by taking his dictations openly declares her feelings of love and affection for him when they are out on the beach and calls him her butterfly as well (Bauby 12). Religion is a different yet important theme of the film. Throughout the movie, there are talks and discussions about prayer and angels. Several ladies are shown going to churches and wearing the typical Catholic cross and praying dearly for Bauby’s miraculous recovery. Hence, religion and religious idea play a central role. However, it can also be observed in the scene sowing his visit to Lourdes that Bauby himself is not a bit religious himself and that the involvement of religion in the movie is unfortunately an irrelevant and absurd idea (Nowak). However, its combination with the theme of love gives birth to another very important and recurring concept in the film that is of, acceptance; acceptance of fate, acceptance of responsibilities, and acceptance of self – desires. The film ends with the death of Bauby but only after completing the book he had always aspired to write. The book had meant everything to Bauby as he had given his father his word about getting it done in his pre – stroke life. However, along with the many changes that happened in Bauby’s life, the theme of his book changed too from classical revenge to determination and deliberation (Bauby). It became a work of his own rather an adaptation or revision of someone else’s which makes Bauby’s debut of his writing career quite an unusual and daring one. Thus, the essence of bravery made a key role to play in making the film a realistic and enlightening watch instead of a melodramatic one. Work Cited Bauby, Jean-Dominique. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1997. Print. Beaver, Frank E. Dictionary of Film Terms: The Aesthetic Companion to Film Analysis. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. Print. David, Moos and Schnabel, Julian Julian Schnabel: Art and Film. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010. Print. Nowak, Amber. "Film analysis paper: The Diving Bell And The Butterfly Julian Schnabel 2007."AmberNowak.org. 6 Sept. 2010. Web. 2 Nov 2012. http://www.ambernowak.org/the-diving-bell-and-butterfly-julian-schnabel-2009/ Read More