Monday, October 6, 2014
Outside constitutes a place where these characters feel more comfortable. It seems these escapes do not offer stability, yet do provide for these characters in ways their environments do not. Society excludes populations because their is a fear of things that don't necessarily make sense. Society likes structure. People or ideas that aren't conventional or are not perceived as normal tend to be cast aside.The outside, what they escape to, fills a void. Whether the problem is a lack of attachment to family (biological or otherwise), or oppression, these characters form relationships that become their comfort zone. The relationships may not be healthy, but are dependent on them.
Holly, from Badlands, meets kit when she has no attachments. Her dad is emotionally distant, and she refers to herself in his eyes as a stranger. Her mother has passed away and her peers in school disregard her. She is young, naive and impressionable. She is susceptible to influence, and Kit is able to so easily convince her to run away with him. She accepts the killings, accepting his rationale behind each. The outside world offers her adventure and Kit offers her someone to identify with and cling to. She compares their escape as a "far away planet," maybe she thinks they're invincible; chosen for a path that seperates their lives from everyone elses. Home is not a structure or place necessarily, it is wherever she goes with him. Kit is drawn to the rootless existence with Holly as a way to establish himself. He could run from the authorities for a lifetime as long as she is with him yet after she turns herself in he soon follows. They were dependent on one another, because wherever they were those moments were theirs to share similarly to Suzy and Sam. They found acceptance within their relationship.
In Moonrise Kingdom, Suzy and Sam are escaping to create their own lives apart from civilization. The society rejects both of them, and they find solace in each other's misfortune. Suzy is not understood by her family, she sees how adults behave and retreats to Sam to avoid that future. Neither of these characters have attachments that they value, so it seems fitting that their home would be each other. There are no restrictions on their lifestyle when they pitch a tent and decide to live on their own. The outside offers them free will, and distance from authority.
In Huck Finn, Huck leaves a situation where his father is attempting to use him for money and sees no other option but to run. Faking his own death, and hiding from those looking for him, he spontaneously meets Jim in the forest and together they start a new life. Home, he says, is the raft that carries him away from the life he gave up.
So maybe home is whatever takes you away from what you don't want, it's a place yes but not one stationery place. It could be the only valuable attachment you have to someone (suzy and sam) or a person that makes you feel important (Kit and Holly), or a raft that takes you to a life you want.
Their escape from the daily lives they are finding unsatisfying, there is value in what the outside offers. They are already labeled in society as different. But in their own worlds they are not considered outsiders. It is something they create, and appreciate. These outsides allow them a freedom that structure and order cannot provide. The outside detaches them from "real" life. There is an appeal in the unknown. For these individuals the danger that could lie ahead doesn't compare to the discomfort they have in their current situations. They go into the wilderness to find something that isn't available to them, the wilderness represents a place entirely free from structure and the problems society creates.
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OK--a few points:
ReplyDelete* It seems these escapes do not offer stability, yet do provide for these characters in ways their environments do not.
[use yr intro to talk about how each work differs---are they all instable? why so? how does society feel about these spaces? what's it do to them?
BL:
They found acceptance within their relationship
*relate this to society?
MR
*The outside offers them free will, and distance from authority.
--relate this to life in society? how is this symbolized by the campsite they build?
*
These outsides allow them a freedom that structure and order cannot provide.
what does structure do to freedom in huck finn?