Today I watched a movie I had never
seen before Coraline. I have watched Time Burton films before, but I had never
seen this masterpiece of his, I think my mother had something to do with that.
Was it a little dark, yes, but it was still a children’s film, something a
child could relate to, and still find amusing. Even those who are not children
could relate to the film in some way, we all have that friend who likes to
talk, or the crazy old ladies who live next door with their pets, parents who
seem too busy to care about anything but work and appearances.
The
message I found in this movie was to be careful with your imagination, your
dreams could turn to nightmares, and or consume you. I don’t think this is
something that is strait out said, but this is really what the film is about.
Coraline wants her friend to shut up, and her parents to pay attention and love
her, so this world she goes to is better than the real one in some ways, but it
is narrow, based on one person’s wants, and it would have consumed her if she
had not escaped. Our imagination can do that to us, I know from experience that
it can, and will if not kept in check. The fantasy seems so much better than
the world we live in, but it is empty, and so very lonely.
On a completely random side note...After the film, I started to miss my first cat, Nutmeg. She was all black, and skinny as all get out... and highly intelligent.
I particularly like the one line you had that said, "The message I found in this movie was to be careful with your imagination, your dreams could turn to nightmares, and or consume you," because I can relate. I can't watch any scary movies with supernatural happenings in them because my imagination will run wild. If I'm scared of something and draw it, however, I'll stop being scared because in my head I've brought the monster from my mind into reality, and I'm much more scared of imagination than the real world. It's hard to detach your thoughts from reality, especially when freaked out. Your perspective on Coraline really brought that out for me; I had originally only watched the movie for delight purposes, but going back and thinking about it through this new and more educated lens, I can totally see the symbolism and your interpretation and it suddenly makes so much sense!
ReplyDeleteI think that is a reason some scary movies are so...scary. The horror/monster/killer is hidden until late in the film, giving you only a glimpse of the thing, letting you piece it together in your mind, and who better knows your fears?
DeleteCoraline just brought out old memories of a sad time for me, it was trapped in my imagination, and it wasn't a frightening one, just an escape from reality.
I tend to escape from reality and hide in my mind a lot, which is why I'm so spacey. Lol in addition to being deaf physically, I'm deaf mentally as well at times. Have fun trying to get my attention xDD
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