Can being trapped lead to comfort?

In this world, society depicts our every move. Judgment is a part of life and everyone has faced this at least once. It is impossible for someone to be perfect yet at the same time we, as people, have a tendency to judge people and pin point out each other flaws because they do not meet "our" standards and criteria of a perfect person. Every one of us is not perfect, yet we find ways to morph our lives to ourselves in order to make us feel perfectly acceptable towards society. In the film Doubt and the book Molly Sweeney, there are two instances that demonstrate individuals who are set at a disadvantage yet find ways to evolve. Some may consider them to be trapped and not able to prosper. Is this true? Do these individuals find comfort within their own disadvantages?

 Doubt is a film that is set in the 1960's and follows a nun's accusations against a priest who has taken a close interest in a young black boy, Donald Miller. Donald, who is the only black boy attending an all-white catholic school, has daily difficulties do to his race. Throughout the film we are left hanging with questions flooding our mind of what kind of particularly interest does the priest, Father Flynn, taken in Donald. Donald is a very out spoken boy, he's quite yet well mannered. In fact in most scene Donald remains quiet and in the background, as if he would rather not speak. It is safe to say that Father Flynn is the dominating figure in their relationship. Near the end of the film we discover that Donald is gay. During this time period, it was not fully social acceptable publicly announce one's sexual orientation. And having Donald only being in middle school, one can easily infer that he was frightened. He sought comfort through his mentor Father Flynn. Father Flynn was to believed also gay and probably sought refuge through the Catholic Church. It is questionable to whether or not they created a bond through their sexual orientation. 

This still of Donald is very powerful in context and meaning. He is sitting on a staircase looking between the banisters at Father Flynn. It almost appears as if he is jailed in and trapped behind the stair's bars. This picture can be seen metaphorically as if something in Donald's life is trapping him. Is it his sexual orientation or Sister A's believed abuse of Father Flynn. This image is very dark and has lots of very neutral tones. There is a light shining on Donald's back which creates a shadow on the wall behind him. It is curious to why the director had a light cast upon Donald when he was spying on Father Flynn. Does this light symbolize that Donald must come the realization of the true indication of his and Father Flynn's innapropriate relationship or is it telling Donald that it is ok to befriend him. Light initially means hope yet this still can be confusing due to the expression of Donald's face. He appears to have a hard expression, almost appearing frustrated and pissed off.  

 

In the end of the film, Father Flynn leaves his parish due to Sister A's continuing accusations. I believe that Father Flynn felt safe at this parish and appeared to be very upset when he was forced to leave. Yet Father Flynn wasn't the only one who was upset due to his parting, Donald Miller also appeared to upset when Father Flynn had announced his despatcher at mass. Donald appeared to be heartbroken that his mentor was leaving. It seemed that Father Flynn was the only one that Donald trusted. He felt comfortable around him. This then can answer the question that Donald did find comfort by being trapped by his own societal disadvantages.

In the book Molly Sweeney, the main character Molly is a woman who is partially blind. She is offered a surgery that will recover her vision. She was timid at first but then agrees. For almost her whole life, molly has lived her whole life without vision. Society would see this as a disadvantage yet to her it just a normal part of life. She has evolved her life to fit this world as it is and leave happily. Molly is very comfortable with how things are yet is curious to see what she is missing. After the surgery she is heavily intrigued and picks up on things easily even though she has to learn how to see objects and connect these images to her memory. Yet after a while Molly becomes tempered. She doesn't like being able to anymore and wishes that she was blind again.

Molly most definitely found comfort through her disability because from ever she could remember she was blind. Donald also found comfort from his struggles that were unfortunately seemed unethical to society. It is how we work out and live our lives to fit our struggles. It doesn't matter if we aren't like 'society' because in reality there is no way to define 'society' everyone is different with their challenges. How people deal with their issues is what initially forms society. If everyone was the same there would be no context or depth to this world.

Social Classes

Social classes have dictated this world ever since man has stepped foot on this earth. Even when humans weren't even considered fully civilized there was some form of leader to peasant relationship. It is unfortunate that even to this day, when one is born, people are somewhat characterized, labeled, and processed into a certain group based soulfully off of their parent's income and status. When dealing with issues on social class, it is important to realize that this has nothing to do with a person's personality or interests, only the superficial is visible. In America we like to consider ourselves good deserving and prideful people, yet how can we define ourselves as that if we judge others on the price tag of their clothing and car?   

Social class is in a way a necessity in order for a society to fully function. But the question is why do these invisible boarding lines of class have to be so strong and grounding to its inhabitants? Why do they have to define who we are? There will always be the rich and the poor, but why do we have to have an unseeable label fallow us around wherever we go? This is because fate originally defines our class. No one has the will to be born into a rich or poor house hold. One is just simply handed this, and in no way are we to alter it. Fortunately, in America, people have a greater ability of succeeding and surpassing their original class into a higher one in hopes of living a better life. But is this fair to some, while others are already born into a higher class and can show no work ethic at all and still given a high amount of opportunities? No it is not fair and unfortunately social class will always be defined by income and appearances and not work ethic and social likability.

Dreadlocks

DREADLOCKS 

Hair is one of the main ways we identify ourselves in our society. The style, the color, the length are all factors of how we present ourselves. The societal norm for men is to have short hair and for women to have long hair. Yet for generations people have been going against this by experimenting with what they can do with their hair and create a transcendentalist approach in how to present themselves. One style of hair that has been becoming more and more popular, yet still not accepted by society is dreadlocks. 

Dreadlocks first originated in Africa then slowly became popular within other countries, especially the United States, by ionic stars who promoted their dreads, such as Bob Marley. People believed that this new hairstyle was considered hip and unoriginal, and that is why it drew the eye of others.  Yet, some people shied away from this way of presenting oneself, because some thought that this made people look messy, dirty, and unmotivated. These stereotypes towards people with dreads has now further categorized people with dreads as uneducated and even associated them with the involvement of drugs. These assumptions about people with dreads are untrue and can make the lives of people who have them more difficulty. One with dreadlocks may have a harder time getting a job due to the harsh stereotypes that follow them around daily, only due to how they wear their hair. 

Author Paul Fussell once said, "If you refuse to dress like others, you will be ridiculed..." This is true because people who have dreadlocks are considered a minority in comparison to people who don't. They don't and shouldn't be ridiculed due to how they present themselves. One should have the liberty to do as they like and not be judged nor denied an opportunity by being themselves. 

Shaping and Manipulating the Worlds

To each individual, the world we live in is perceived differently.  As humans, we have ultimate control to make our life our own within the limits that we are born into.  For example, people who are born into a country that has significant control over its population, there are certain regulations that one must oblige to. Yet within those restrictions people should find away to express themselves and make their life unique and try to make an impact not only on oneself but also on others. It is impossible to shape and impact everyone in the world, but it is possible to shape the ones around you and to that individual those people are their world. You can make the world your own safe place and as big or small as you wants it be. You can create and manipiluate your "world" by focusing on your wants and needs and not others. It is important to sometimes be selfless, yet at the end of the day it comes down to whether or not you are satisfying your desires. 
           Our thoughts can also greatly impact the world around us. By defining and formulating the feedback we get from our actions, we readjust our future actions towards others, then repeat the process. With every positive feedback and confirmation from our pervious doings, our world becomes molded and clearer to us. We then can fully shape our true self. 
            The culture we were born into can also form and shape our perceptions on reality and the real world. Cultures tell us what is acceptable and what is not. From having culture impact each person's world that they live in, it creates a variety of depths between people's perceptions of how to live and impact others. For example each culture has its different rituals and practices. To others that do not participate in these activities might believe that they are wrong and offensive, yet that is just because they were not raised the same way. 
            

Double Indemnity

This shot from Double Indemnity shows Neff in Phyllis's living room waiting for her to arrive. Neff is not centered in the shot, he is positioned in the left third of the frame. This still is shot like this, in order to show his surroundings. The living room is spacious and well-furnished indicating that Phyllis and her husband are very wealthy. From what we can see in the frame, the room has many lamps, yet none of them are turned on, the room is only lit from natural light coming from the window. The window is furnished with blinds, which casts a horizontal shadow across the room, making the room appear hazy and mysterious. In the right hand part of the shot, lies two picture frames resting on a piano. The pictures are off Phyllis's husband and step-daughter. The bright light illuminating from the window seems to be directed towards the right part of the frame, right where the picture frames are. White bright light, tends to mean goodness and purity, and by having the light cast over Phyllis's husband and daughter, can mean that the true good people are them and not Phyllis, because she is not framed nor casted in light, in this shot. This can also be interpreted as Phyllis not having a role within the family, or importance to either her husband or daughter. To the left of where Neff is standing lies a fish bowl on top of a desk. It appears as if Neff is staring directly into it. A fish living in a bowl is trapped, and has no where to go. This is symbolic and can connect to Neff's life because he knows that he is trapped due to the murder he committed. He knows that there is no way out for him and that he is trapped just like the fish in the fish bowl. 

Literature & Film - Danielle Bishop