http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW2Jdkeyz4k
For our A6 project, we chose to do a video about being blind, since blindness was a recurring theme throughout this semester. The main focus of the video is how blindness, whether figurative or literal, is a struggle, similar to how Oedipus and Gloucester suffer after being blinded. It is not all bad news though, as we attempted to show through the piano scene, as blindness allows for the development of other characteristics (in the movie’s case, musical talent). Characters who exhibit some benefits from their blindness would be Tiresias and DeLacy. Nevertheless, although comedic in nature, our video attempted to show how overall blindness is detrimental (obviously), even though there are some benefits to be had.
Oedipus is a prime example of a character that suffers from blindness. Before being literally blind, Oedipus was figuratively blind to his fate. Oedipus the King seems to say that vision or prophetic insight is not dependent on literal sight. Oedipus was famous for his intellect and ability to solve riddles, yet neither of those allowed him to see the truth of his marriage that he had been living with for years. Thus, this seems to suggest that all humans are imperfect and will err, regardless of how smart or prophetic they may be.
Gloucester too symbolizes how a minor error can end with tragic consequences. The root of Gloucester’s problems is his rejection of his bastard son Edmund, which is precipitated more by society’s treatment of bastards than of Gloucester’s personal feelings towards his son. Edmund’s jealousy and rage spawned from this second-class treatment, and led to his plot to strip his father of his power. Thus, Gloucester was merely abiding by society’s rules, yet he was blinded. Can it really be said that he brought his fate upon himself? This harkens back to the theme of free will vs. fate that we have seen in many of the books we read. In Gloucester’s case it seems as if he was destined to become blind, similar to how Oedipus was unable to escape his fate. Therefore, blindness not only represents the ignorance of one’s future, but also the inevitability of fate.
Not all characters purely suffer during their season of darkness; blindness can be a boon for some. Tiresias would be a prime example of this; for without his physical sight he gained fabulously accurate prophetic vision. This is another example of the imperfection of humans; for he is literally blind yet a visionary, which suggests that humans cannot be both prophetic and able to physically see simultaneously. De Lacy in Frankenstein may not obviously derive any tangible benefits from his lack of vision, but one benefit would be that he is only able to judge people based on their characters. In Frankenstein, society is very judgmental and based on appearances, while De Lacy is the antithesis of that, just like how De Lacy and his family are exiles from French society. His inability to judge based on sight allows him to give the monster a chance, for at heart the monster is truly a benevolent character. Although the monster’s attempt at civil conversation collapses when the rest of the family, who can actually see him, enters, De Lacy’s blindness symbolizes that at times ignoring appearances can be beneficial, for it leaves the inner character of a person stark naked.
Even though our movie was largely comedic, we attempted to communicate some of the symbols that blindness has played in the books we read this semester. We had many scenes of Blake struggling with daily life to symbolize how blindness is mainly a disadvantage. However, we juxtaposed it with Blake playing Mozart on the piano to symbolize how other skills, such as prophetic vision, can be heightened during blindness. Similar to how Frankenstein is a series of stories within stories, yet a major theme is the unreliability of narration, it is ironic that we shot a film about blindness. For those of you who could see it, we hope you enjoyed the symbolism behind our project.
This is hilarious.
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