Coraline

Here's the trailer for the film, Coraline. If you haven't watched it yet, you're missing out!

Analysis #3: Marxism in Coraline

Warning! This post contains movie spoilers.

Coraline (2009) has been an Oscar-nominated, and one of the most remarkably made movies history has ever seen. Created in stop-motion, it is said that it took almost three weeks to create 8-seconds of footage. This horror-fantasy film based on Neil Gaiman's 2002 movie of the same name, has been a tremendous influence for artists all around the world. Imagination, creativity, and genius warped into a single film has completely changed the definition of a "movie."

Under the magic and glam, Director Henry Selick may have been influenced by Karl Marx himself. Too far of a stretch? Let me prove it to you. 

The story of Coraline begins with a young girl, Coraline Jones, who moves from Pontiac, Michigan into the Pink Palace Apartments in Oregon, an old house subdivided into three residences. While her parents frantically prepare a gardening catalog, Coraline begins to feel neglected and decides to explore the grounds. She then meets Wybie Lovat, the talkative and annoying grandson of the landlady. Wybie gives Coraline a doll that he had found in his grandmother's attic that looks just like her: blue hair, pink hair clip, yellow raincoat with matching yellow boots. Oddly enough, Coraline discovers a small door in her living room, small enough for Coraline to barely crawl through. Long story short, the small door leads to a magical place that looks exactly like Coraline's home, but better. Coraline meets her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" who look just like her real parents, but better. They pay attention to her, prepare delicious dinners and desserts for her to enjoy,  and decorate the garden with all her favorite flowers. She even meets the "Other Wybie" who does not talk at all. He listens and nods, just the way Coraline wants it. The other world is perfect. 

But it is all a trap. The Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in the other world forever, but for the price of her eyes. Coraline must sow buttons into her eyes to stay. Coraline immediately refuses and this angers the Other Mother. The Other Mother then reveals her true identity: an evil human-spider who controls the other world, planning to devour Coraline's life. 

In a Marxist perspective, The Other Mother represents the bourgeoisie as she forces all the creatures, the proletariat, of her world to work for her. For what price? Their lives. She does not grant them a luxurious life nor does she give them the leisure to do as they please. She provides them with just enough to survive. The other creatures, including the Other Father and the Other Wybie, work hard for the Other Mother by entertaining Coraline with magical events. Despite their hard work and labor, it is only the Other Mother who benefits from the labor by devouring the children she had lured in through the small door. Coraline represents the consumer, as she is only lured through the door because of the doll. The doll was created by the Other Mother and sent into Coraline's world on purpose. As Karl Marx writes that the product of labor "must satisfy a social want" (Marx 668), the doll has successfully fulfilled that requirement as it immediately sparked Coraline's interest. If the product were to have been a hammer, or a loaf of bread, the entire plot of the story would have been turned upside down. Why? Because it wouldn't have satisfied the consumer's want. A doll is a universal toy that would spark the interest of any girl of Coraline's age, which is exactly why the Other Mother had created a doll to lure Coraline through the little door. 

I have watched the film over a handful of times, and it wasn't until last week's group presentation on Marxism that I finally saw the correlation with Marx's theory of Capital. 

Jacques Lacan: Demand

I had always thought that when a baby cries, it was its expression of discomfort. The baby is either hungry, needs a diaper change, or doesn't like being held by the ex-president of the United States. However, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan, suggests a different approach. Lacan argues that when the baby cries, it is calling to its mother in a synchronized symbolic structure. In the midst of an organized symbolic system that baby's use, a demand for both its mother and and love is made. A baby cries to keep its mother all to itself. However, a mother can never belong to the baby as it so desires. Lacan states that this love and demand is unconditional and insatiable. Hence, baby's do not stop crying until they are able to articulate its needs and wants into words. The desires for its mother are also then expressed through action.

This really makes me rethink about having kids.

"Hamlet" Analysis

     In the film, "Hamlet," Hamlet's fury seems to run deeper than it coming from the fact that his mother, Gertrude, has married her husband's brother, Claudius. On a Freudian analytic perspective, Hamlet's anger seems to be derived from the fact that he has yet another competitor fighting for his mother's heart, and also the fact that the competitor has won by marrying his mother. Yet again, Hamlet is not what his mother desires but that it was first his father, and now his uncle. This anger and rage may be argued to be Hamlet's "id," and his defense mechanism is derived by ultimately repressing such emotions and desires by claiming that his anger is merely coming from the incestuous marriage. If the play was told from Hamlet's perspective, it may be argued that the apparition of his father that Hamlet sees is actually his unconscious desiring the death of his uncle to rid of the competition for his mother. It may also be looked at as the physical representation between his "id" and "ego." The fight that Hamlet engages in with his mother appeared to be more of a lover's fight rather than a mother-son argument. This further confirms the Freudian approach to "Hamlet."

Mr. Heaven

Rumor had it in Topeka, Kansas that Charles McHaven was a foul man who was infamous for his boiling temper, angry growls, and rude manners. When Mr. McHaven would walk down the street with his cane fastened at hand, the townspeople would cross the street to walk on the opposing side. Parents would then hush their children and push them to scurry along, quickening their pace home.

No one knew of Mr. McHaven and the death of his wife, 16 years ago. No one knew for no one dared to speak to him.

But everyone knew that every morning at 8:30, Mr. McHaven would walk out of his wooden, discolored home and make his way to the corner of 13th St. and Hebrews Ave. to Arthur's. He would sit in the booth next to the window and ask for two sets of utensils--one for himself and the other for the seat across from him. He would then order toast and eggs, eat to the very last bite, and venture back home. This was something everyone knew, and everyone made sure to keep out of his way.

It was a Tuesday morning when Mr. McHaven wobbled through the doors of Arthur's. He took his usual seat as the waiter, without a word, placed two sets of utensils on either side of the table. It was then when a curious 4-year old boy whose mother was at the cash register, looked over from his seat and stared at Mr. McHaven and the two sets of utensils. The boy waited, and waited, until he finally asked, "Where's your friend?" Mr. McHaven was startled as he turned his head towards the direction from which the voice came from and focused his gaze on a little boy. Overwhelmed, Mr. McHaven remained silent but continued to gaze into the blue eyes of the young boy.

"What's your name, sir?" the little boy asked.

Amused, Mr. McHaven answered in a rusty voice, "Charles McHaven."

Cheerfully, the little boy replied, "My name is Luke! Nice to meet you, Mr. Heaven! Cool name! But, where's your friend?"

A weak chuckle escaped Mr. McHaven's mouth as he answered, "My friend is gone. She has been gone a long time, Luke. She got on a train and left for heaven."

Luke remained silent and his eyebrows gathered as he thought pressingly. Then, with a relieved expression, Luke replied, "Your friend isn't gone, Mr. Heaven! Because if you're Mr. Heaven, that means she lives in you!"

Mr. McHaven stared at the little boy with gentle eyes and struggled to contain his emotions. Luke's mother then returned and took her son by his hand as she turned her shoulder against the foul old man. Luke quickly turned around and shouted, "See ya, Mr. Heaven!" as he was immediately hushed by his mother.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" Hebrews 13:2
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Photo Analysis:
The reason behind choosing this specific photo from the thousands that were available online, was because of the emptiness it screamed through the monitor. The absence of color can symbolize several things and be interpreted in another several ways. Personally, the absence of color signified the absence of life, and intertwined very well with the picture of a plate of breakfast. Breakfast, proven as the most important meal of the day, is symbolized in a variety of creative ways from commercials to billboards. Cereal brands such as General Mills, produce colorful cereal such as Trix, with humorous and friendly characters like the Rabbit. However, the photo represents a breakfast that appears unimportant and can easily be skipped without hesitation. Toast and eggs are extremely bland and tasteless without salt, pepper, jam, and/or butter, which are all absent in the picture. This characterizes the life of the character, Charles McHaven, who eats a plate of toast and eggs mindlessly and daily to silence the pain of his wife's death, ultimately representing her absence.    

Dear Plato: Were you out of your mind?

          The members of Group #1 presented their portrayal and personal understanding of Classical Literary Criticism successfully as they manifested the epitome of both a glimpse of Plato's Utopian society and Aristotle's understanding and response to it. The example of the birthing process was perfectly used to conduct such an example, as the majority of the class "ooh-ed" and "aww-ed" at the video of the character Rachael from the show, "Friends" as she gave birth. The entire scene was comedically presented as subtle jokes and gestures were made between Rachael and Ross. More importantly, the baby was born without the umbilical cord present as well as the "blood and guts." This "warm" and "funny" approach to pregnancy is exactly what Plato refers to as an "imitation" and "mimesis," something that the weak majority prefers over the truth of reality.

          The second video clip of an actual documentation of a woman's pregnancy was the portrayal of what Plato prefers in his Utopian society. However, in my memory, every single person in the classroom that night either cringed or looked away and snorted a quick nervous laugh in the midst of their discomfort. This response reflects a different outlook on Plato's ideal philosopher kings as a more inhumane selected group of rulers. How can an average man prefer to learn about pregnancy in such a manner without the slightest dose of discomfort? The more surprising fact is that even a video documentation is referred to as an "imitation" of reality in Plato's society. I may be the first or one of the many to ask this, but was Plato out of his mind?

Plato's Republic

           In Plato's Republic, Plato manifests his belief of truth and morality, a state of absolute reality. Therefore, Plato makes a crucial point of his disapproval in "imitation" and "mimesis." Plato exhorts his desire and hope for a Utopian society through his writing as he seeks his ideal Utopia to be ruled by a select few--a select few being, philosophers and teachers. Plato gives an example of such philosopher kings in the Allegory of the Cave, as he refers philosopher kings to be the characters who manually choose to escape the cave and experience the reality of life to its fullest degree. Philosopher kings are, therefore, more experienced and capable of leading a society having seen and lived by the truth of reality rather than an imitation. However, in the end, philosophers are but humans who have limitations in attaining knowledge and answers. Who are the teachers of such magnificent philosophers? Where then do the teachers fit in Plato's Utopian society? One of the greatest fallacies in Plato's ideal society is his ignorance to the fact that there is no limit to how much a human can learn. Every generation offers a new idea and thought-provoking insight to the world in which we live in. Hence, how can a selected group of philosopher kings grasp teachings that are beyond their time? Who selects the "selected few?" Has Plato mistaken philosopher kings as gods?

          These excerpts from the movie AntZ (1998) directed by Eric Darnell offer a glimpse of Plato's perspective on a Utopian society. The first clip reveals the epitome of Plato's fear:

Insectopia is what was thought to be an imagined place, where a government or hierarchy of any sort is nonexistent. The characters, Z and Princess Bala experience a world of absolute freedom that allow not only the characters but also the audience's imagination to flourish within its perimeters. Examples such as the use of a powder donut to represent a snow mountain, and a worm racing through a rotting apple as an insect-size roller coaster, ignite the imagination. This process allows the audience to experience child-like pleasures, which is exactly what Plato feared. Such a society and state-of-mind defeats the purpose of Plato's principle of specialization, where every being is born with a purpose in their lives. The principle of specialization separates society into three classes: the class of producers, the class of warriors, and the class of rulers. This concept is seen in the following clip: 

Darnell portrays the exact manifestation of Plato's ideal world through ants that are born with a purpose set for them on the day they are born. In Plato's society, every being has a place where they belong without being given a choice. Anything beyond its perimeters is discouraged just as the ant that was taken away for speaking about a "better place," Insectopia. Perhaps Darnell studied Plato and his philosophy before directing AntZ. 

Perhaps.