User:Paleface Jack/sandbox
Themes and analysis
[edit]Multiple interpretations
[edit]Scholars and academics have offered many possible readings of Begotten; film critics are similarly divided on their interpretations. Ryerson University professor Carolyn L. Kane argues that Begotten's grainy and decayed visual style invites differing interpretations from the audience. Kane concludes that the film's ambiguity also functions as an allegory to the viewer's uncertainty, in what she describes as "the hermeneutic of the image".[1]
Death and rebirth
[edit]Begotten, like all of Merhige's films that followed it, has been highlighted by writers for its themes of mortality and death.[i] Critic Elaine Dutka suggests that Merhige's exploration of mortality and death in his films may originate from a near-death experience in his youth.[5]
Death
'Merhige's experiences
Decay
Exploration of violence
[edit]In the film, Begotten's main characters are subjected to acts of extreme violence.
Religion, mythology, and the occult
[edit]Christianity and motifs
Creation mythology
Alchemy and hermeticism
The film's opening sequence has been the focus of some publications, who have written on its symbolic qualities.
Other interpretations
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- https://www.newspapers.com/article/anchorage-daily-news-dark-shadows/156019072/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/palm-beach-daily-news-director-e-elias/155793662/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/illinois-times-cat-and-mouse-with-a-tant/155793363/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-director-merhige-has/155793201/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-naples-daily-news-video/155792995/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-nosferatu-wit/155792791/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-merhige-a-tip-of-the-h/155792638/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-out-of-the-shadows/155792556/
- ^ Kane 2019, p. 197.
- ^ Stephens 2000.
- ^ DiMatteo 1991, p. 2.
- ^ Ferrier 2023.
- ^ a b Dutka 2004a, p. 51.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-roman> tags or {{efn-lr}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-roman}} template or {{notelist-lr}} template (see the help page).