Audition

Symbolism in Audition

A brief summary; A man named Aoyama's wife passed away. He is incredibly lonely. His friend suggests hosting "auditions" to find him a new prospect wife. During the auditions he meets Asami. She is beautiful and her emotions are intricate. He is fascinated by her, and although her references do not check out and his friends warn him against seeing her, he decides to start a relationship with her. They sleep together and after that she becomes possessive and obsessive. He tortures him, using a piano wire to cut his foot off. His son comes home and begins fighting with her. Aoyama wake briefly and finds himself in bed with Asami after they had sex. They suddenly his son has pushed her down the stairs and kills her. After dying she apologizes to him for being crazy.

It is my belief that Asami's true character is never really shown during the course of this film. She rather serves as a apparition of Aoyama's perceptions of her. She submissive nor psychotic. Her actions and behaviors seem to mimic the stages of their relationship. He begins projecting his guilt and lust onto her which converts her into the crazed villain we see at the end of the movie. I also believe that the part of the movie after they have sex is not really happening. It is a dream, once again affected by Aoyama's guilt. He wakes up briefly during the torture scene. He sees Asami being sweet to him. He falls back asleep and into the dream again. After seeing Asami sleeping his perception of her in the dream changes. After dying she apologizes for being crazy and acts sane and kind.

The film has much symbolism in it. At the beginning of the film Aoyama spills liquor onto Asami's resume. This leads to the idea that his vision of her is blurred and disorientated, like someone who is intoxicated. The removal of feet represent the inability to leave or "run around."It relays the feeling of being trapped or stuck in his relationship with Asami. The tongue, ear and finger represent traditional fears in relationships, such as lying, not listening, and intimacy. His son killing Asami represents that his son "saved" him after the death of his wife. He constantly refers to Asami as perfect, leading us to believe that she is more of his idea of her than truly a person.

Interview WIth A Vampire

 Book v.s. Movie

Sexual Undertones

After comparing Interview with a vampire film and book version i have come to find a few differences and make assumptions as to why changes were made to the film. From the beginning of the movie on though out there are some big changes to the story line. Louis is a plantation owner in both, however in the book his brother dies and in the movie his wife dies. I believe this is possibly to dispel the homosexual undertones in Louis and Lestat's relationship. Having Louis's wife die whom he loves unconditionally very much tells the viewer, "LOUIS IS STRAIGHT." This makes the movie more mainstream. It also doesn't help that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were cast as Louie and Lestat in order to attract female fans. 

Another change that movie writers made was making Claudia older in the movie than the book. In the book she is 5-6 and in the movie she is 12. She bonds with Louie, however as her mind grows older her body stays permanently in the form of a child. There are definitely sexual undertones in her relationship with Louie and her hatred towards her never aging body. He can also never reach emotional maturity. The writers of the movie made her older most likely to take out pedophiliac and incestuous undertones. 

Ann rice was extremely interested in sex, especially non-traditional sex.  She brings sexual undertones into Interview With a Vampire. I think the writers of the movies tried to take out as many sexual undertones that were not strictly, HETEROSEXUAL, in order to attract a larger viewing audience. 

Other Differences Between Book and Movie

1. Louis bites the interviewer in the book, and in the movie he throttles him.
2. The interview sets off to find Lestat in the book at the end, and in the movie Lestat is already waiting for him in his car and bites him. 
3. Louis and Claudia never encounter then mindless group of vampires on their way to pairs in the movie like they do in the book. 
4. Drinking dead man's blood has no effect in the book, but can kill vampires in the movie.
5. Lestat never comes to paris in the movie, like he does in the book. 

Gothic Frankenstein

Notes on Gothic

• Stone, ornate, architecture
• The occult
• Gargoyles
• Crows
• Horror
• Romanticism
• Blood
• Mystery
• Religion, mainly Roman Catholicism
• Candles
• Dramatic lighting (film)
• Storms
• Gloomy and dark atmosphere
• Set mostly at night
• High emotion, tension and intensity
• Superstition
• Family curse
• Submissive roles for females
• Family tragedy
• Destiny, prophecy
• Mysterious noises, music, footsteps, shadows, laughter

Response to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Hailey Patalano

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley combines elements of gothic and horror fiction, however it is not considered to be a gothic fiction. This book falls into the category of "gothic" for many reasons. It has most of, if not all of the points described above. There is something highly unnatural about the way in which Frankenstein creates his monster. There is a eerie mystery surrounding how he gathers body parts for the monster and is able to bring the dead back to life. This sense of the occult or supernatural is very commonly found in Gothic literature. Not only is the way the monster is created unnatural but so is his life, as well as Frankenstein's obsession. Victor's behavior and the monsters horrifying appearance make them both isolated from human interactions. The reader is made fully aware of the monsters extreme solitude when he claims, “The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge.”  There is a high intensity and dramatic language which also lends to the Gothic tones. Although Victors laboratory is not a standard Gothic castle it has the same mystery and gloomy appeal as a traditional gothic setting. The stormy weather and lighting also contributes to gothic gloom. This novel has many gothic aspects especially in the dialogue,atmosphere, tone, and sense of desolation and isolation.