ipl-logo

Carol Renwood's Narrative Techniques In The Film 'Safe'

600 Words3 Pages

In Todd Haynes, Safe (1995) the scene opens up with everyone from camp Renwood in one room eating dinner. It is near the end of the movie and Carol has gone to this retreat to heal and be “Safe” from all the outside dangers. In this scene everyone is wishing her a happy birthday and have coerced her into giving a speech. Carol goes off on a confusing and extensive monologue during this scene. The speech reveals the change that Carol has undergone. This seen through the change that everyone has gone through toward diseases like HIV. Carol begins by stating that she has never made a speech before in her life. The director uses this opening statement to establish how privileged she's been. She has never had a job or had any responsibilities to deal with. This is contrary to the situation that she is in now. Now she has a million and one things to worry about. The director does this so that for the rest of the monologue we are able to view Carol for who she is now and not for who she was. Carol states during the speech, “Just that I really hated myself before I came here, and umm..so I'm trying to see myself as hopefully more as I am, more positive like seeing the pluses” (1:50:52). The director has established that the Carol we saw in the beginning is not the same Carol we are seeing right now. She has begun to …show more content…

She mentions AIDs, other types of diseases, and becoming more aware of such things (1:51:14). It is important to notice the position of the camera in this scene as well. Carol starts out alone on camera, but once she begins to have trouble speaking everyone jumps in to help her. When this happens the camera pans out and shows everyone helping and surrounding her. This is the director's way of showing how far Carol has come. A life in which her husband would hardly show interest in her struggles. She is now surrounded by people who understand and care for

Show More
Related
1271 Words | 6 Pages

As a maturing writer, one must evaluate literature to realize how to fully comprehend one's own writing and many other pieces of written works. The suspenseful and mysterious novel, Among the Imposters, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, presents a story imploring to be evaluated. In the novel, a young boy, Luke, has been locked away from the world as an illegal third child, he finds his opening to freedom when a deceased companion's father offers him a new identity. Readers will follow Luke on his unforgiving yet hopeful journey, as he attends his new school as a legal child. Readers will then learn the secrets to the government's prejudiced ways.

Read More
164 Words | 1 Pages

Carol made many parental mistakes. One mistake she made was taking advantage of Melinda for her own benefit. When Carol and Melinda go see John, Carol wants Melinda to convince John to get them a portable TV; “ My mother knew. “See if you can get him to buy the TV,” she said. “I bet they’ve got one for sale right nearby” (124).

Read More
464 Words | 2 Pages

In the short story “Dragonfly Eyes” the author, Alane Ferguson is commenting on the fact that a person’s true potential cannot always be seen on the surface. We see this message developed through both the character’s a-ha moments and memory moments, as well as the author’s use of flash-forward. While using memory moments Ferguson shows how Claire’s potential is able to be found. “In it I see myself and my friends as we laugh at Claire behind cupped hands. We snicker at her black clothes, her odd hair, whisper at the thickness of her thighs.”

Read More
403 Words | 2 Pages

In the selected memoir, Empty, written by Christie Pettit, the author reflects on her past actions through the text. Unfortunately, Christie struggles with negative body image and eating disorders. She struggles balancing her life: tennis; friends; family; and college studying. All of her stress take a massive toll on her overall well being, indirectly leading to severe anorexia and negative body image.

Read More
121 Words | 1 Pages

“Mrs. Doubtfire” is a 1993 comedy movie starring Robin Williams (Daniel) and Sally Field (Miranda), a San Francisco couple with three children Lydia (14), Chris (12), and Natalie (5). Daniel, a loving but irresponsible father, faced divorce filing from his wife, Miranda, and was heartbroken of the court order allowing only weekly visits with his three children. He disguised himself as a British lady, Mrs. Doubtfire, and became nanny of his own children. Miranda and kids loved Mrs. Doubtfire because she was able to keep the house clean and organized, help the children excel in school, cook healthy and delicious food, and take part in kids’ extracurricular activities, the kind of a husband he should have been in the first place.

Read More
1026 Words | 5 Pages

She then explains her and the nation’s situation: how she is HIV positive even though she’s a “healthy” human being, how there are millions of people infected with AIDS virus, and how the epidemic is still a serious problem despite everything done to prevent it. Fisher affirms that AIDS can happen to anyone, regardless the political and environmental factors, race, religion, age, or sex. She insists that this disease is a threat that should not be ignored. Even when it seems safe, it is still dangerous. It is important to act and speak eloquently about this

Read More
1619 Words | 7 Pages

Her husband isolated her from others and her child, which caused her condition to worsen because she felt that she couldn’t care for her family as she

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

Many people wonder how the post-apocalyptic obsession has lasted so long. What is it about this dangerous, grueling world that people adore so much? Is it the action? Or is it just a question of what society could turn into? Something that grabs—and holds—audiences attention is the survivor's stories.

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

This quote shows that even though Mairs sometimes has difficulty accepting her illness, she knows that there is a growing acceptance of people who must deal with the difficulties that she faces. This ultimately lends a hopeful and positive tone to an otherwise serious and depressing section of her essay. This contrast in tone, but general feeling of hope is key to the type of emotions that Nancy Mairs is trying to educate her readers about. Mair is successful in using multiple rhetorical strategies to connect with the reader.

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

Glaser effectively uses an urgent tone to help convey this message. When dissecting the tone of Glaser’s speech, the sections that were discussed were related to the topic of her personal life. Glaser essentially wants to evoke a sense of sympathy in her audience, which encourages them to make changes. Although they are spread throughout the speech, the main areas of discussion are the points in which Glaser talks about the effects AIDS had on her personally. Throughout her speech, Glaser creates a tone of urgency and desperation.

Read More
1599 Words | 7 Pages

Lastly in “The Way We Live Now,” Susan Sontag also uses uses language to bring the story to life. The conversations that the friends have among each other that helps readers picture a real situation and about the details occuring. The character diagnosed with AIDS is not named and his disease isn’t either. His friends try to encourage one another and be realistic on the fact that anyone can get ill from a disease especially

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

Everything from how her interactions with her family to her perception of her environment and how it evolves throughout the story allow the reader to almost feel what the narrator is feeling as the moves through the story. In the beginning, the only reason the reader knows there may be something wrong with the narrator is because she comes right out and says she may be ill, even though her husband didn’t believe she was (216). As the story moves on, it becomes clear that her illness is not one of a physical nature, but of an emotional or mental one. By telling the story in the narrator’s point of view, the reader can really dive into her mind and almost feel what she’s feeling.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Fisher uses powerful diction and word choice to bring the secretive disease into the light. Through her speech, “A Whisper of AIDS”, Fisher uses fear inducing logistics and powerful emotional images to sway her audience. She showed the world that the HIV virus does not strictly target homosexual men. People of all backgrounds are effected. Her speech brought about funding and increased

Read More
902 Words | 4 Pages

This has helped her overcome so much heartbreak, from losing my dad, my sister, and my brother to her own health issues and through it all her faith has never been shaken. I look at my mother with nothing less than amazement. After my dad had his heart attack and could no longer work my mom never failed to provide for all her children, we didn't have a lot but we always had enough. This made me such a humble and grateful person, and I never take anything I have for granted.

Read More
955 Words | 4 Pages

She is now recovered and is serving in the military, but she has scars from her past that will last a lifetime. I am eighteen and a senior in high school, and I was forced to grow up before my time. During thirteen years of my life we spent very poor or in an unstable household with my mother’s boyfriend, I kept good grades, never got in trouble with the law or at school, and never did drugs, I had baby-sitting jobs and when I turned sixteen, I got a job and held that job for two years. In my life I want more. To succeed I must give up who I am now to be who I want to be.

Read More

More about Carol Renwood's Narrative Techniques In The Film 'Safe'

Related Topics

Open Document