Wendy Haslem's Essay 'Neon Gothic: Lost In Translation'

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After reading the critical essay “Neon Gothic: Lost in Translation” by Wendy Haslem, her central argument was found to be that of how Lost in Translation (Coppola,2003) presents a nontraditional approach to a romance in comparison to the expected. Haslem goes on to support her claim of an unconventional romance by using examples of scenes from the film, such as the scene where Bob and Charlotte share a goodbye kiss. In traditional romantic films, there is no mistake in understanding the intent of a kiss. However, in Lost in Translation, the intent of the kiss shared between Bob and Charlotte is not very direct and arises a lot of questions to its meaning. Another piece of textual evidence found to support the claim is the connection made between the two main characters throughout the film. One would assume that the unique bond shared between them would lead to the start of a formal relationship, but to our surprise the couple was not united at the end of the film. Again, supporting the claims of an …show more content…

Throughout the essay, many references and comparisons are made to other films. Also incorporated in the essay is the use of advance terminology; Giving indication that the author is very knowledge about film. Haslem mentions in her essay “Neon Gothic: Lost in Translation”, “In many ways Coppola’s film exhibits marks of classic European art cinema. Specifically, in her interest in stillness rather than action, Coppola recreates a similar impressionistic resonance that was initially established by filmmakers like Carl Dreyer in The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and elaborated by Michelangelo Antonioni in films like L’Eclisse (1962) and L’Avventura (1960)” (Haslem 2004). This example from Haslem’s essay provides strong evidence of her theoretical writing style and advanced knowledge in the study of