Hildy Schott Tradition and Change: Athens, Rome, and Hollywood 11/12/08 The Mirror s Revelation When the child encounters its reflected image, it wrongly discerns a whole, unified person (Miller, 478). In other words, a reflection shows the physical aspect of a person, but it cannot convey thought, personality, or any internal property. Or does it? The cinema begs to differ. Some (but certainly not all) films use mirrors in order to accentuate personality and thought, often inspiring some insight into the characters of the film. Why, then, is it difficult (or even wrong as Miller claims) to perceive a whole person through reflection in real life, but easy and encouraged to do so in cinema? The answer lies in film s ability to manipulate what the spectator looks at through use of cinematography and mise-en-scene. Since a scene can be shot from any angle and make use of any props, a shot that focuses on a character through reflection often deliberately tries to offer insight into desires. It might also draw attention to and make a statement about a person s animus and anima, the internal expressions of masculinity and femininity which become balanced in the psyche through positive experiences with the opposite sex. The two romantic fairytales La Belle et La Bete (Jean Cocteau, 1946) and Pretty Woman (Garry Marshall, 1990) both use mirrors to emphasize desire both sexual desire and desire for a balanced psyche through the presence of the opposite sex. The mirror plays a central role in revealing desires in the story of La Belle et La Bete. Since the Beast s mirror is magical, it can show the onlooker the image of another person (among other things). As a voyeur, or one who likes to watch but not be watched, the Beast does not use the mirror to look at himself (for he hates his own hideous image), 1
but rather to take sexual pleasure in watching Belle. The magic mirror first reveals the Beast s erotic desire for Belle when he sneaks into her room, finds her gone, and anxiously demands to the mirror Where is Belle? (Frame One). His most evident reason to watch her through the mirror is that he is afraid she has escaped the castle, breaking the deal the Beast made with her and her father. But underneath this motive lies a more sinister and sexualized objective to watch Belle. Although the mirror is able to reflect the subject in front of it, the Beast uses the mirror to see Belle, not to see himself, suggesting that the Beast only wants to use the mirror to fulfill his desires. Even when Belle s image fades from the mirror, the mirror fails to reflect the Beast, and instead fades to pure blackness (Frame Two). Further, the cinematography here allows the audience to focus on Belle and objectify her from the position of the Beast. The shot of her in the mirror is from the Beast s point of view, and his hands and the frame are out of focus, emphasizing Belle s feminine, flowing robe and hair. When his hands finally do come back into focus, they caress the mirror (and Belle s figure in it), demonstrating his longing to touch her (Frame Two). Lighting, too, helps to make the Beast s intentions seem more sinister. Belle, whose ethereal dress, face, and hair glow in the full lighting, seems pure. In contrast, the mirror casts a shadow onto the Beast s face that ends just below his eyes. This shadow, then, emphasizes his eyes and his voyeuristic gaze (Frame One). Later on, Belle similarly longs for the Beast and takes pleasure in watching him in the mirror. Just like the Beast, she reaches for/caresses the mirror when his image fades, signifying her desire (Frame Three). The difference between these two events, though, is that Belle s body appears in the frame of the shot while she looks into the mirror, instead 2
of a point of view shot like the Beast s. This shot emphasizes Belle s body in conjunction with the Beast s image, and the fact that she lies down in a bed while longing for the Beast sexualizes her gaze. Earlier in the film, when Belle s feelings conflict more, a different mirror serves to illustrate her feelings of uncertainty toward the Beast. Belle paces impatiently for the monster to arrive at dinner, and when he finally appears, the camera rises above her head, following her gaze, to shoot the Beast s arrival through the large mirror above the fireplace. This shot depicts the staircase at an odd angle, as though the camera itself is canted, which creates a tone of uncertainty and chaos. Her line, I confess I was very impatient to see you, carries a dual meaning. Outwardly, she is impatient because she wishes to speak to the Beast about leaving and seeing her father, but paradoxically, she craves the Beast s company. Use of reflection in Pretty Woman also demonstrates desire between characters. In one scene, Vivian tries to leave Edward before their week together has ended. He attempts to convince her not to go, and she decides that she will stay. At the same time, the mirrored elevator doors close, filmed almost as a point of view shot (Frame Eight). If it were a full point of view shot, Vivian would be able to see her own reflection, for she stares straight ahead into the doors for most of the scene (Frame Seven). Yet the only person reflected is Edward, implying that she thinks of him through the whole scene even though it seems like she ignores him. This shot implies that she does desire him, and after the elevator doors close, she finally looks directly at him, speaks to him, and forgives him. In turn, the mirror s presence allows for the camera to reveal Edward s desire for her, despite the fact that he does not stare into it. Rather, like the Beast, all his attention is on the girl, not his own reflection, which stresses his longing for her. Finally, lighting, 3
too, implies romance in this scene despite the Vivian s coldness. A pinkish tint to the walls and wood surrounding the mirror (much whiter in other shots) creates an atmosphere of love and warmth between the two. Use of reflection can also reveal imbalances or balances of anima/animus. For Belle and the Beast, in lustfully desiring the opposite sex, the two also desire completion of their personas. In the same scene where the Beast watches Belle through the mirror, the camera never connects the two in the same shot (besides the Beast s hands). Rather, it cuts between shots of the Beast s face and shots of Belle in the mirror, always separating them. The mirror itself does not even connect the two images, for it fades to black rather than to the Beast s reflection when Belle s image disappears. The constant separation of the two subjects on camera implies that Belle and the Beast have not yet formed a bond that will connect them and join their anima/animus together. The same situation occurs while Belle waits for the Beast to arrive at dinner Belle looks up at the mirror but the camera tracks above her so that only the Beast appears in the shot and in the mirror. Their separation in this scene still makes sense because Belle still feels ambivalent toward the Beast. He is her captor, but she does enjoy his company. Later, however, when Belle looks into the mirror while she is free, her maturity and subsequent full reciprocation of sexual and emotional desire toward the Beast allows for both of their images to appear in the magic mirror in the same shot (Frame Three and Frame Six). The fact that the camera finally bonds the two together in the mirror suggests that their relationship is deep enough for their missing anima/animus to be fulfilled. Use of close-ups and long shots also enforces this fulfillment. In the two mirror scenes where Belle and the Beast are not connected, the mirror shows the characters through long shots, implying that sex and a 4
complete psyche are unattainable, or out of reach at these points in the narrative. Yet when Belle looks into the magic mirror toward the end, she sees the Beast in a close up, signifying that finally, a connection is attainable. Pretty Woman similarly suggests that Edward Lewis, a workaholic and lifeless business man, needs something more to his persona than he has at the beginning of the film. Vivian Ward inspires this something more, this vividness so to speak, in him, and the use of the mirror from the elevator scene illustrates not only their sexual desires, but that Edward s persona is incomplete without her. In the scene, both characters should reflect back when the elevator doors close, each on the opposite door. But only Edward s reflection appears elegant flowers replace Vivian s image (Frame Eight). Her missing image shows how Edward is unbalanced without her. Also, since the flowers in the hallway take the spot where Vivian should reflect back in the mirror, the film suggests that what he needs to fill this hole is femininity. The flowers and femininity together form an especially powerful reference to springtime and rebirth, hinting that Edward needs to be reborn, to reawaken as a complete person with the help of Vivian s vibrant existence. Furthering this point, the flowers in this scene always appear in Vivian s shots, but Edward only shares the frame with the flowers in the mirror shot, where they stand in for her image. The woodwork on the mirror even implies that Edward is fragmented without her, for it breaks him into several separate images. The flowers, on the other hand, remain mostly intact in two panes compared to Edward s six (Frame Eight). But not only do the separate panes fragment Edward, they suggest that he is trapped, confined to his own lifeless world unless Vivian, not trapped by the bars, balances his animus. Just as in La Belle et La Bete, a later image shows the two lovers together in a reflection, finally. 5
While Edward and Vivian play chess after the opera, both reflect in the un-fragmented table (Frame Nine). At last they have a close enough relationship for their anima/animus to complete each other, further demonstrated when Vivian kisses Edward on the mouth (the most intimate act) the next night. Mirrors, then, can indeed reveal more than just a straight reflection of the physical image. When combined with cinematographic elements, mirrors can expose desire and missing parts to a persona. They can also signify when this persona is whole. For Belle and the Beast, the use of the magic mirror mostly reveals their desire for each other, and the cinema then implies when they have or have not yet balanced each other s soul. Reflections in Pretty Woman also serve a similar purpose to reveal desire and suggest when the two have formed a deep bond beyond just the physical by showing both together in one reflection. Although there is less use of mirrors in Pretty Woman (the characters do not have a magic mirror that allows them to gaze upon the other), the reflections are no less significant. The sparse use of reflection, perhaps, makes these images even more noteworthy when they do appear. La Belle et La Bete, though, more obviously illustrates the importance of the mirror by the characters active use of it. In any case, both films encourage the audience to use the mirror to see something more than just a reflection. 6
Frame One Frame Two Frame Three Frame Four Frame Five Frame Six 7
Frame Seven Frame Eight Frame Nine Book Source: Miller, Toby, and Robert Stam. Film and theory: an Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000. 8