1. "Nothing is more interesting than death"
The film begins with a sketch of an eccentric old man. On the one hand, he has a negative attitude towards life and fears death; on the other hand, he is very strong. The ridicule of the petrol guy even gave him the idea of looking for a job. However, this short-term goal was quickly dispelled by the strawberry picking incident. Both he and Ethel had to deal with their dire situation - how to convince themselves to live optimistically.
Here, the film clearly explains the reality of the subject matter, that is, the problem of the elderly in modern Western society. Some people say that the United States is "a paradise for children, a battlefield for young and middle-aged people, and a cemetery for the elderly". Although there is no lack of one-sidedness, it accurately describes Norman's situation. Good economic income, knowledge level and social security cannot cure his depressed inner world. Of course, Hollywood, which has always celebrated positive values, obviously does not tell stories to the point of despair. The film also buried some upward foreshadowing, after all, Norman also has a gentle and virtuous wife, a sweet and happy love. The idea of finding a job also shows that Norman is not happy to sit and die.
In addition, Norman's stubborn and conservative old-fashioned side can be found from the opening of Norman's speech and behavior. Narrow ethnicity, homophobia, professional discrimination against dentists. Of course, none of these have transformation value. Norman's transformation is mainly focused on restoring his relationship with his daughter and regaining his vitality. 2. "How do you know what I want or not?"
When visiting his daughter and his party, Norman always used a sarcastic tone to cause embarrassment, which shows the seriousness of the father and daughter's "feud" and contradictions. However, these contradictions are obviously based on communication and misunderstanding, which shows the possibility of repairing the relationship between the two.
In fact, Norman's true state of mind is hidden behind the ridicule. Norman's visit to his daughter appeared to be indifferent but full of expectations; in addition to his eccentric personality, Norman's harassment to Bill could also be seen as a sign of considering his prospective son-in-law. Later, agreeing to take in Billy for a month also showed his emotional attitude towards his daughter; Even Billy's swear words and excessive openness showed a little anxiety.
Of course, his daughter doesn't know these mentalities. He disguised himself with meanness and expressed his emotions with roars, all of which were misunderstood and embarrassed. Maybe he should have seen his heart through the exterior, as Ethel said, but it was just a twilight lion who roared to express his right. The resentment of life, the pursuit of emotion. Later, when Norman persuaded Billy to stay, he said, "I'm 67 years older than you, how can you figure out what I want and what I don't want?" A pun to explain Norman's distress and pity. 3. "You're not cold anymore"
Norman's change was materialized with Billy's intervention. Fishing allowed Norman to regain his goals, no longer idle, and his life gradually became more energetic; making friends with Billy also learned to apologize and give in, and getting along with equals gradually calmed Norman, John Silver-style roaring in the fireplace incident Completely ended.
Thirteen-year-old Billy evokes Norman's sleeping fighting spirit, his true self, on the one hand, and Norman's hidden love for his daughter on the other. Unconsciously, Norman has regarded Billy as Chelsea, and the long-hidden unconscious desire finally appeared. In fact, a father is often a serious image who is not good at words, not to mention a stubborn professor father, how can such a father easily express his love. 4. "Since he has lived for so long, let him continue to live"
The crashing incident and the conversation between the father and daughter constitute the climax of the film, and Norman's transformation is finally completed. Dead waterbirds and hitting the rocks let Norman experience death first-hand, compared to what Ethel later said when he had a heart attack, and death "was not too scary, but there was a sense of relief that it wasn't a bad place to go." The reason for the fear of death is nothing more than the unwillingness of "wasting" life, the reluctance to let go of "unfinished" life, finding the vitality of life again, knowing the meaning of life, and letting go of the old grudges with his daughter, of course, Norman has reason to be relieved and face death calmly.
Norman's "peace talks" with his daughter were still strange, but calm. The reconciliation between the father and daughter can actually be seen as part of Norman's understanding of the meaning of life, that is, the importance of human relations and family affection. Grandson Chenghuan is at his knees, father and daughter are tolerant and understanding, isn't it the best end for husband and wife to stick to each other? In other words, Norman received so-called "spiritual support".
However, Norman's ending is just the good feelings of the Americans. According to a survey, at least 500,000 elderly people over the age of 55 die by suicide in China every year. It is unimaginable how many people in this number have come this far because of fear and loneliness. Norman gave the best treatment case to China, where there are many empty nesters. The elderly need emotional comfort and spiritual motivation. People shouldn't be lonely forever, but people can't be like Zhang Aijia in "Guanyin Mountain", embracing happiness with death, then society will not be in chaos.
Of course, as a realistic theme, at the end of the film, Thayer and his wife are still living together, and their children have flown away.
The above is an assignment for a drama class in college.
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