Modern Mythology 2020

9/23/2019

Angel Li 

PD 1

Today in class, we watched the first half of our summer reading book, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. During previous classes, we analyzed recurring symbols and themes throughout the book and highlighted the importance of it in a broader spectrum. Just recently, our class presented numerous ideas of what could have happened prior to the book and what would drive humans to make the choices that they do. After a full breakdown of the novel, it was time to watch the film to be able to spot what differences were made to the movie and how it can help us further our understanding of what happened.

The film starts off with a flashback of the man with his wife enjoying their life with the depiction of them smiling and laughing. I concluded this as before the child was born and during the pre-apocalyptic world, where the colors are vivid and alive. Already differing from the book where the wife plays a much smaller role. Soon after the man wakes up from the loud noise of the waterfall that he was sleeping next to, he pulls more blankets on top of the child and takes a walk outside. The scenery and everything are grayed out which shows a good portrayal of the post-apocalyptic world. During the day time, the man and the child get up to continue their journey along the road until their next checkpoint where they would settle down and take a small rest. With another flashback to the man's older life, we figured out that the child was born during or after the apocalyptic world as he is raised from their diminishing supplies. It is then revealed in the film that the wife did not want to continue on with their child because they did not have enough food to care for three people. She constantly brings up the idea of not wanting to go on with life even though the man tries his best to convince her not to go to these thoughts. In the end, the man hands her over with a gun with 3 bullets, enough for each of them. Instead, she walks out of the door and "disappears" into the darkness to not be seen again. The emphasis the film put on the flashbacks of the wife helps to clarify the questions raised in the book because the wife was mentioned only once. 

After the end of the flashback, we watch the man and the child push the "cart" that was continuously mentioned throughout the book. It gives us an image of what was in the cart and why the man was so keen on keeping it with them. It contained blankets, tools, and canned foods. Later at night, we see the "coldness" that is described by the snow or light rain creating a gloomy mood of all hope being lost. The camera then catches the two entering an abandoned house where they see hanging bodies that the boy gets a small shock from seeing. When the boy is coloring on this paper, the colors are dimmed out and seem as everything is gray regardless of which color he used. This demonstrates how post-apocalypse, everything is dead and nothing living. As the man and the child continue on the road, they stop at an house that seemed empty. This is where our film stopped.

Reflection:

 The film helped me better understand the book through its scenery and depiction of the man and child's journey so far. By showing the dead trees in the background and the dark colored theme, it creates an accurate portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world. Overall however, the book and film stayed relatively close to one another with a couple of spins, such as the voiceover and flashbacks. We learn this because it acts as a warning of what may happen when everything we know and love just disappears. In addition, it serves a deeper meaning, about survival and love. The man only kept pushing on because of his love for the child and explains why he was always so over protective. In the end, the film gives us a better insight to what the man and the child went through and allows us something we can relate to, whether is it being overprotective of a loved one, being in unfortunate circumstances where there is diminishing supplies, or being in a new situation never experienced before.