Ryan

I’m particularly taken with how Jane’s mural depicts her as intertwined with the universe in a way not too dissimilar to how you describe her relationship with ABQ. She affects the universe around her as it also affects her. I wonder what we might be able to say about the murals reflection of Walt’s epiphany about chance and odds in the fly episode.

I think this is a very well written article but the topic leaves me wanting more. I’d be more interested to know why you think Shakespeare wrote LM to be “complex.” Do you find that by having LM denounce her femininity Shakespeare is demonstrating, or subconsciously adhering to, a gender barrier for writing complex characters? Also, while I do agree that LM is one of Shakespeare’s more developed female characters, I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say she is complex. I think for her character to be considered complex, we’d need more explanation of her motivations. Her lust for power lacks complexity. Why does she want power so bad she’s willing to kill for it? The only explanation I can come up with is a feeling of powerless she might feel from everyday womanhood, or more specifically from her lost child. Yet, neither of these reasons get much written attention. This child is mentioned only once during the “unsex me ” speech and given no further context. LM also lacks interaction with other characters, only conversing with Macbeth. I’ll agree that her manipulating of her husband adds complexity to her character, but take these marital interactions out and she’s a rather isolated character. For that reason she has always seemed to me to be more of a vessel for commentary on gender rather than a complex character. Then again I’d just as quickly argue many Shakespearean characters lack complexity.

I’ve often heard interpretations of this film, focused on the symbolism or presence of oil specifically, that propose Daniel to be a victim. In these interpretations, the oil itself is the antagonist of the film — similar to its role in “Oil!”, the Upton Sinclair novel that the film is based off of. When I considered these interpretations alongside your points about isolation, I got to thinking about how Daniel is never really alone in the film’s onset as you suggest. The opening score paired with the mountain landscape shots convey the evil presence of oil under the ground, waiting to be dug up.