Life is not simply about getting from one place to another, but instead about the journey that is found in the middle.

Life is not simply about getting from one place to another, but instead about the journey that is found in the middle.

The Empathic Civilization- Jeremy Rifkin

      Empathy and human relations are what is responsible for filling life with passion, affection and allowing individuals to understand what others are going through, along with adding a whole new element to the journey of life. The word empathy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else’s feelings.” The book The Empathic Civilization written by Jeremy Rifkin focuses on the idea of human empathy, and how humans interact and relate with one another. In Rifkin’s book he says, “Empathy is what allows us to stretch our sensibility with another so that we can cohere in larger social units” (Rifkin, Empathic Civilisation). This shows how humans use empathy to group together in a way, and live their lives with a society of people who understand what they are going through instead of living on their own. Also in this book, Rifkin discusses how often times empathy is something that is linked to pain or struggle. Rifkin states, “There's no empathy in Utopia because there is no suffering. Empathy is grounded in the acknowledgement of death and the celebration of life and routing for each other to flourish and be. It's based on our frailties and our imperfections” (Rifkin, Empathic Civilisation).  This just shows how empathy is something derived from pain and suffering, and how without pain or suffering in life, empathy would be non-existent. The main theme of the idea of empathy and how it adds to the journey of life is the fact that it is something that creates relationships, creates communities, and brings people together across the world. In The Empathic Civilization, Rifkin says, “When that earthquake hit Haiti and then Chile, but especially Haiti, within an hour the Twitters came out and within two hours some cell phone videos, YouTube; and within three hours the entire human race was in a empathic embrace coming to the aid of Haiti” (Rifkin, Empathic Civilisation). This displays how much power empathy truly possesses, and how it has the capability of bringing people from across the world together to support a country in need as a community. Clearly, empathy is something that plays a massive role in forming the lives of individuals and adding to the journey of their lives by filling them passion, affection, and the ability to relate to the struggles of other people.

Craigslist Joe- Joseph Garner

      Often times, individuals live their lives sheltered in a bubble, and stepping out of their comfort zone is the one thing that makes them truly see the adventure filled world around them. The film Craigslist Joe focuses on a man name Joseph Garner, and his month-long journey of basically living life strictly through craigslist. This film is a perfect example of how people can be so sheltered within the bubble of their self or their society that they do not realize what surrounds them, and it is not until they step outside of this bubble that they realize how much there really is to life. In this film, Garner says, “Have we been so caught up in our own lives that we don’t see life outside of our bubble?” (Garner, Craigslist Joe). This quote directly states the fact that people are commonly stuck inside of this bubble, and the only way to break out of it is to step out of their comfort zone. One way that people can step out of this bubble of comfort is by connecting with others, creating relationships, and building communities. One of the first things that Garner discusses in Craigslist Joe is exactly this, and it is shown when he says, “If you take a snapshot of America today, what would it look like? Some say we’ve lost the sense of community that used to carry us through tough times” (Garner, Craigslist Joe). This shows how forming bonds and communities is something that society has lost because of the lack of people seeking adventure and the lack of desire to step out of comfort zones in life. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone can seem scary to some, but it can return with very high rewards. Near the end of the film Garner states,           “The generosity, and the stories that they share, and the connections I’ve made in one month is so deep” (Garner, Craigslist Joe). This is just proof that often times the only way to receive certain rewards is by taking risks. In the end, the bubble some people choose to live in is something that restricts them greatly, and the only way to see the world outside of this bubble is found through taking risks and stepping out of comfort zones.

Seven Pounds

      Life is not something that can be taken for granted. It is delicate, unpredictable, and can change in an instant, so it is crucial to live everyday like it is the last. In the film Seven Pounds, there are many themes found that focus on the idea of life being such a short, fragile, and unpredictable thing. In the beginning of this film the protagonist, Ben Thomas, is talking about a car crash that he caused that killed seven people when he says, “In seven days, God created the world. And in seven seconds I shattered mine” (Seven Pounds). This shows how easily an individual’s life can be permanently changed in a matter of seconds. Another thing that is discussed in this film is the idea of life being too short to not live to the fullest, and it is never too late to change the path that an individual may be going down in life. In this film there is a scene where Ben and Emily are discussing life, and Ben states, “I haven’t treated myself very well” and Emily responds by saying, “Well start now” (Seven Pounds). This exchange of words between Ben and Emily shows the fact that there is no point in living life in sadness or regret, and that it is never too late to turn the course of one’s life around. Another theme that is found in this film that relates to the idea of not taking life for granted is the theme of hope. Towards the end of this film, Emily is talking to Ben when she says, “What if…my pager goes off…and it’s a heart…and it works? And my body doesn’t reject it? And…what if I have time? (Seven Pounds). When Emily says this it shows the hope and positive outlook she has on life, and it shows how she never takes a day for granted because for all she knows it could be her last. It is certain that life is a very short and fragile thing, and it is not something that can be taken for granted because all it takes is a few seconds for it to be changed forever.

Post-Traumatic Stress

      Post-Traumatic Stress is a great example of something that can take over one’s life, and control the way they live unless they develop a way to properly deal with the symptoms and realize that their past is something that cannot be changed. Post-Traumatic Stress is something that is very powerful and something that can single-handedly dictate how an individual lives their life. In the novel Ceremony written by Native American author Leslie Marmon Silko, the protagonist, a half-white and half-Laguna man named Tayo, severely suffers from symptoms of Post- Traumatic Stress that are present because of his time serving in World War II. When discussing Tayo, this novel states, “He was tired of fighting off the dreams and voices; he was tired of guarding himself against places and things which evoked memories” (Silko 26). This quote shows how powerful Post-Traumatic Stress can really be, and how vivid and painful some of the visions and flashbacks that people suffer from can be. Another way that the power of Post-Traumatic Stress is displayed can be seen through the difficulty that comes along with healing it. In the book The Black Echo, the author Rick Warren explains, “You can’t patch a wounded soul with a Band-Aid” (Connelly). This quote explains how it is not an easy task to heal Post-Traumatic Stress, and how it is something that doesn’t affect people just on the surface, but instead much deeper. One of the biggest aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress that causes it to take over the lives of people is the fact that it usually comes from people living in their past, and not letting go of mistakes that they made.  In the book The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I here For, written by Rick Warren, there is a quote that says, “We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it” (Warren). This just shows how although the past is something that makes individuals the way they are, they do not have to let this dictate the way they live their lives, and they can always change the direction in which their life is headed regardless of their past. Obviously, Post-Traumatic Stress is a very powerful force, and it is something that can easily take over an individual’s life unless they develop a way to properly deal with the symptoms, and avoid living in the past.

PressPausePlay

            A big part of the adventure of life is found in the media. Whether it is following trends or rebelling from them, the media plays a huge part in crafting individuals and taking them through the journey of life. The film PressPausePlay is a documentary that focuses completely on media, and the idea that the digital revolution that is taking over the world has influenced the media greatly, thus influencing people and how they live their lives. One way in which the media influences people is by bringing individuals together from all parts of the world and all parts of life to create some sort of community. In this documentary, Moby, a DJ well known for his electronic music, states, “Almost everybody I meet in the world of art, music, literature or creative expression, everybody is equally excited and afraid. Nobody really knows where their next pay-check is coming from, but they’re really excited about their ability to create and share their work” (Moby, PressPausePlay). When Moby says this it shows how everyone involved in the world of art, music, literature, and creative expression can show empathy for one another because they all go through similar experiences at some point in their lives, and they understand what each other are going through. Another thing discussed in this film, is the fact that individuals who have a true passion for producing media such as music, literature, and film aren’t doing it for the money, but instead because they want to express ideas and emotions to people across the world.  In this film, Seth Goodwin, an American entrepreneur and author, explains, “People don’t become artists because they want to become rich. They become artists because they have an idea to share. Or an emotion to share” (Seth Godin, PressPausePlay). This directly shows how individuals involved in these departments are involved simply because they have a true passion for what they do, not because they are seeking fame and money. One more very significant topic that was talked about in this documentary is the creativity that humans have. In PressPausePlay there is a quote that says, “The human spirit when it is allowed to express itself will usually make interesting things. When humans make stuff, they tend to make interesting things. Give a human a hammer and a piece of wood, or a computer and broadband and they are going to make something interesting” (PressPausePlay).  This just exemplifies how it is in the programing of humans to be creative. It is certain that the media is something that strongly influences the lives of people across the world, and this is not something that is ever going to change.

Seven Pounds of Symbolism

In film, there are many factors that blend together to create an experience for the viewer, such as the acting, editing, producing, and writing of the film; but the most important of these factors is something that is much deeper. This factor is something that connects and resonates with the viewer at a much deeper level, symbolism. Symbolism is not something that can always be identified or pointed out with ease, but nonetheless it is the element that truly makes film an art. Symbolism is defined as an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. Some forms of symbolism that are common in film include things such as colors representing emotions or feelings, the surroundings of a character representing what may be going on in their life, the lighting representing the tone or mood of the film, and many other things along these lines. Symbolism is something that can constantly be found throughout all films, whether it is something as simple as a small detail in the background of a shot that represents something, or something as significant as the theme of the film, symbolism plays a key role in bringing the viewer into the film in a sense, by filling the film with complexity, emotion, and meaning. The film Seven Pounds is a perfect example of a film that utilizes symbolism to take the viewer on a journey through the life of an individual named Ben Thomas. In this film, there are many forms of symbolism present, but the three most compelling examples of symbolism in this film are the idea of the duality of life and death, the idea of Ben literally engineering his life and death, and the idea that this film contains themes similar to that of the play The Merchant of Venice.  There are a countless number of examples of symbolism found throughout the film Seven Pounds, but these are the three core ideas that are held responsible for pulling the viewer into such an intense and emotional cinematic experience.

            The first of these three vital examples of symbolism that is found in the film Seven Pounds is the idea of duality between life and death. Although by most people life and death may be considered opposites, they are two things that cannot be separated; life is not possible without death, and death is not possible without life.  Throughout this film, there are multiple ways in which the duality between life and death that are exemplified. One example of the duality of life and death being represented through symbolism in this film can be found in the extreme long shot where Ben and Emily are playing with Emily’s dog and sitting together in a field of tall, flowing, green grass. According to the director of this film, Gabriele Muccino, the massive field that Ben and Emily are sitting in is used to symbolize all of the life that they are surrounded by even though they are both people who are filled with death. Putting Ben and Emily in this massive green field by themselves points out the fact that life is not always fair in the sense that it is not giving them the opportunity to live in the beauty that surrounds them. Another example of the duality between life and death can be observed in all of the shots that contain either just Ben, or just Emily. All of the shots that contain only Ben are generally empty and dark and there is not much going on in the background, but the shots that contain Emily are always filled with light and packed with information and objects. This symbolizes the fact that when Ben is alone, he is empty and the dark lighting symbolizes the sadness and death that he is filled with. On the other hand, all of the shots that contain Emily are filled with color and light, which represents hope and life, and this symbolizes the idea that Emily fills Ben with life, and without her he is simply filled with death. Another place where the duality of life and death can be seen is in Ben’s house. Ben’s house is a very high quality estate right on the ocean, and the outside is covered with vibrant colors, flowers, and plants, while the inside is dark, and filled with boxes and things that belonged to his fiancé who was one of seven people killed in a car crash caused by Ben. The colors and vegetation that envelope the exterior of Ben’s house represent growth and life, while the darkness of the inside of the house and his fiancé’s belongings represents death and imprisonment respectively. The reason why Ben’s fiancé’s belongings represent imprisonment is because they show the burden that is still holding Ben down. One more very important example of the duality between life and death that is found in this film is the symbol of the jellyfish. In this film, the jellyfish is something that is brought up multiple times throughout the course of the film, and plays a major role in the development of the story. The jellyfish is first discussed in the scene where Ben is bringing a pet jellyfish into his motel room, and he has a flashback to the first time he ever saw a jellyfish. During this flashback, there is a long shot that shows Ben, his brother, and his father from behind looking into a jellyfish tank at the aquarium, and this shot is very powerful because in this shot, this family is directly looking at something that will ultimately be the cause of Ben’s death. In this film, the jellyfish is symbolic of both the beauty of life, and the sadness of life and death. The fact that a jellyfish is so majestic and beautiful, yet so deadly makes it the perfect symbol for the duality of life and death. Given all of these examples, it is obvious that the duality of life and death is a form of symbolism found in this film that played a vital role in successfully delivering the message of this film, and the full experience of the film to its viewers.

            The next crucial example of symbolism that is found in the film Seven Pounds is the idea that Ben Thomas literally engineers his death. Early on in Ben and Emily’s relationship, they are discussing Ben’s life when he mentions the fact that he has an engineering degree from MIT, and he quit his job as an aeronautical engineer to become an IRS field agent. The fact that Ben is an engineer reveals a lot about his character. It shows that he is always finding a mathematical and logical answer to problems, even if the problem may not have an answer. Throughout the film, Ben is engineering both his life and his death. Ben puts a great deal of time and effort into researching medical and financial files, records, and documents, in an attempt to find individuals who truly do need his help, and he stalks their lives in a sense in order to decide whether or not they are truly good people, and deserve a life changing gift. This life-changing gift ranges from anything to the right part of his liver that he donated to a woman named Holly, all the way to his house that he gave to a woman named Connie. The common theme that each of these gifts have is that they will change permanently change, or even save the recipient’s life. One instance where Ben was stalking one of his potential recipients is when he call’s a man named Ezra, who works at a meat distribution company, and he mercilessly ridicules him for being a blind vegetarian, and Ben tells him that he is probably a virgin, and through all of this Ezra remained calm and did not get angry.  Ben did this to see if Ezra truly was a good person or not, and he did things similar to this to ensure that the recipients of his gifts were people who deserved them, and this was just another part of the process that Ben used to engineer his death.  Another instance where Ben used engineering to plan his death was through the planning of how he was going to deliver his organs to their intended recipients. There are multiple shots of Ben’s house that show stacks and stacks of medical books and documents, and this show the high amount of research that Ben did to make sure his plan went along as desired, and all the intended recipients got what they deserved. Ben also engineered his death by making certain that everything worked out mathematically. Ben counted the number of steps and time that it would take for Emily to reach the hospital from her house, the amount of time that it would take for an ambulance to reach his motel room, how long his heart would stay alive after he passed away, how to prevent his heart from being damaged during his suicide, and many other important factors along these lines. In the scene where Ben takes his own life, he calls 9-1-1 and notifies them that he is committing suicide, and kills himself by letting a box jellyfish sting him while laying in a bath of ice. Ben had a timer while he was doing this to make sure that he executed the suicide at the correct time, and he filled the tub with ice in order to keep his heart from dying which were both great examples of Ben engineering his own death. Also, in this scene of the film, there is a strong influence of symbolism.  While laying in the bathtub, there is a God’s-eye shot of Ben laying in the bathtub full of ice, slowly dying. In this shot, the tub itself represents a coffin and the ice resembles the broken glass from the car crash, which shows the link between the two events. Also, the lighting in this shot creates an eerie greenish-blue color, and the shot appears to be very empty, which both represent death and loneliness. One example of a problem that does not have an answer that Ben tries to solve anyway is just the burden that he carries from the car crash that he caused as a whole. Ben killed seven people, including his fiancé in a car crash that was caused by him reading a text message while driving, and overcorrecting and hitting another car head on. In Ben’s mind, this accident put him in some sort of debt, and he believes that he needs to repay it by saving the lives of seven other individuals, that is why he goes to these extreme measures to engineer his death in a way that will potentially save the lives of seven other people.

            This leads into the final critical example of symbolism in the film Seven Pounds, the idea that this film is based off of the basic principles of the Merchant of Venice, a play written by William Shakespeare. In The Merchant of Venice, the main character demands that anyone in debt to him in a way that is not repayable, must instead pay him back with a pound of his or her own flesh, hints the title, Seven Pounds. After the car crash, Ben feels that he is in debt and it must be repaid by helping save the lives of other people through donation.  There is a great deal of symbolism found through this idea. One example symbolism found in this idea is fairly straightforward, the fact that Ben gives seven life-changing gifts to seven different people as a way to repay his debt from the seven people he killed in the car accident.  The seven gifts Ben gave away were: donating a lung to his brother, bone marrow to a man named Nicholas, the right part of his Liver to a woman named Holly, a kidney to a man named George, his house to a woman named Connie and her children, his eyes to a blind man named Ezra, and finally his heart to Emily. This is how the concept of repaying debts found in The Merchant of Venice comes into play. Ben believed that the only way he could truly repay the debt of killing seven people was to save the lives of seven others.  Another form of symbolism related to this idea can be found in each of the organs that Ben donated, probably the most significant of these being the heart that he donated to Emily. Before Emily received a new heart, she suffered from congenital heart failure disease.  She was basically told that she was not going to survive because of how small of a chance there was of a heart being found that her body would not reject. Ben did the research and discovered that both him and Emily shared the same blood type, and he knew that he was probably going to be her only chance of survival. In one of the final scenes of the film after the transplant takes place, there is a God’s-eye shot of Emily laying in her bath tub, and in this scene she puts her ear underwater in order to hear her heartbeat. This may seem somewhat insignificant, but this scene actually contains multiple very important symbols. One of these symbols can be found in the God’s-eye shot from this scene. In this shot, the bathtub that Emily is laying in resembles a halo because of how it forms a ring around her head in a way, and this shows how Emily is in a sanctuary and it shows the angelic characteristics that she possesses.  Another piece of symbolism found in this scene comes from when Emily put her ear underwater to listen to her heartbeat.  This just shows the love that Emily and Ben shared, given the fact that Ben took his own life in order to save the life of Emily, and it shows how Ben will always both literally and spiritually be inside of her and does a great job at showing how life and death are intertwined. One more example of symbolism seen through this idea is found in the scene where Ben donates his house to a woman named Connie and her two children. Before receiving this gift, Connie was in a very rough financial state, and she, along with her kids, were treated absolutely horribly by her boyfriend. In the scene where Connie first arrives to what used to be Ben’s house, there is a note from Ben that reads, “I always believed this place could heal the soul, I hope that proves true for you.” (Seven Pounds).  Ben giving Connie this house symbolizes him giving her a soul, and this note just emphasizes that point. Before Ben gave Connie the opportunity to leave her boyfriend and live in a new house, Connie was basically trapped. There were bars over all of the windows of her house, which symbolized prison bars, and how Connie was basically imprisoned because of her boyfriend. The fact that Ben gave her this house essentially gave her a whole new life full of hope. Clearly, the symbolism found in the parallels between this film and Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice are one of the factors that makes this film so powerful, emotional, and truly immerses the viewer into the film.

            Obviously, in film there are countless factors that combine to create a true experience for the viewer, and immerse them into the film.  These factors range from the editing process of the film, to the scripting of the film, to the acting in the film, and everything found in between. Also, these factors can be found in very small and intricate details such as the color of a shot or the framing of a shot, or they can be found in much larger things such as the theme or storyline of the film. Having said this, it is undeniable that the most significant of these factors is something that cannot be found simply lying on the surface of the film, but instead something much deeper. This factor is symbolism. Symbolism is the single most important thing that makes a film the way it is. Symbolism is what truly portrays the emotion and the story of the film to its viewer, and it is what pulls the viewer into the film and makes them feel as if they are a part of the experience.  The film Seven Pounds does a great job at displaying the importance of symbolism in film. In this film there are many forms of symbolism present, but the three most significant are the idea of the duality of life and death, the idea of Ben literally engineering his life and death, and the idea that this film is full of themes similar to that of the play The Merchant of Venice.  There are massive amounts of different examples of symbolism found throughout the film Seven Pounds, but these three are what truly invite the viewer into the experience of the film, and capture them emotionally with such an intense cinematic experience.

Breaking Bad Analysis

This picture from the television show "Breaking Bad" does a great job at representing the idea of low-key lighting. In this image, most of the background is darker, which puts the primary focus on Walter. Also, Walters face is divided using light, the right side of his face is dark while the left is light. This represents the struggle that Walter is going through, and how he is basically split between good and bad and how he pretty much lives two different lives. Also the fact that the lit part of Walter's face is turned away from the camera shows that he is in a way turning away from good and going in a bad direction, and the way that the darkness covers most of his face shows how the bad side of his life is taking over.

This image from "Breaking Bad" is a great example of deep space. In this scene Walter is positioned very close to the camera, while his wife is across from him, farther away from the camera. This represents how
Walt and his wife are pretty much completely against each other, and do not agree with what the other party stands for. Also the fact that Walt is in the dark and his wife is in the light represents the fact that Walt has gone from being with his wife and living a more innocent life, to being in the dark, losing innocence, and being involved with bad things.

This image from "Breaking Bad" is an excellent example of frontality. This image makes the viewer feel less like they are looking into a separate world, but more like they are right there in the scene. This image makes the viewer feel like they are face to face with these two individuals, and it makes them really feel the suspense and intensity of this moment in the show.

The costumes in this scene from "Breaking Bad" may seem somewhat insignificant, but they actually play a huge role. The suits that the twins are wearing throughout the series and in this scene represent the authority that these two individuals have, and the fact that they are both always wearing similar suits represents the unity and companionship between the two.

This image does a great job at conveying the power of spacing in film. The spacing in this particular image represents how Joey, Walt, and Skyler (Walt's wife) are all so far from being close to each one another and so far from being similar people. The fact that they are all on different sides of the table shows how they all have very different viewpoints on things in life from one another.

Obviously, the viewer of this image from "Breaking Bad" will instantly be drawn to the high contrast color of the blood on Hank's hand, and this is important because the color red gives the viewer a sense of discomfort and pain, which represents not only he pain Hank is going through because of his injury, but also the pain he is causing to another individual with the gun in his hand, the pain that it causes him to hurt or kill another individual, and the emotional pain that everyone is going through at this point in the series.


In this image the primary color that fills most of the background is red, and in this situation the use of this color portrays the rage and anger that Walt is currently experiencing, and it helps the viewer understand what Walter is going through by emphasizing the emotion in the scene.

In this image, the idea of an extreme close-up is used to pretty much force the viewer see the emotions of Hank, because his face fills basically the entire frame. This is important because it makes the viewer feel like Hank is focusing his emotions onto them, thus letting them feel his emotions. This is another method used to make the viewer feel less like they are watching something from a different world, and more like they are a part of whatever they are viewing.

This is a great example of how a long shot can be successfully used in film. In this scene Hank is being attempting to walk with the assistance of another man and a walker. This long shot aspect of this image represents the idea that Hank has just begun the journey to recovery, and still has so much more to go.

This concept of "depth of field" is represented perfectly in this image. The focus of image is on Skyler who is looking at the camera, while Walter is out of focus in the foreground looking away from the camera towards Skyler. This technique is very important in this situation because it makes Skyler appear to be in a dominant position in regards to Walter.