Eyes Wide Shut and Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey
In the late 1970s, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick discovered a short story by psychologist and philosopher Arthur Schnitzler called Traumnovelle, or "Dream Story". Penetrating into the precise mechanisms that govern human desire, emotion, and fantasy, the story caught Kubrick's imagination, and became his pet project that he would devote the rest of his life to, along with the unfinished epics "A.I." and "Napolean Bonaparte". Unfortunately, AI is being produced as I type by Steven Spielberg. This may sound all great to the average moviegoer, but Kubrick's true vision was to analyze whether or not a computer that thinks and knows it is real has the right of citizenship or civil rights. Does "I think therefore I am" apply to artificial brains as they do real one's? Kubrick's version would of been beautiful. But Steven the Great is making it, so it will be an over-sentimentalized feel-good Hollywood epic instead of true art. Man, I wish Darren Aronofsky or even the Coen brother!s could have directed AI, oh well, that's another essay. Back to EWS, It was once imagined as a comedy starring Steve Martin (Kubrick also made, in my opinion, the funniest political satire ever made, Dr. Strangelove.), the story eventually was made
Alice finally slips away from the sleazy Hungarian, and Bill is called upstairs to help the host, Mr. Ziegler. It is obvious at this point that sexual temptation floats in and out of the couple's lives, but neither act upon any offers, and both are completely committed to one another, without question. Eyes Wide Shut. Moving on, the next stop on Bill' s nighttime journey is the Sonata Cafe, where he catches the end of Nick Nightingale's set. Nick has a drink with Bill, and tells him about another gig he has to play that very same night, but one in which he plays blindfolded at a secret location. So far, there have been many characters that have contributed to Bill's journey, and there will be more to come. But Nightingale is the one character who Bill trusts at this point, and for some reason they seem to be on the same plane. Nightingale tells Bill about this secret event, and Bill seems to be confident with Nick about his desires for the night: to join the group at this mysterious get-together. Nightingale gets a call, and it's someone of authority, with a password. "Fidelio". The obvious reaction to this is the similarity or translation to "Fidelity". This password will take on more significance at the event that will soon take place. Slow, ambient organ chords fill the chambers, with strange ritualistic backward singing on the soundtrack (The brilliant score by Jocelyn Pook scares the living piss out of me), and Bill enters the main hall to observe a sort of ritual: A man in a red cloak and mask is initiating a circle of nude women, all masked, as they one by one leave the circle to pick a partner. Bill is witnessing a massive sex ritual that is truly not a mere event, but an experience. He seamlessly blends in, but it is not long before a masked woman recognizes him and warns him of impending danger. The complex sub-plots of the film thicken, and Bill is drawn into a tangled web of mysterious identities and characters. Bill comes extremely close to giving himself over completely to someone, but as always, he never makes it all the way there. After several observations and interruptions, Bill is asked downstairs to the main hall and the entire group is locked in a frozen stare directed at Bill. The Red Cl! s up a conversation and a slow dance with Alice. He asks her about her marriage and her husband, and she rejects his implied sexual offers in a tipsy stupor. Bill runs into two young women who blatantly seduce him, offering to take him to "where the Rainbow ends". Both Bill and Alice have the opportunity for sex, then and there, behind their lovers' backs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ill is entering the well-guarded gates of a mansion that is symbolic of the emotional and mental "place" that Bill has been visiting--the deepest and darkest instincts and desires that have until now been neglected. This mansion is the center, the middle point of the hero's journey, time-wise and conceptually, as well as the climax of the film. If there is any scenario opposite from Bill's daily New York doctor-family life, it is what Bill is about to encounter. e overground, incidentally; fundamentally it is inward-- into depths where obscure resistances are overcome...".). The Campbellian elements in Bill's character are abundant; His journey echoes the monomyth (A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder), and the experiences he encounters while on his journey echo Campbell's depictions of the hero's own experiences, which will be talked about in greater detail in the following pages. It is important to clarify the status of our hero's journey at this point. After a glimpse of the couple's daily life and the presence of sexual opportunities for such a young, attractive, and wealthy couple, an innocent night of pot-smoking becomes a forum for the unimaginable. Just as the devastation of Alice's confessions begin to settle i
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4602
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)
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