Monday, August 18, 2014

Shutter Island analysis - part 2: Observations on the cliff scene

CATEGORY: MOVIES

















Teddy and Chuck at a cliff's edge, from where they can see the lighthouse.





















After a brief argument, Teddy warns Chuck that he will set out alone from here, to try and find a path to the lighthouse.




















After Teddy fails to find a specific path that he had hoped would lead to the lighthouse, he returns to the spot where he left Chuck, but Chuck is gone, with the only 'clue' being a cigarette (ostensibly, Chuck's) sitting on the edge of the cliff. Note that the cigarette is lying in a position such that it's smoked portion (the ashes) hangs just over the ledge, while the filter is sitting perfectly on the ledge. It is as if Chuck (or someone else) has intentionally placed the cigarette in this specific location and position, so as to get Teddy to look over the edge of the cliff when he investigates the cigarette's presence. Also, the ashes serve as a suggestion to Teddy's unconscious mind, designed so that he will believe that proceeding down the cliff will 'lead' to his deceased wife, or to information about her; for recall that she died in a fire (although according to Teddy, it was the smoke of the fire that caused her death, not the fire itself). Note that the particular shot shown above, suggests the name of the institution portrayed in the movie: ash + cliff = Ashcliffe.





















When Teddy looks over the edge of the cliff, he sees a body below (indicated by orange arrow), at some distance out on the rocks.




















Teddy climbs down the cliff face in order to investigate the body. His descent here symbolizes a descent into Hell.





















By the time Teddy reaches the location where he saw the body, it's gone.




















Teddy sees some rodents on the rocks below the cliff. Rodents are a chthonic symbol, i.e., they represent things to do with the deities or spirits of the underworld.


    





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