It is apparent that considerable time was spent
in the conception and implementing of this project. There are both strong thematic
and technique elements evident throughout, which help to create a cohesive and
tangible message. At the same time there is an open?ended quality to the narrative
that ? allows the viewers to make their own observations about the meaning(s).
From the opening scenes of Megan looking into the mirror, to the swing flying
overhead it is obvious that the experience of youth is a central theme. The
message is layered further with the introduction of an older self in relief.
The mirroring of the fire's flame in the long hair of Danielle, not only shows
a consideration of technique, but also refines the message to encompass its
antithesis of youth in repose; time's passage. Another shot where this attention
to framing is effective is where the focus shifts from leaves in close-up to
a shot of Megan framed by the leaves in an arbor.
The arbor functions in the same capacity as the other thematic elements in this
magickal mystery tour of youth. There is an occult quality to the arbor; it
represents a place of escape from the quotidian. It also furthers the mystery
created by the box. The box acts as a space delineated from the observer's view.
This proves to be one of the most powerful thematic elements throughout the
piece. Everybody wants to see what is in the box. In the same way, in both circumstances,
the scenes in the barn with the airplane create mystery and further the trek
into the haunts of youth. You can almost smell musty wood and feel sticky strands
of cobwebs clinging to you as she enters the dark.
The spontaneity and otherness of childhood experience was most beautifully expressed
in Megan's walk over the mushrooms. An image perhaps as ubiquitous as the looking
glass is a young child in a field of grass amongst a faerie ring... "One side
will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter' says
the Caterpillar. This is in no way dismissive of your use of the image as it
solidifies the theme of youthful experience without appearing contrived or forced.
Both this scene and the swings are so evocative of childhood memories that it
is hard not to be transported into a nostalgic reminiscence of the child in
the mirror of our mind's eye.