Megan

Tribley 3/2/09 Eng101-01 Essay 3 Bryan Nowak Garden State: A Journey of Self Discovery

Many people remember the moment when they realize who they really are.

For some it is never really an issue; they have just always been that comfortable, but for the rest, there is a moment when we realize our true selves. Through symbolism, character development, and camera shots, the filmmakers tell the story of Andrews (Zach Braff) journey to self-enlightenment in the movie, Garden State. The film starts out with Andrews dream. He is on an airplane about to crash,

sitting between a mother with a newborn and an old woman. The use of this particular scene represents Andrews life is quickly falling apart and he is too numb to become conscious of it. The representation of the woman with a baby, and the old woman shows the two typically vulnerable ages in our society, showing that in a time of disaster, Andrew seems unwilling to help either party. So they continue to wail and scream, as Andrew sits in the middle, insensitive to all the turmoil around him. This sets the monotone mood of the beginning of the movie. After the dream, the viewer experiences a typical day in Andrews life through scenes filmed in colors like white and gray are used a lot. Again, this shows how lifeless Andrew is living and how there seem to be no joy, yet no sadness either. The audience gets the hint that this guy is not completely with it. As Roger Ebert says in his review of the film, When Andrew arrives at work in Los Angeles and notices that the spigot from a gas pump, ripped from its hose when he drove away from a gas station, is still stuck in

 his gas tank. Something like that tells you a lot about a persons state of mind (Ebert). Many of the major symbols are related to the colors used. For example,

Andrews house is white, gray and other monotone colors to represent the lifelessness and dullness that has dominated Andrews life. However, when he goes to Sams house, there are warm colors, noise, and life. Even in the color of clothing, the symbolism fits the characters personality. When the audience first meets Andrew, he wears white. He acts like the color itself; reflecting peoples comments, ideas, and basically the world. Soon he begins to wear darker colors like dark grays and browns; he begins to accept some input and open bit by bit. In some of the last scenes, Andrew wears a maroon/red colored t-shirt. As for Sam, played by Natalie Portman, she always seems to be wearing colors. From the pink jacket we first meet her in to the blue she wears in the end. These symbolic choices in colors reflect the characters personalities. Many of the characters in the film play an important role in Andrews

character development. He is by far the most complex character. He starts the movie quiet, numb and gray. What the other characters do is help guide Andrew out of his zombie like state and into the joys and wonders of life. Andrew meets up with a high school buddy, Mark (Peter Sarsgaard) at his mothers funeral. Mark is such a colorful, sure-of-himself guy that it does not seem right he would be working as a gravedigger. Throughout the movie, the audience sees Mark as a free loving, stoned out friend who lives life sporadically and randomly. The purpose of Marks character is to put Andrew in awkward situations that force him to awaken and

 speak his mind. In a line toward the end of the movie where Mark and Andrew are having a conversation and Andrew has a hard time saying what he needs to say, so Mark actually says, Speak, literally demonstrating what he has been implicitly forcing Andrew to do the whole movie. Sam is the fun loving girl next door who is full of life and lives it to the point

of tears. She meets Andrew at the neurologists office. Her light humor and uniqueness shows Andrew what he has been missing out on. Instead of forcing him to open his eyes, she shows him how to live with himself honestly. In the movie, she says many lines that are common life quotes. For example, when they are at the bar, she tells him, If you cant laugh at yourself, lifes gonna seem a whole lot longer than youd like (Garden State). Her optimistic attitude allows Andrew to open up even more, sharing insight to his past that he has never talked about before with anyone. She truly brings out the best in him. Another key element that made this movie unique is the camera shots.

Typically in these drama/comedy movies, there are many fast paced shots of the actors. In Garden State, the camera was more solitary and stationary. One of the commonly used shots throughout the film was the shot where the camera stands still while the actors walk or drive by. The camera does not follow the characters, but rather holds the position until they leave the frame. Another unique style to the movie is the wider frames. Many times in the movie, the camera is zoomed out more achieving a wider shot. Close ups of the actors are reserved for when they are in deep conversation. In a way, the camera shots symbolize the intimacy of the relationship and conversations the actors have with one another. The third camera

 angle I found unique to the film is the use of the exiting and entering shots. The

panning out of a scene usually ended with a birds-eye view of the actors. Similarly, many entering shots began from the sky, then focusing down onto the action. Many movies contain symbols, deeply developed characters, and interesting

camera shots. However, I was surprised as to how many of each of these key elements I noticed in Garden State. The story did not contain a lot of dialog; therefore, body language, and use of colors play a key role in creating the mood and message of each scene. By the end of the movie, the audience knows the characters and has witnessed the rebirth of a close friend. This movie lives up the expectation of arty camera shots and dialog. For all of the bad events these characters go through, it leaves the viewers satisfied and smiling.

 Works Cited Ebert, Roger. Garden State. Chicago SunTimes. August 6, 2004. Garden State. Dir. Zach Braff. Perfs. Zach Braff, Natalie Portman. Focus Features, 2004.