The ComingofAge Theme in Shes Coming Undone and Girl, Interrupted

1
The Coming-of-Age Theme in Shes Coming Undone
and Girl, Interrupted

• Use of Setting and Techniques

2
Group Members on Coming-of-Age Theme

• Rasheeda Phillips
• Sarah Raymond
• Saria Druan
• Kayla Ten Cate

3
Coming of Age and Crisis in SCU

• Dolores had to overcome all horrible events of
  childhood (rape, mothers problems, dad leaving,
  etc.)
• Self esteem
• Grandmothers pressure to be a lady and
  religious.

4
Coming of Age and Crisis in GI

• Accepting her problems and admitting she had one.

5
Overcoming the Crisis in SCU

• Hospital and psychiatrist work.
• Maturing

6
Overcoming the Crisis in GI

• Therapy with Valerie and Dr. Wick
• Friends support (stood up for her)
• Journal

7
Similarities in Coming-of-Age Theme

• Both overcome problems in hospital therapy
• Both had friends support
• Parents not so much help/cause of problems

8
Memorable Coming-of-Age Quotations and Moments in
the Works

• GI-at end when Susanna talks to Tobey. I tried
  to kill myself.
• SCU-writing letters to grandma
• Jack had an affair with her mom
• Mr. Pucci before he dies, tells D _at_ love, able to
  accept marriage and love from Thayer.

9
Group Members on Television

• Rebecca Mitchell
• Molly Moskal
• A.J. Maljevic
• Amy Fredrickson

10
Television Programs in SCU
Queen for a Day Tic Tac Dough 64000
Question Winner Take All The Ed Sullivan
Show Love of Life Threes Company MASH Th
e Twilight Zone
11
Specific Televisions in SCU

• Doloress first memory is of the delivery men
  moving in the first T.V at 4 years old
• For her 15th birthday, Dolores mother bought her
  a T.V, but then cut the cord so she would go to
  the doctors.
• T.V set in her apartment not shared with Dante
  he thought that it was mind-dulling
• Dolores, at the end of the book, bought a big
  screen T.V with satellite dish from settlement
  check she ends up returning the T.V

12
Role of Television in SCU

• Escape into illusionary world for Dolores
• Comforter in hard times
• TV raised her
• Watched it at pivotal moments in her life, such
  as when her Mom died and Neil Armstrong landed
  on the moon.

13
Television in GI

• Main T.V. is usually seen in the film in
  Claymoore in the social room.
• T.V. in Daisys apartment, which is turned on
  when Susanna and Lisa arrive.

14
Use of Television in Pivotal Scenes in GI

• T.V. is the window to the outside world.
• Shows the draft of Toby, Death of MLK, opening of
  Disneyland as well as the Wizard of OZ
• The T.V. is used to show the sequence of time.
  (Montage)

15
Purpose of Television in the Two Works

• The T.V is used to show important information as
  well as keep a timeline of current events during
  the time period of both Girl, Interrupted and
  Shes Come Undone.
• T.V acts as a comfort to both Dolores and the
  girls at Claymoore. It keeps them connected to
  whats happening in the real world.

16
Group Members Music and Art

• Emily Lincoln
• Stacy Striekauskas
• Meghan Fluckinger

17
Music in SCU

• Respect
• Mocking Bird Song
• Worms song that Jeannette and Delores used to
  sing

18
Importance of the Song Shes Come Undone

• Delores was able to express her feelings through
  songs.
• She had a rough life and was confused and found a
  way out through songs.

19
Music in GI

• Downtown
• Played twice at both turning points in story
  line.
• End of the World
• It showed when daisy committed suicide and song
  was relevant.
• How To Fight Loneliness - Wilco  It's All Over
  Now Baby Blue - Them feat. Van Morrison 03.The
  Weight - The Band  
• Got A Feelin' - The Mamas The Papas
•  Time Has Come Today - The Chambers Brothers
•  Comin' Back To Me - Jefferson Airplane
•  Angel Of The Morning - Merrilee Ruch The
  Turnabouts
• The Right Time - Aretha Franklin
•   The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis
•   Downtown - Petula Clark
•   Original Motion Picture Score (tracks 11 - 29)
  - Mychael Danna

20
Importance of the Painting GI
Looking off to side being distance from the world
around her. Maybe she feels lost or confused
about wheres she supposed to be in life.  
21
Group Members on Sixties

• Caitlin Ferraiolo
• Angela Howell
• Shannon Lusebrink

22
1960s General Historical Events Mentioned in
Both Works

• Vietnam War
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• JFK
• First moon landing
• Civil rights movement
• Womens movement
• Hippie culture (drugs, sexual freedom)
• Music The Beatles, Woodstock

23
Specific Historical 60s Events in SCU

• Moon landing the night Delores mom dies
• Popularization of TV
• The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
• Woodstock- Larry and Ruth
• Beginning of the environmentalist movements- the
  beached whales
• Music of the sixties- RESPECT, Abbey Road-Paul
  McCartney being dead

24
Specific Historic 60s Events in GI

• Assassination of MLK
• Draft- Toby wants Susanna to leave the hospital
  and go to Canada with him.
• Hippies- When Susanna and Lisa escape, the stay
  with some Hippies for a while.
• Music- Downtown and End of the World
• JFK signs
• Opening of the new Disney Land
• Homosexuality listed as a mental disorder

25
Relation of Time Period in SCU to Theme

• Radical social change- goes to college
• Experimentation with drugs and sex -smokes with
  Naomi, Larry and Ruth
• Sleeps with Dottie
• Mom is very sexually active (Jack)
• Television in the sixties- it is brand new,
  follows her throughout her life

26
Relation of Time Period in GI to Theme

• Social change- affects the way people were viewed
  to have had mental illness. (homosexuality)
• Sexual freedom- What kind of sex isnt casual?
  first definitions of promiscuity
• Drug use- smoked in the van, prescription drugs
  in the hospital (valium)

27
The 60s and the Womens Movement in Relation to
the Themes

• Susanna is told that women now have more choices
• Delores ability to go to college
• Abortion rights- Delores gets an abortion at
  Dantes request
• Trisha Nixon- role model in Delores college
  essay.

28
Group Members on Parents

• Jamie Michaud
• Vassy Verbouk
• Cassandra Shepard
• Nicole Marsh

29
Parents Role of Mother in SCU and how Dolores
was affected.

• Depression and the institution
• Desperate and then the rape
• Guilt and buying food
• Her death

30
Role of Father in SCU and how Dolores was
affected.

• Chapter 1 Example
• Allowing Petey to fly free
• Pages 26 and 276
• The divorce

31
Surrogate Father in SCU

• Only parent that hadnt left her or failed her
• Gave her a rebirth
• Forced her to face past
• How would she move on?
• Helped her with life

32
Role of Mother in GI

• Negative effect on Susanna
• Likes to ignore obvious problems
• Did not talk things over with her daughter
• Did not want to face truths

33
Surrogate Mother in GI

• She is a mother figure
• A good friend to Susana
• Valerie stuck by her while she was in Claymoore.

34
Group Members on Institutionalization

• Katie Pfau
• Samantha Cairl

35
Institutionalization in SCU

• Dolores was put in against her will
• Was a inpatient for the first 4 years, and an out
  patient for the last 3.
• She received injections
• Dr. Shaw was considered to be the only parent
  that didnt leave Dolores.
• Didnt keep any diaries or journals.

36
Role of Therapy in SCU

• She expressed her true feelings
• Dr. Shaw had faith in Dolores and believed that
  she could get better
• Preformed a rebirth experience
• Dolores did a lot of visualization

37
Institutionalization in GI

• Susanna signed herself in, but believed that her
  parents put her there.
• Kept a journal and expressed her feelings and
  ideas.
• Made friends with the other patients
• Spent only a year and a half at Claymoore
• Never had any injections.

38
Role of Therapy in GI

• Susanna talked to Valeria and expressed how she
  felt.
• She would talk to Dr. Wick towards the end of the
  movie, to express her feelings

39
Comparison of Institutionalization in the Two
Works

• Dolores had injections while Susanna had to take
  sleeping pills
• Dolores had to put into a straight jacket, while
  Susanna never had to
• Dolores didnt get visitors while Susanna had her
  parents and Toby come to visit.
• Dolores never snuck out, while Susanna escaped
  with Lisa to go and visit Daisy.
• Dolores was there for 7 years, while Susanna was
  there for a year and a half.

40
Comparison of Therapy in the Two Works

• Dolores was friends with Dr. Shaw from the
  beginning while Susanna had a working
  relationship with Dr. Wick.
• Dolores began recovering right away, but it took
  Susanna a while.
• The therapy helped Dolores realize why she was
  there, while it took Susanna a while.

41
New England Setting in SCU

• Starts in Connecticutsouth east corner and
  shoreline
• Moves to Rhode Island
• Leaves New England to attend college in
  Pennsylvania but returns to New England
• Beached whales on Cape Cod
• Rhode Island institutionalization and group
  home
• Vermont pursues Dante
• Rhode Island returns there
• Seeks whales in Maine
• Goes on whale watch with Thayerfinal scene

42
New England Setting in GI

• Lives in an upper-class suburb outside of Boston
• Parents emphasis on prestigious New England
  colleges
• Goes to Claymoore (based on McCleans outside of
  Boston) private institution for the wealthy
  (Sylvia Plath, James Taylor)
• Leaves at end of the movie for a job in bookstore
  in Cambridge

43
1960s in SCU

• Dolores teen years are during the late 60s
• When she goes off to college, it is the 60s
• Mention of Woodstock and Hippie Movement
• Some mention of Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam
  while at college

44
1960s in GI

• Vietnam War and the draft
• Sense of rebellion against establishment
• Robert Kennedy running for president but
  assassinated
• Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights
  Movement King assassinated
• Drug culture

45
Effect on 1960s on Dolores

• Dolores wants to go to Woodstock
• She is on the fringe of the Womens Movement
• Issue of abortion
• Mention of drugs while she is at Merton

46
Effect on 1960s on Susanna

• She is in tune with Womens Movement does not
  want to be a housewife like her mother
• She is afraid that Toby will be drafted
• She says, Maybe it was the Sixties, suggesting
  that she it was the time period, not the people,
  who were crazy
• Sixties time of rebellion, unrest, alienation
• Civil Rights Movement taunts Valerie Mangold
  added this theme to the movie
• DSM Manual with definitions of disorders did not
  exist

47
Lamb on New England and 1960s

• Lamb was born and has lived in Connecticut his
  entire life
• He returned to teach high school at the same high
  school he attended
• He graduated from UConn
• He wrote SCU at the library at UConn
• He sets all of his work in New England
• He went on a whale watch and decided to make one
  central to his book

48
Mangold on New England and 1960s

• The setting could have been anywhere
• Filmed in Pennsylvania
• We some fall foliage in the shot panning from the
  sky to the trees
• Colleges are Ivy League schools in New England
  schools and Susannas high school is in a wealth
  suburb near Boston, with pressure to go to
  collegeBoston is a college city

49
Main Camera Techniques in GI

• Close-ups and extreme close-ups to show
  characters emotions Daisys control and loss of
  control seen in her eyes, Susannas bewilderment
  seen in her eyes
• Reaction shots to show how characters react to
  one another Susannas reaction when she signs
  in, Susannas mothers reaction when BPD
  mentioned
• Montages to show the passage of time
• Cutaways to provide additional information (girl
  playing in opening scene, naked person outside
  during therapy session)
• Angle shots and shot composition placement of
  characters in the frame define them and convey
  themes of alienation, loss of control, and power
• Partial or split lighting on faces conveys
  confusion, mixed emotions
• Lighting of Valerie in the final scene entering
  Susannas room shows Valerie with bright light
  behind hershe is offering hope

50
Close-ups

• Lisa and Susanna at the cell window Lisa moves
  into the two-shot close-up as we see her eyes and
  realize she is accepting Susannas offer of
  friendship and reconciliation
• Many close-ups of Susannas express bewilderment,
  alienation, detachment
• Close-up as the camera zooms in on Melvin as
  Daisy is taken away in the ambulance his sorrow
  and guilt
• Close-up on Melvin and Susanna on the return show
  their sadness
• Close-ups at the windowsshow characters POV on
  the outside worldbars emphasize they are locked
  up and secluded from the outside world

51
Zooming

• Zooms in on Susanna and Lisa during the scene at
  Daisys to show the intensity of their emotions
  and reactions
• Zooms in on Melvin during the rain scene
• Zoom in on Lisas eyes at the seclusion window
• Zoom in on Lisas eyes when she yells at Daisy at
  Daisys apartment
• Zoom in on Susannas in the reaction shot when
  she tells Lisa to shut up after telling Daisy off

52
Angles

• Low angle on Daisy as she climbs the stairs
• Low angle on Lisa when she tells Daisy offLisa
  acts powerfulbut is she? Low angle conveys her
  powerlessness and ugliness
• Low angle of Lisa when she leave Daisys
  houseLisa is at a low point
• Low angles on the characters at the booths in the
  ice cream parlorthey are powerless in how
  society defines themthey look distorted as they
  scream back at the Gilcrests who are in high
  angle shots, looking like caricatures
• High angle shots of Claymoore at cars approach

53
Framing

• Susanna showed in close-ups off center in the
  frame
• Lisa and Susannas positioning and the barrier of
  the window and door in the final seclusion scene
• Val shown in the background in light in the scene
  when she comes to comfort Susanna at night
• Val in the extreme long shot when she arrives in
  the morning after the night Polly spends in
  seclusion
• The bathroom scene with Daisy hanging between
  Lisa and Susanna
• The hallway scene with Lisa leaving and Susanna
  at the top of the staircasesuggest the power of
  the institution

54
Voiceover

• Susanna talking at the beginning of the movie
  explaining her illness versus the 60s
• Susanna talking at the end of the film telling
  about bonding and the 70sMangold said he did
  not want to use place cards to explain the
  aftermath and preferred the voiceover so the
  films stays focused on Susanna and her POV and
  reflections

55
Soundtrack

• Downtown
• The End of the World

56
Lighting

• Lighting during tunnel scenes
• Lighting when Val enters Susanna roomthere is a
  white light behind Val
• Dreary lighting during the rain scene and the
  approach to Claymoore sky is grayit is also
  gray in the scene when Susanna leaves and returns
  to Daisys apartment

57
Symbols in SCU

• Whales
• Television
• Cars
• Water in whale scenes and water therapy
• Flying leg painting
• Etch-a-Sketch
• Gold fishDottie and later in Dolores house when
  Dante visits
• Dolores namemeans sorrow

58
Symbol 1 Whales

• Beached whale identity, death and
  rebirthlooking into the eyes of the whale is
  like looking into oneselftheme of self identity
  and personal growthDolores needs to bury the
  past to get on with the futurelike the whale she
  is fighting the tide and stuck
• Going into the ocean and returning back to the
  beacha rebirth water symbolizes womb and
  birthswimming back on shore is a rebirth after
  being caught in the ocean wave
• Jumping whale on final whale watch at Cape-she
  is the first to see the whale release, freedom to
  move onsees whale swimming and flying
  bothsoaked in her spray-christenedfinal
  words I sawshe now sees her life clearly
• Goes to Maine to see whales but none
  appearDolores is not yet ready to accept who she
  is and move on

59
Symbol 2 Television

• Inaction
• Passivity
• False idols
• Escape
• Associated with her habitual eating and setbacks
• Needs to give back the giant television and
  reject what it symbolizes in her life
• Black and white televisionDante rejects it but
  it is on in the the the scene when Dolores
  discovers the affair
• Dantes new girlfriend stops to watch television
  with Dolores
• Television symbolizes the distinction between
  illusion and realityDolores has to stop living
  in a world of illusions

60
Symbol 3 Cars

• Car killed Bernice
• The peach Cadillac Mrs. Masicotte
• Dolores meets Dante when he is washing his car
• Dante buys the Volkswagen with the
  inheritancecuts the teardrop window and goofs it
• Take-out food business need a car
• Taxis ride to Cape Cod
• Mr. Pucci gives Dolores a ride home
• Jack takes Dolores on the reckless car ride in
  his sports car to the deserted dog pound where he
  rapes her

61
First-Person Narrator in GI

• We see Susannas confusion, view of her parents,
  changing views of the characters at Claymoore,
  and her interpretation of the time period and
  peoples values
• We see her change based on her voiceovers at the
  beginningwhere she is talking about the pastand
  her final words at the end, which show her final
  self-awareness of who she is

62
First-Person Narrator in SCU

• The story is Dolores life story and we see what
  happens to her from her perspective
• Her changing perceptions of her grandmother,
  parents, and others
• Her self-identity and journey through life is
  captured in the narration
• We see her naivety we see that she cannot
  analyze all that is happening to her as a third
  person narrator might

63
Significance of Titles

• Shes Come Undone plays on the radio during the
  final car ride to the Cape
• Girl, Interrupted is the title of a painting by
  Vermeerin the book, Susanna went to the Frick to
  see this painting with her teacher who seduces
  her in the next scenein the movie, Susanna says
  she is a girl interruptedher life is interrupted
  by her stay at Claymoore
• Both title relate to the coming-of-age themeboth
  characters have an interruption and come
  undone in their teen years before they can move
  on to adulthoodtheir past will haunt their adult
  lives but they gain perspective on what happened
  to them and use it to become stronger people

64
Vermeers Painting Girl, Interrupted at the
Frick Museum in NYC
65
Shes Come Undone

• Undone ( The Guess Who )She's come undoneShe
  didn't know what she was headed forAnd when I
  found what she was headed forIt was too
  lateShe's come undoneShe found a mountain that
  was far too highAnd when she found out she
  couldn't flyIt was too lateIt's too lateShe's
  gone too farShe's lost the sunShe's come
  undoneShe wanted truth but all she got was
  liesCame the time to realizeAnd it was too
  lateShe's come undoneShe didn't know what she
  was headed forAnd when I found what she was
  headed forMama, it was too lateIt's too
  lateShe's gone too farShe's lost the sunShe's
  come undoneToo many mountains, and not enough
  stairs to climbToo many churches and not enough
  truthToo many people and not enough eyes to
  seeToo many lives to lead and not enough time

66
Shes Come Undone

• She's gone too farShe's lost the sunShe's come
  undone(Doe-doe-doe-doe-doe doe un doe-doe-doe un
  doe-doe-doe)(Doe doe-doe-doe-doe un doe-doe-doe
  doe-doe-doe)(Doe doe-doe-doe doe doe-doe-doe doe
  doe)breakIt's too lateShe's gone too
  farShe's lost the sunShe's come undoneShe
  didn't know what she was headed forAnd when I
  found what she was headed forIt was too
  lateShe's come undoneShe found a mountain that
  was far too highAnd when she found out she
  couldn't flyMama, it was too lateIt's too
  lateShe's gone too farShe's lost the sunShe's
  come undone(No no-no-no-no-no no)(Doe doe
  doe-doe)