James Joyce’s “The Dead” | A Short Film is a translation of the eponymous story into the medium of video. I see the story principally as a conflict between the worlds of the living and the dead, with Gabriel Conroy serving as a representative for the living and the tragic figure of
Michael Furey symbolizing the world of the dead. Between the two we find Gretta Conroy, Gabriel’s wife and the object of Michael Furey’s death-defying affections. As video is a visual medium, I decided to portray this tension in a variety of visual ways. The three main locations in the video are the banquet hall in which the dinner is held and Gabriel gazes out the window, Gretta’s girlhood home where Michael throws gravel to get her attention, and the staircase, where Gretta is transfixed between the living (Gabriel watching from below) and the dead (Bartell D’Arcy playing The Lass of Aughrim above). The shots of the banquet hall are languid and deliberate, representing Gabriel’s paralyzed life consumed by the opinions of others, and the shots of Michael at Gretta’s window are quick and chaotic, representing the passion of the young lover. Further, I used focus to represent the dichotomy between the worlds. The shots of the banquet hall are well lit and sharply focused, whereas Michael Furey is always seen amorphous and blurry. Because I see Gretta as the medium between the two worlds, she is seen fading both into and out of focus with shots of varying speed, and the first time we hear the Lass of Aughrim melody is the first shot in which Gretta fully appears.
Bibliography:
Joyce, James. “The Dead” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Pucher et al. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. Volume F 178-207. Print.
Gray, Wallace. “Wallace Gray’s Notes for James Joyce’s The Dead.” World Wide Dubliners by James Joyce, n.d. Web. 13 Nov 2015. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mendele.com/WWD/ WWDdead.notes.html
Michael Furey symbolizing the world of the dead. Between the two we find Gretta Conroy, Gabriel’s wife and the object of Michael Furey’s death-defying affections. As video is a visual medium, I decided to portray this tension in a variety of visual ways. The three main locations in the video are the banquet hall in which the dinner is held and Gabriel gazes out the window, Gretta’s girlhood home where Michael throws gravel to get her attention, and the staircase, where Gretta is transfixed between the living (Gabriel watching from below) and the dead (Bartell D’Arcy playing The Lass of Aughrim above). The shots of the banquet hall are languid and deliberate, representing Gabriel’s paralyzed life consumed by the opinions of others, and the shots of Michael at Gretta’s window are quick and chaotic, representing the passion of the young lover. Further, I used focus to represent the dichotomy between the worlds. The shots of the banquet hall are well lit and sharply focused, whereas Michael Furey is always seen amorphous and blurry. Because I see Gretta as the medium between the two worlds, she is seen fading both into and out of focus with shots of varying speed, and the first time we hear the Lass of Aughrim melody is the first shot in which Gretta fully appears.
Bibliography:
Joyce, James. “The Dead” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Pucher et al. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. Volume F 178-207. Print.
Gray, Wallace. “Wallace Gray’s Notes for James Joyce’s The Dead.” World Wide Dubliners by James Joyce, n.d. Web. 13 Nov 2015. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mendele.com/WWD/ WWDdead.notes.html