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Final Paper Za
The Mermaid is a film directed in the Russian language as a comedy-drama movie. Anna Melikyan directed this film in 2007 as a contemporary version of Andersen’s fairy stories. The plot of this movie is analyzable through different perspectives, which relate to historical, social, geographical, ethical, and family contexts. The incorporation of these elements, which are distinct yet relatable, is a unique and effective approach that enhances the authenticity of this film. Accordingly, this evaluation will entail detailed descriptions of aspects highlighted in the plot of the film as a way of substantiating the numerous frameworks embedded in the film. These contexts will also be useful in analyzing the themes illustrated in different scenes of this Russian movie. The plot of The Mermaid is an integration of ethical, social, geographical, family, and historical contexts.
To begin with, the 6-year-old girl, who is one of the main characters in this film, dreams of being a professional ballerina by attending one of the popular ballet schools in the region. This fictional element relates to the historical context regarding the introduction of the ballet culture in Russia. Since the ancient periods, a number of professional Russian ballet dancers have gained fame internationally with the theatres hosting a larger number of fans on a yearly basis. Over the years, the Russian ballet has become a measure for classical dances. Numerous young girls dream of joining the well-established choreography and dance schools in this region as the initial step in their passage towards being professional ballerinas. The high standards governing the proceedings in these institutions have been beneficial to many popular individuals, especially those who are enthusiastic about classical arts. This historical context forms a suitable foundation to describe Alice’s personality in addition to using the element of characterization to describe the main themes highlighted in different scenes of the film. Through this historical context, the little girl appears as ambitious, especially due to her desires to become a professional ballerina.
Another major framework used by the directors and screenwriter of this movie in highlighting the major themes and describing the main characters is the geological context. The two key geographical structures in the mermaid are the rural and urban settings. At the beginning of the movie, Alice lives upcountry near the sea with her mother and maternal grandmother. This setting relates to the typical structure of an extended family unit dwelling in the rural areas. Alice desires to use her ability to make apples fall from the tree in close proximity to their house. This fruit tree is an indication of the rural setting at the beginning of the movie. Furthermore, the rural setting illustrates a closely-knit community. For instance, Alice’s neighbor has a close relationship with her mother. Moreover, there are minimal institutions in the rural area as indicated by Alice’s desire to join a ballet school in a foreign region within the country. In contrast, the urban framework in this movie comprises of numerous commercial and social institutions. This is evident when Alice and her family members move to Moscow in her quest o develop her dancing skills. For example, she acquires a job by dressing as a mobile phone around the city in order to advertise numerous products. This is an illustration of the numerous commercial activities in the metropolitan area. Similarly, there are more established institutions such as universities and ballet schools in the city as compared to the rural areas.
Similarly, Anna Melikyan uses characterization and other stylistic techniques to present a detailed evaluation of the societal context in this film. The social strata in this film are apparent through such techniques as characterization and description of certain themes like determination and social class. For example, Alice’s family unit has minimal financial capability. Her desire to join a ballet school and a formal university appears to be unattainable since her mother and maternal grandmother cannot afford to pay her fees. In addition, Alice has to sell her grandmother’s jewelry in order to acquire money for their bus tickets to Moscow. In contrast, Sasha has a big two-storey building. This illustrates her position in the higher social stratum. He is so wealthy that he manages to hire Alice as his house cleaner. Despite their differing societal classifications, the pair appears to be in love.
The family context is also a key framework in The Mermaid. To begin with, Alice dwells with her mother and grandmother. This founds the basis of the family context in this novel, which acts as a chief framework in the discussion of certain motifs such as social class and marital infidelity. Nonetheless, this family unit is incomplete with Alice’s father being absent from her life throughout the movie. This is an illustration of family disintegration. This may be the reason why Alice’s mother engages in a sexual affair with her neighbor. However, Alice condemns this affair and perceives her mother’s actions as a sign of disloyalty to her father. This is evident from her exclamation when she finds her mother having a sexual encounter with their neighbor. This context puts emphasis on gender issues. Alice mother’s and her neighbor seek affection from each other especially after Alice’s father abandoned her.
Furthermore, the ethical context in this movie highlights the moral values upheld by the society. For instance, infidelity is evident in different scenes of the film. Alice’s mother is in a sexual affair with her neighbor despite being married to her father. Her union with Alice’s father is obvious at the beginning of the movie as Alice and her family members wait for her father to return home. The disrespect for moral values with respect to loyalty in sexual relationships is also evident in Alice’s affair with Sasha. Despite their love for each other, Sasha cheats on her with Rita. Sasha does not seem remorseful of his behavior even after Alice bumps on them in bed. From this context, modernity appears to have eroded the moral values and norms upheld by members of the conventional society.
In conclusion, Anna Melikyan uses similar principles as those in Multicultural Voices in order to describe the personalities of the main characters as well as the key themes incorporated in different themes of the movie. Some of the chief frameworks in this film include historical ethical, family, social, and geographical contexts. These contexts are effective in discussing such themes a social class, marital infidelity, rural-urban migration, and family disintegration. For instance, through the social context, the motif of social class is obvious through the different social strata accommodating Alice’s family unit and Sasha. Similarly, the sexual affairs involving Alice’s mother and her neighbor as well as Sasha and Rita highlight the theme of marital infidelity through the ethical context.