D.Kubota, c.2001
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In Jaco van Dormael's film, The Eighth Day, two unlikely friends set off on a road trip throughout
rural France. The first friend, Georges, is an individual with Down's syndrome; the second, Harry,
feels compelled to drive Georges back to the care home that Georges has fled. During their voyage
across the back roads of France, the two stop at a diner where Georges is smitten by a harried
waitress who initially appreciates Georges' interest; once she learns that he has Down's syndrome,
however, the waitress inevitably spurns and crushes Georges' affections. Throughout the
restaurant scene, symbols inevitably reveal the complexity of Georges' character and demonstrate
that he is kind, spunky, and exceptionally fragile. In this essay, using a mild form of archetypal
criticism, I will focus on the imagery of the flower, sunglasses, and scarf to suggest the rich
diversity of Georges' ethos as an individual.
When an individual gives flowers to another person, the act is one of compassion and also one of
courtship. Thinking back on the harried nature of the scene, one can recognize how Georges'
giving the flower to the waitress is a kind act-she is busy cleaning tables and seems exceptionally
stressed and under-appreciated. When Georges does give the waitress the flower, she remarks,
"You're sweet," and he is thus intrigued by her even further. On a symbolic level, the flowers
dually represent Georges' kindness and also his somewhat macho-willingness to pursue the object
of his affections. Since flowers are an integral part of courtship, Georges construes her
appreciation for his act as a come-on; unfortunately, this has negative results once he reveals that
he has Down's syndrome.
Sunglasses add a cool allure to Georges' character, but at the same time, they segregate and "hide"
him from what most people would cruelly dub as "normal society." When we first see the scene,
we are left wondering why Harry places the sunglasses on Georges' face before they enter the
restaurant. A cynical reader might interpret Harry's action as one made to protect Georges-the
shades make it relatively difficult for people to tell that Georges has Down's syndrome,
characterized by the visible signs of Mongoloidism. Whatever, Harry's motives, this reader feels
that Georges' shades are "cool"-they add a level of machismo and cool to his character. On an
archetypal level, we can see the shades as an item that acts as a barrier between Georges and other
people. On the one hand, sunglasses add a level of coolness and suaveness to any individual. On
the other hand, in the case of Georges, they mask the reality of Georges' condition. Ultimately,
shades on or off, the waitress' adverse reaction to Georges (once she sees his true appearance)
demonstrates society's unwillingness to accept people at face value-to see and appreciate people for
who they really are.
The scarf that Georges presents to the waitress can be interpreted as a symbol of compassion. The
fact that he later unravels the scarf and rolls it back into a ball of yarn can also demonstrate that
prejudice can have devastating effects on a person's sense of self. A scarf is used to protect people
against the cold-to keep a persons' neck and chest warm. When Georges gives the waitress this
scarf in the kitchen, she is willing to accept it as a gift-even if it is from a stranger-we can thus
interpret this acceptance as her willingness to allow Georges' affections and accept his warmth and
generosity. Once his Down's is revealed, however, the waitress delivers the most heartbreaking
lines of the scene: "I'm sorry; I didn't know"(van Dormael). She didn't know that Georges was
retarded-but should that have mattered in her decision to accept his gift? Would his retardation
have mattered to you if he gave you a gift? Georges' languid attempts to unravel the scarf back into
the ball of yarn suggests that he has to begin anew-that the search for love in an often prejudiced
world is a search wrought with difficulties and turmoil. He must unravel his the symbol of his
warmth and begin anew.
The wide range of human themes that one can perceive from this clip-compassion, innocence, and
prejudice-all demonstrate that as human beings, we are not one-sided creations. We are complex
creations. The title of the movie is exceptionally important; at the end of the film, it is revealed that
"on the eighth day, God created Georges" (van Dormael). Georges is the Lord's most complex
creation-a character filled with grace, energy, and compassion, and one who cannot merely be
defined by the rudimentary articles we see in the film: flowers, sunglasses, and a scarf.
(If anything, the sample essay should demonstrate the difficulty of working with films. Simply stated, most films lack exciting and insightful dialogue; the recent Lucas-installment was no exception. The other difficulty with film is that one must convey what happens on screen. Thus, you have to use a verbal and visual mode of analysis to accomplish your interpretive task. By all means, use movies and other clips for this analysis, but recognize that there may either be too much that one must cover (the film in its entirety) or too little (lack of sophisticated dialogue, etc.) Do your best.)