Week 4

By the definition of British novelist Elinor Glyn, “the possessor of ‘it’ must be absolutely un-self conscious, and must have that magnetic ‘sex appeal’ which is irresistible”. Louise Brooks absolutely fits all the standard of being an It girl at the 30s. In Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s film, Pandora’s Box, Louise Brooks acts a frivolous woman gets messed up in a bunch of dramatic events. Somehow I feel like the character Lulu is the product of the patriarchal society. By the progression of the storyline, Pabst conveys a message that Lulu’s mournful destiny is also, inevitably, “demonstrated the way the unconscious of patriarchal society has structured film form”, suggested by Laura Mulvey.

Lulu’s entire life is manipulated by the men in her life. Firstly comes her father, who raise her as a prostitute and together they fish “patrons”. Later, the unwilling marriage of Dr. Schön and Lulu drives Dr. Schön crazy and leads to his death as Lulu was convicted manslaughter. Also, the film is innovative in the way that it adds a lesbian figure. The rather masculine countess in the end sacrificed for Lulu and also becomes a victim of the male-dominance community.

Apart from the ideology of the film. In silent movies, music always takes place of lines and represents the mood and spirit of the characters. The music turned from joyful to ominous the moment Dr. Schön opens the door and sees the other man drinking in his room. (49 min) The non-diegetic sound specially designed for the film piles up the entire story and raises stake for the scene.

In the scene that she is getting undressed, the wedding dress flipped off her shoulder. (55 min) Our gaze as well as Dr. Schön’s links to scopophilia. As indicated by Laura Mulvey, “[mainstream cinema’s] formal preoccupations reflect the psychical obsessions of the society which produced it”.

We can also look at the two murder scenes in the film. When Lulu kills Dr. Schön, there is no sound of the shooting, and no wound revealing. The only thing showing him being killed is the smoke arising. Again in the scene that the series murderer kills Lulu, there is no wound or blood showing. With the montage of his ferocious face, savage eyes, the gaze of him onto the blade and in the end, Lulu’s hand let go off his arm. It reminds me of Psycho by Hitchcock. The epic bathroom scene is also composed of a series of montage indirectly presenting the murder to the spectator.

“I have no money”
“Come along anyway. I like you.” He holds her hand desperately. She looks back, with the same innocent smile. His face turns to a desired, longing expression and she still, looking calmly as to a long gone friend. Doesn’t she know what he’s after? I doubt that. The ending is sad in some way but also seems like the best outcome for everyone. Lulu’s father ended up enjoying the Christmas pudding. Alwa looks back and leaves all behind. Everything just goes on as if nothing had happened, as if Lulu never existed.