In class we watched clips of The Exorcist. Someone commented on how every scene was completely thought out to mean something. I wonder if that statement is entirely correct. I can recall the one scene that we watched where the butler and small boy are sitting at a table. The little boy was eating ice cream. We paused the scene and deciphered it as a class. “The exit sign is there for a reason,” someone commented. “The knives suggest separation,” said another person. For my “That’s Questionable” this week, I question just how much was meant to mean something. Maybe the knives were just put there because a stage man just put it there without even thinking about what it could suggest. Also, I don’t understand the importance of the symbolism for a common audience member viewing the film. I know when I first saw The Exorcist, I was not thinking about the placement of things in the scene or what they could mean. Naturally my attention goes full front to the obvious like many other viewers. Is it supposed to subconsciously suggest things to the viewer? If that is the case, then that makes sense. I just wonder how successful this technique is. All in all, I question most the purpose of the placement of everything in each scene. I wonder if maybe, just maybe, some things were unplanned and just worked out to be a great sign of symbolism we all made up in our heads.
