The Elephant Man Essay

HOW DOES THE DIRECTOR OF THE ELEPHANT MAN ESTABLISH JOHN MERRICK AS AN OUTSIDER?


The director David Lynch establishes John Merrick as an outsider, in the opening sequences of his film ‘ The Elephant Man’ by using several devices that gain the audiences’ attention and raise the audiences’ expectations of the nature of deformity the main character suffers from. The atmosphere is created by the use of monochrome, lights and sounds (of a mostly dark nature only) to enhance the main point, why was Merrick an outsider? The director uses several close up shots of characters faces to emphasize their reactions. The dialogue used in the film degrades John representing him as a subhuman creature and the music used in the film reinforces John’s position as an outsider.
The main theme of the film is outsiders, the director David Lynch has made many other films on the subject. The Elephant man’s life is a perfect example to express the position of an outsider in Victorian Time...