Essay, Research Paper
The Ice Storm and Scene and Sensibility
Ang Lee
Merritt McMullen
Ang Lee directed both Ice Storm and Scene and Sensibility; these are stories of dysfunction families that have to deal with the variety of problems that occur. Even with the known fact that one story takes place in modern day while the other occurs in Elizabethan times; there are a number of similarities. As characters search for stability, long for lust or love, and keep their feelings locked inside; their downfall soon follows, but as they return from silence they will find happiness.
Mikey seeks stability in his life of chaos and troubles. He yearns for this stability because he lacks a secure family lifestyle. The Dashwood sisters are much like Mikey in the since that they too yearn for a steady lifestyle with one man. They are in a constant search for a husband that would give them the stable life that they long for. As for both Mikey and the sisters this stability causes death. Mikey is fascinated with molecules and the cleanliness; he believed the molecules had stopped when they were frozen. Everything being frozen is a symbol of stability, but this is an illusion because the ice will soon melt and therefore no longer be stabile. Immediately after Mikey sits down and finds his solid base death follows. He is completely drawn into the wires and flashing lights; these wires portray a snake. This snake is a symbol for the temptation for sex within his family, so in a since his families obsession for sex kills him. The Dashwood sisters yearn for a husband, but as they become quite close, their loved ones then escape for London. As the ice appeared solid, so did the two couples love, but just as the ice melted, so does the love. The sisters feel pain and sorrow; so much that their hearts in a since almost die.
In the Ice Storm, a modern day movie, the characters desire sex and lust for one another. In Scene and Sensibility, set in the past, the characters desire love and a husband, not once did they show a couple even kiss. Agg Lee shows how people in the past had different morals and standards then we do today. But the longing for sex and affairs are equal to the longing for love, in the past. The key parties in a since are equal to London, they both symbolize the breaking of relationships. The key parties are the official rock bottom in a couple?s relationship; true love which should be the basis in the relationship is not being valued. Similar to this in London i
Silence from withholding emotion causes further problem within the family relationships. In the final scene of the Ice Storm the family gets in the car and a silence reigns over them as the father begins to sob. To me this silence stands for despair. In the previous scenes when something went wrong and the parents both knew it occurred they would say to be silent or we are going to ruin everything. And this final scene is parallel to all those previous moments. The whole family knew something terribly wrong had occurred with both the death and the sexual affairs, so in result there is just a long silence in which they are covering up their problems instead of facing them and in the end the father can no longer handle all the hidden emotions and begins to cry. The young girl Margaret in Sense and Sensibility realizes her family never talks about their problems as they occur. This is awarkward because she, in the beginning, hid from any problem or change her tree house or under a table. Miss Dashwood (the oldest sister) would hold back all her emotions toward Edward Farris; she would not share her feelings for him with even her sister. Along with losing their love ones, silence caused the downfall in the Dashwood family.
As the Dashwood?s began to speak of their many troubles and sorrows and face the facts that they had learned in life, they grew closer and got past the loss of their lovers. As for the Ice Storm, the father finally coming out and expressing his emotion through crying could be a sign of hope in the future to get passed their many problems of life within the dysfunctional family. The Dashwood sisters recovered from there sorrow and found true stability.
Problems in the characters lives of both the Ice Storm and Sense and Sensibility caused their emotional an even physical downfall. As the characters withheld their thought and feelings of either hatred, despair, or love they sunk into a greater depression. But as they share their locked up emotions they are freed from their sorrow and find happiness. As the characters search for stability, long for lust and love, and keep their feelings locked inside; their downfall soon follows, but as they return from silence they will find happiness.