The Elephant Man
“The elephant man" is a drama film that takes place in 1980 and is based on a true story. Joseph Merrick was a boy that ends up having a deformity because his mother gets ran over by an elephant when she is pregnant. Joseph’s deformity is so bad that he has to wear a hood and cap in public. He does this because he doesn’t want to scare people and wants to hide his imperfections. His features are so bad because they are considered enormous and terrifying to look at.
The costumes they created for the play were very modern and old fashioned. Joseph wears a white mask to cover his deformed face. Madge Kendal is the girl that shows Joseph what underneath her clothes when lying on the bed since he had never seen a woman before. Madge wears dresses that show her beauty throughout the play.
Joseph always has to sleep upright in his bed because if he doesn’t he will suffocate because of the ginormous head he has. In the play his head is compared to the circumference of a man’s waist. At the end of the play he dies because he lies all the way back and cannot get up at all. When his lunch is brought he looks so sad because of how he has to live. He wants to be treated like a human being but people looked at him as if he was a monster.
The lighting in the play was very impressive because on sad parts they would dim the lights and more serious scenes the lights would be brightened. Everyone in the play did a good job acting as the characters. The music that was done in the play was very impressive. Near the end of the play when Joseph is getting ready to die the music is very sad. The little dancing characters he sees help him lie down peacefully so he can’t be miserable anymore.
I think this is why he does lie back because he was so unhappy with how he was not treated like a human being and it was hard to always do the same routine every day. Joseph wanted to be like a regular human being. He wanted to finally be able to live a normal life and near the end of the play it shows him dancing without his deformities and he sees himself like that if he finally is able to go to heaven. He had talked about heaven in the play because he sees himself being there. He sees heaven as a peaceful place to be.
This play shows a meaning that people should pay attention too. Everyone in life should be treated like a normal person despite if they have a deformity. People have feelings and Joseph Merrick was one of them but people did not know how to treat him. He was seen as a monster, not a human being.
6 comments:
Good post! This was the first play I've ever watched on campus. One of the first things I noticed as well were the different types of lighting effects throughout the play. Even though there weren't a lot of props for some scenes, the lighting made the background seem vivid. Of course, during sad scenes, the lights were dim and the stage was dark and depressing; during the more cheerful and active scenes, the lighting was so much brighter. I thought it fit the mood perfectly.
The play sounds like it was presented very well by our fine arts department. I was unable to go and see it but I am sure it would have been good. I think this play is very sad because doctors never give Merrick the chance to live his life, they just want him closed in and left by himself. Then when Ms. Kendal shows herself to him, they get very upset and protective of him. I think thet no matter the health issue, people should be able to live their life to a certain extend, not just be closed in.
i went to the play actually this is my first time to attend a play, and i really enjoyed this it. i have the same thought that you mention which is Merrick just wants the normal life. he just wants to be treated as anybody else. i think if he has a better looking, he will. but just because he had really bad diease and does not look like normal person, people treat him totally different way, this is so unfair
this was my frist time as well seeing a play. i did not want to see it at frist but i am gald i did becosue wehn i read it i got lost but after seeeing it i under stood it a lot better.
"i think this is why he does lie back because he was so unhappy with how he was not treated like a human being and it was hard to always do the same routine every day"
a agree with you there. they only one that treated him like a man/ person was the actress and he was not aloud to talk to her.
I enjoyed the play as well and feel as you do that John committed suicide in the end. I didn't get that by reading it but by seeing it live. He was human and wasn't treated like everyone else which is something you also saw in the play.
I never made it to any of the plays, but I wish I could have. When I read it, it was very good and I was very into the play. You could still tell even by reading it that he was just another human that wanted to do normal things, just like everybody else.
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