Their Eyes Were Watching God

  

  

Their Eyes Were Watching God

          
     The film Their Eyes Were Watching God was released on March 15, 2005. The strongest inspiration from the film came from Zora Neale Hurston’s own personal love affair that is just like Janie and Teacake’s in the film. The town Eatonville was also based off of Hurston’s own hometown. The genre of the film is drama and romance. The film was adapted by the Zora Neale Hurston novel she published in 1937. When the book was released it received critical responses, such as “Miss Hurston seems to have no desire whatsoever to move in the direction of serious fiction… [She] can write; but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression since the days of Phyllis Wheatley... Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears." (Richard Wright). I thought that the title meant that there were people looking to the sky for God's help or something like that. I expected the film to be religious, dramatic and theologically based. The film starts off with Janie (Halle Berry) walking in the sun barefooted wearing dirty overalls saying “There’s two things everybody got to find out for theyselves. They got to find out about love and they got to find out about living.” As a viewer, it affects me in a serious way. When she said that, it made me more interested in watching the movie. As she walks through the town, people are gossiping about her badly. I also began to think what happened to her? Why are they talking about her like that? Why does she look so worn-out and run down. There are three important scenes in the movie. The first one is when Janie was in the water having her own time to herself as she “watched God.” It’s important because she was able to be free of everything and just relax. The second one is when she talks to her husband Logan about how she didn’t like the lifestyle and marriage they had. That was important because Janie was able to reveal how unhappy she truly was in the marriage like she was in her first marriage. The third one is when Janie and Teacake are going by his job to pick up some cucumbers. That was important because it shows the first time Janie is truly happy and in love. The scene that constitutes the film’s climax is when the hurricane comes and Teacake saves Janie from drowning but gets bit by a rabid dog. Then, Janie has to debate on shooting the man she ever truly loved because the bite made him delusional. There were no loose ends because everything was explained and told. The movie concluded with Janie Floating in a body of water because that was her escape throughout the movie; the place where she felt at home and at ease. Janie’s friend Phoebe Watson is introduced in the beginning of the movie when Janie comes back. Her purpose was to be there for Janie when she vents to her. The character Logan Killicks was introduced when Janie's nanny wanted her to marry him because he had money and a lot of acres.  His purpose was to display Janie first piece of unhappiness in her marriage.  Then, Joe Starks was introduced when she met him after setting free the pigs of her husband.  Then, she meets this man he offers her to run away with him, he felt flattered and took his offer.  The purpose for Starks was for Janie to develop as a person and to feel a short piece of happiness before she realizes what she really wants. Then, Teacake was introduced to Janie after Joe Starks died. His purpose was to bring her the happiness and love she really wanted and to drive her towards her goals. Logan Killicks was a bad husband. He left Janie at home to do work all day like a slave and he never even took the time out to actually get to know her, love her or even like her. He wore dirty shirts and pants all the time. Joe Starks was a good husband when it came down to having good finances. He thought he could just buy Janie happiness instead of actually giving it to her himself instead of just with material things. He wore classy wardrobe. Teacake was the best husband to Janie. He gave her the happiness and love she wanted. His wardrobe looked very rundown. There are some motifs in the film, such as how in both Eatonville, and the Everglades, Janie constantly interacts with the community around her. In Eatonville, the novel focuses on the people sitting on the porch gossiping. In the Everglades, Janie wishes to be part of the social life where at times it offers comfort, warmth, and security. Then at other times, Janie finds the gossip that the community does is petty because it is often about her due to jealously because of her independence and strong will. The message in the film was that no matter what life takes you through, you can look to God for serenity. Janie was always watching God and that showed how close her connection was with God and that’s how Janie related to the film. There are also a few symbols in the film like Janie’s hair. It symbolizes her strength and identity in two ways. First, it shows her independence and defiance over the community's standards. Secondly, since Janie's hair is long and straight, it symbolizes whiteness. Mrs. Turner loves Janie because of her hair and the other white qualities that she has. Janie's hair disrupts the normal traditional power (males over females and whites over blacks). Also, there was The Pear Tree and The Horizon. It symbolizes Janie's ideal views about nature. Janie is able to witness a perfect moment of life, full of energy, passion, and harmony. The horizon symbolizes the far off mysterious world that she wants to interact and connect with.