ENGLISH – LEVEL 3
90723 Respond critically to oral or visual text studied
Question
Symbolism, narrative structure and special effects are significant feature of films. Focusing
on NONE OR MORE of these features, discuss the extent to which you agree with this view.
Your response should include close reference to one or more films you have studied.
Text Type:
Film
Novel Title: THE PIANO
Author(s)/website(s):
JANE CAMPION
In the film, The Piano, directed by Jane Campion, symbolism was used effectively to help give a
deeper meaning to what was happening in Ada McGrath’s life and the struggles she faced
during the tough era of the nineteenth century. Not only did she face struggles within her
marriage but she also had to deal with falling in love with another man, Baines. The symbolism
used by Jane Campion helped bring a lot more depth to the film and helped us recognize and
sympathise with Ada’s true feelings about the people around her. Symbols that were used that
made me strongly agree with the importance of symbols in films were Ada’s dresses that she
wore, the piano key that was used to symbolise her love and also the surroundings of where
she lived, in a small New Zealand settlement during the Victorian era.
Firstly, a noticeable that was used thoroughly throughout “The Piano” was the dresses that Ada
wore. She wore typical nineteenth century dresses, those with tight corsets, a large hoop skirt
and also a bonnet and this not only reflected the time period the film was set in, it also reflected
the restricted feelings she felt being a woman of that time. Ada’s clothing helped us notice the
restrictions of this period that women had no rights and had no decision making and this was
clearly reflected within her marriage to Stewart. A situation that clearly showed this was when
Ada first arrived to New Zealand by boat and had brought her piano with her, yet her new
husband refused to carry it through the bush with his Maori helpers. Even when Ada’s young
daughter, Flora tried reasoning with him by saying “she has to have her piano”, he still took no
notice and left it there on the beach for the waves to destroy it. This clearly showed us how
caged in Ada felt, being stuck in a marriage where her husband was insensitive and this caged
in, restricted feeling was clearly shown through the symbolism used with her dress.
Another point that helps support this restricted feeling is when Ada is out of her corset dress. As
soon as her dress is off, she became a completely different person, going from unhappy,
restricted and held back to a happy woman that’s relaxed and carefree. This is shown when
Ada is playing with Flora in their under garments before bed, where they are tickling, giggling
and oblivious to the problems around them. This is also shown when Ada is nude with her
secret lover Baines, with her being passionate, happy and unrestricted, which is clearly shown.
Once Ada and Baines had finished having sex and Ada had started getting dresses, she
changed once again into the restricted person she once was. By Jane Campion using costume
to portray feelings was really important to this film. It not only set the scene of the time period
that the movie was set in, it was also clearly used to portray Ada’s feelings around the different
people that surrounded her, suggesting to us that she felt comfortable around her daughter and
Baines yet felt entrapped within her relationship with Stewart. This depth of meaning behind her
dress helped me to recognise the importance of symbolism with the “The Piano” due to the
amount of different aspects we learn about Ada, just through her dress.
Secondly, another important use of symbolism within this film was the piano key Ada had used
to confirm her love for Baines. This piano key was an extremely important symbol for many
reasons, firstly because Ada was a mute since she could not talk to Baines about this, or clearly
shows this through body language, she decided to use the piano key because it was something
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that meant a lot to her since the piano was known to be her voice. She even chose one of the
most important keys on the piano, the middle C, which again helps to represent the love she
feels for him and that she would give up her most beloved possession to be with him, since the
piano would be useless due to not having the middle C key. By Jane Campion choosing to use
the piano key as a symbol for the film, it helped to represent the true love she felt for Baines so
he could clearly understand and recognise her message. It even had the inscription “You have
my heart”, yet Baines could not read so this inscribed message was pointless, so the object
itself had to have a significant meaning. I highly agree that this use of symbolism was important
to this film because it helped us to recognize how much she loved him that she would give up
anything, including her beloved piano, just so they could be together.
Thirdly, the surroundings of Stewart and Ada’s hut contributed to many features of symbolism
used. Around Stewart’s hut, deep mud was used to show that entrapment Ada felt within her
marriage and how she felt stuck in it. Thick supple jack around Stewart’s hit also used to again
show how restricted she felt within her marriage. This was used when she was caught going to
Baines' hut, to sleep with him so Stewart attempted to rape her, yet Ada climbed through the
supple jack to get away from him. This again shows how displaced she felt within her marriage
to him, and that she was under pressure to make him happy. After this had happened, Stewart
put bars over the windows and doors so Ada was trapped inside the hit so she would not go and
visit Baines again. This helps to represent the caged in feeling she felt, being stuck in a loveless
marriage to a demanding and controlling husband. By Jane Campion using symbolic objects
around his hut really helped to show Ada’s feelings that she had about her husband that she felt
trapped and displaced with nowhere to go.
Stewart’s house was always represented in a rather gloomy manner with the help of blue filters
which again represented the disappointment of their failing marriage. Baines’ house on the
other hand was conveyed rather differently, always having natural sunlight beaming through the
beautiful native forest of New Zealand. Golden filters were also used around Baines’ hut to
show that the atmosphere at his house was completely different to Stewart’s and this showed
him as being a better person because of the way his hut had been portrayed, cleverly by Jane
Campion. Baines’ hut was never muddy or gloomy, it always seemed so warm and cosy and
unrestricting, unlike Stewart’s house with tangled supple jack, and bars across the windows and
doors. By Jane Campion portraying these two huts differently through symbolism, showed us
not only the differences between Baines’ and Stewart’s personalities but it also made us
recognise the way Ada viewed these people, how she disliked Stewart but fell in love with
Baines. This use of symbolism around their huts was really important to me agreeing with this
view of how Ada saw both of these characters because it helped us to recognize how she saw
these characters, Baines in a god light and Stewart in a much darker one.
I definitely agree that symbolism is a significant part of film, especially for “The Piano” because
it really helped portray the feelings Ada felt that were not easily expressed. Since Ada was a
mute, it was difficult to recognize her true feelings so by Jane Campion using such strong and
convincing symbolism, it helped is to get to know Ada a lot more and recognise aspects we
would have overlooked such as the importance of the piano key and the true meaning behind it.
Symbolism also helped to support what we already knew through body language which helped
considering Ada was a mute. I personally agree with symbolism being significant because if
Jane Campion had not used it, it would have made it difficult to really understand Ada and the
decisions she made.
Overall, symbolism used throughout the film, “The Piano” was extremely significant and
important in getting to know the main character, Ada McGrath. The symbolism used such as the
clothing, the piano key and also features of both Stewart’s and Baines’ huts not only helped us
in getting to know these characters but it also helped with us recognising how Ada perceived
these people, whether it be in a good way or a bad way, resulting in me agreeing with the
argument that symbolism is highly important and useful in a film such as “The Piano”.
Overall Level of Performance: ACHIEVEMENT WITH EXCELLENCE
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