Orpheus: an abstract take of the poet- Nyssa Burton

 As someone who, loves and appreciates mythology it is interesting how the film utilizes its story notes to get across a message. what first sticks out to me is the variations from the original myth. It seems to loosely follow its story, and twist its story to tell the story of how being an artist and poet follows a path of potential pain and suffering. The character of death and Orpheus in the film makes a strong connection to the contemporary thoughts of art are liked with death. In the beginning of the move Orpheus is a struggling poet, he does not have much to desire and thus he is not achieving much. following the death of Eurydice he is motivated and more engrossed in poetry, and with the car it highlights a common thought among artists; That great art is born from loss and unreachable desire. Death is too drawn to the poet; poetry and deeper thought are not garnered through single happy moments so it usually ends up with individuals with misfortune. Edgar Allen Poe first springs to mind when thinking of examples. This is why death is so drawn to orpheus and vice versa. 

    The line "a fascination with Nazi style runs troubling through Cocteau’s imagination. One of the issues of his colorful life his biographers have the most difficulty contextualizing is his apparent inexplicable absence of moral context." was particularly interesting to me. The quote means to point out the commonality of a highly controversial style at the time in Cocteau's films. He uses its nature to give the world darker tone, showing that there is no black and white, only grey. yet just because there is no distinct lines does not mean there are no contrasts. Mirrors are used through out the film to represent the two sides of not only death but all characters. Death is seen in mirrors throughout the film to represent her confliction over her duties and attraction to Orpheus. The other point of showing a mirror in films is to represent two qualities that can not coexist; in no universe may death stay with Orpheus and do her job. Orpheus stepping through a mirror to get to the underworld suggests that he must give into some of his negative traits to rejoin Eurydice and upon leaving come back to the world with a greater awareness of himself? I am thinking on unrelated thoughts. The car was confusing for me but his fascination with it was interesting, and am inclined to take it as a sound from another place that he may not ever hear in person, an unachievable place for his thoughts. 

It is hard for me to remember the details on the queer leanings throughout the film but throughout the entirety there seemed to be a rejection of feminine interaction. Between death being unable to be with Orpheus and the impossibility for him to look upon his wife for the entirety of the movie. He perhaps meant to have it as a message of "this is who I am and who I like" imposing some of his internal thoughts on his partner to act out. both main woman in the film are aggressively feminine, death always in form fitting attire and Eurydice not very involved through the movie. overall it simply seems to a be proclamation of his preferences all through what the movie does not show.