Within the 2013 movie The Great Gatsby, the director Baz Luhrmann produces towards the end a scene of a gloomy foggy dock where a tiny green light blinks and cuts across the bay. The green light is the only source of light in the scene and contrasts with the dark blue surroundings. A man appears the green light illuminates his silhouette as he reaches a hand out towards the light. As he turns around it is shown it is Jay Gatsby and he turns back around to shakily reach for the light again. The fog disappears as the audience learns it is Gatsby. It reappears as the distance grows between Gatsby and the light and Gatsby eventually disappears from view. The green light continues to blink and grows brighter till the scene fades to white. Luhrmann
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The dialogue of the scene and words that appear on the screen showcase Luhrmann’s faithfulness to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. As Gatsby reaches, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book, says “he did not know that it was already behind him…” (Fitzgerald 180). The literal light is in front of Gatsby but what the light personifies his aspirations, hopes, and dreams are unattainable and out of reach in the present day. The green light literally is a constantly lit lamp at the end of the Buchanan’s boat dock. Its purpose serves to warn boats at night or during bad weather that a house’s there so it is always on. The implication of this serves to show and further enforces the idea of how a harmless object like a dock light or a dream can lead to deception and disillusionment. The alert of a dock marker means boats have to be fairly close before they can see the light. Gatsby‘s so close to his dreams “…that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (Fitzgerald 180). Yet the light is “…minute and far away…” which makes it impossible for Gatsby to ever reach it …show more content…
Unlike the novel, Luhrmann has the visual ability to capture and further show how when Gatsby’s dream fails the mantel passes onto the audience. He combines the impact of Fitzgerald’s words in dialog along with visuals to enhance the green lights message. The dream transcends and becomes a universal thing. Instead of Gatsby “…we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” hopeful one day we will obtain what eludes us (Fitzgerald 180). Luhrmann directs the scene in such a way that Gatsby fades away from view and the audience is the only one left to stare at the light like Gatsby did previously. Before it goes to white the last lines of the book are slowly shown on screen “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 180). The light appears brighter before the scene switches to white which signals the audience has to keep the dream alive. The metaphor conveys how people struggle to move on beyond the past, the current draws them back as they try to get to the green light. In other words, Gatsby embodies the idea people think the past is behind them when it actuality it pervades and influences every part of who they are at every point in their lives. It makes them circle around in the same narrative rather than the ability to break free and rewrite it
The dialogue of the scene and words that appear on the screen showcase Luhrmann’s faithfulness to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. As Gatsby reaches, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book, says “he did not know that it was already behind him…” (Fitzgerald 180). The literal light is in front of Gatsby but what the light personifies his aspirations, hopes, and dreams are unattainable and out of reach in the present day. The green light literally is a constantly lit lamp at the end of the Buchanan’s boat dock. Its purpose serves to warn boats at night or during bad weather that a house’s there so it is always on. The implication of this serves to show and further enforces the idea of how a harmless object like a dock light or a dream can lead to deception and disillusionment. The alert of a dock marker means boats have to be fairly close before they can see the light. Gatsby‘s so close to his dreams “…that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (Fitzgerald 180). Yet the light is “…minute and far away…” which makes it impossible for Gatsby to ever reach it …show more content…
Unlike the novel, Luhrmann has the visual ability to capture and further show how when Gatsby’s dream fails the mantel passes onto the audience. He combines the impact of Fitzgerald’s words in dialog along with visuals to enhance the green lights message. The dream transcends and becomes a universal thing. Instead of Gatsby “…we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” hopeful one day we will obtain what eludes us (Fitzgerald 180). Luhrmann directs the scene in such a way that Gatsby fades away from view and the audience is the only one left to stare at the light like Gatsby did previously. Before it goes to white the last lines of the book are slowly shown on screen “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 180). The light appears brighter before the scene switches to white which signals the audience has to keep the dream alive. The metaphor conveys how people struggle to move on beyond the past, the current draws them back as they try to get to the green light. In other words, Gatsby embodies the idea people think the past is behind them when it actuality it pervades and influences every part of who they are at every point in their lives. It makes them circle around in the same narrative rather than the ability to break free and rewrite it