The 2016 film The Choice, directed by Ross Katz, reveals that choices made in life can affect an individual for the rest of their life, whether they are big or small. The main characters Gabby and Travis, have an interesting connection and somehow resemble one another through many symbols to develop a strong love for each other. Through the use of visual emphasis, context, and repetition, Ross Katz, uses the seashell wind chime as a charged symbol in The Choice, because life can be so fragile and all depends on what choices an individual makes in life. In The Choice, feisty Gabby is ready to settle with her long-term boyfriend until she moves into a little lake home right beside Travis, who has always dreamed of having a long-term commitment
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Seashells are a precharged symbol. “Universal symbols are precharged – ready-made symbols infused with values and associations that most of the people in a given culture understand” (Boggs and Petrie, 59). It is referenced many times through the internet that shells are often time symbolized with love. Even though Gabby and Travis fall in love, their love is fragile right away because they do not have full trust of each other yet. When Gabby is out on her porch hanging up the seashell wind chime, the camera zooms in on the wind chime and pauses the scene there for a few seconds, while focusing on the wind chime and everything else around it is blurred out. The seashell wind chime, is held together by a light, thin string that would be easy to fall apart (see Fig. 1). The seashell wind chime is also emphasized after the storm, when the house, the dock, and the shed is torn into pieces and the wind chime is missing. A couple of the scenes are focused on finding the wind chime and when the dog started barking and Travis found it, the camera again focuses just on the seashell wind chime and blurs everything else around it out. When making good choices, and doing the best for oneself, those are rewarded to us in some way. Often times when many people make the wrong choice in life, that can put individuals in a situation where they do not want to be, other people will remember that action that one took. Even when one may think no one is watching, someone is always watching
Seashells are a precharged symbol. “Universal symbols are precharged – ready-made symbols infused with values and associations that most of the people in a given culture understand” (Boggs and Petrie, 59). It is referenced many times through the internet that shells are often time symbolized with love. Even though Gabby and Travis fall in love, their love is fragile right away because they do not have full trust of each other yet. When Gabby is out on her porch hanging up the seashell wind chime, the camera zooms in on the wind chime and pauses the scene there for a few seconds, while focusing on the wind chime and everything else around it is blurred out. The seashell wind chime, is held together by a light, thin string that would be easy to fall apart (see Fig. 1). The seashell wind chime is also emphasized after the storm, when the house, the dock, and the shed is torn into pieces and the wind chime is missing. A couple of the scenes are focused on finding the wind chime and when the dog started barking and Travis found it, the camera again focuses just on the seashell wind chime and blurs everything else around it out. When making good choices, and doing the best for oneself, those are rewarded to us in some way. Often times when many people make the wrong choice in life, that can put individuals in a situation where they do not want to be, other people will remember that action that one took. Even when one may think no one is watching, someone is always watching