shawn20009

After watching the film The
Cremaster Cycle by Matthew Barney, it was somewhat difficult for me
to make much sense of what was taking place in the film. There were quite a few
things happening in such a short space of time. However, after much
consideration, I observed some signifiers and their signified to formulate some
understanding. Signifieds in this film are very much reliant upon the cultural
codes and conventions that exist through the society’s culture. Upon first
viewing the film, the levels or “degrees” appeared to be stages in a
person’s mental development. The first degree with the Apprentice and the women
in the bathtub resembles the stage of a person as a child, care free and
innocent. The second degree that had the female dancers dressed as lambs,
indicate the mental stage in a person’s life when they feel compelled to be a
part of some group or become a part of a particular identity. There is not
individuality being expressed. The third degree appears to be the mental stage
when a person is aware of whom they are as individuals. They are no longer
conformed to things that may have been forced upon them. In the film, this
degree had a rock band playing in the scene, signifying another meaning that
with becoming individual, one can be rebellious. At this degree the Apprentice
must find the tools need of the next degree is in a puzzle in the form of a
crucifix. The crucifix being the signifier relates to the signified: at this
mental stage, a person seeks religion and utilizes the life tools necessary for
the next stages in their life.

As the Apprentice moves to the fourth degree, he encounters this
paraplegic woman who becomes a cheetah when she bites him. The perspective that
I drew from that degree was that as a person experiences the next stages in
their mental development, they can be deceived by their environment. The woman
appears very beautiful and trustworthy; the Apprentice then allows this to play
upon his emotions, causing him to trust her enough to confront her. “Not
all that glitters is gold” meaning that, we can be easily deceived by what
we are influenced by, however over time, what we see may not be as it appears.
The cheetah woman didn’t have the Apprentice’s best interest at heart, just
like some people may not. At the fifth degree, the Apprentice encounters a
plastic statue of some animal in the picture above. This degree indicated the
mental stage of a person trying to put the pieces of their life back together
or finding the missing links. The fifth and final degree housed a masked man doing
Vaseline and metal work. This degree explains the mental stage of someone who
has found their set level of stability, or at least it “appears to be
stable”. “Appearing to be stable” in light or the Apprentice
having to start all over again; quite of few people have to go back to the basic
when life takes a toll on them.

However, what I took most note of while watching the film was, why
did the lady in the third degree have a free mason symbol on the back of her
head dress? It could be that she is the representation of free masonry in the
society.

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