Element and Content Analysis.revised

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Element and Content Analysis on Silver Linings Playbook.
Silver Linings Playbook is a film that revolves around the lives of two characters who have mental illnesses. Pat Solitano, the main character suffers from a bipolar disorder. His life falls into shambles after he viciously beat his ex-wife’s lover after catching them cheating in the showers. After that, he is confined in a mental hospital for eight months. The therapist scene uses an informal realistic text in the form of a dialogue between Pat and his Therapist, Mr. Patel who walks with him in the recovery journey. Pat later meets Tiffany, a widow with her problems and together they try to find a silver lining in their already broken lives. Using convention from genres of romantic comedy and drama such as pathos, lighting and sound, David O Rusell, the director, expresses the seriousness of mental illnesses in a semi-dysfunctional love story.
The intended purpose of this particular scene is to demonstrate different features of someone who is suffering from bipolar disorder. Pat is in the psychiatrist office trying to explain what happened in the bathroom when he found his wife cheating with the history teacher. The audience can note a few symptoms that are associated with the disorder. The audience learns that Pat went home early that day because he got into a fight with the principal. It is one common symptom among bipolar disorder patients; they are easily agitated and end up fighting with those who are close to them.

Another sign that is clear in this scene is that people with bipolar talk fast about a lot of different things. The scene has a fast-paced tempo and plays for about two minutes and a half, and within that short period, we know pretty much about Pat’s life including how his cheated. First, we learn that he got into a fight with the principal. Second, he has been having issues with his wife as they have not been intimate for a long time. And he even talks about his wedding song. During this time he sounds agitated, yet the therapist was only asking him therapeutically questions, nobody had angered him.
People with bipolar disorder also suffer from psychosis and end up being detached from reality, and this ends up in illusion. From the dictionary definition, delusion refers to having strong false beliefs. Pat tells his therapist that the previous week he had called the police to inform them that his wife and the lover, who was the history teacher, were embezzling funds from a local school. It is only later on that he realized that this was not true and he felt embarrassed for causing a false alarm since it was delusional. The severity of the bipolar disorder is evident when someone gets hysterical during one of the episodes. Pat receives parole from staying with his father after he beat the history teacher he met cheating with his wife. “I snapped I almost beat him to death.” In normal circumstances, most people would have walked from such a situation and filed for divorce. However, due to extreme emotions that Pat had, he got mad and acted on the spot. As if this is not enough, later on in the movie we learn that Pat keeps pursuing Nikki, he is obsessed with her and even wants to lose weight to be attractive. As he puts it “if clouds are blocking the sun, there will always be a silver lining that reminds me to keep on trying” (Cooper et al.).
The lighting design element present in the film changes depending on the emotions that the character’s situation demands.The style of lighting used helps to draw the audience close to reconnecting with whatever the actor is going through (Stephenson). In the cheating scene where Pit walks on his cheating wife and the history teacher, the director uses complete whiteness. The lighting used here helps the audience to have a clear picture of what happened. It was not just a violent episode. In addition to this, a high key overhead lighting helps to demonstrate the severity and bleakness in that particular scene.In films, high key light is usually free from dark shadows and suggests an upbeat mood which is what it does in this specific scene.
The sound is an essential aspect of any film. One thing that is constant in the therapy cheating scene is the background music which is meant to be listened to passively. It acts as a supplement to the audiences’ main focus and provides a certain atmosphere in the film. Pats wedding song, “My Cherie Amour” plays in the background when he walks on his wife in the showers (“Therapist Scene Cheating Incident.”). Every time he heard the song, he could go into a psychotic episode and immediately became a danger to those near him. At that moment he got irritated and beat his wife’s lover almost sending him to the grave. Correspondingly, in the psychiatrists’ office, Pat is furious because he had just heard the song a few minutes ago.Rusell uses the wedding song as a trigger to Pat’s hysteria.
Pathos is one persuasion element that is evident in Silver Linings Playbook. Rusell has been able to intertwine comedy and sad feelings at the same time. In this particular scene, Pat uses a lot of words to describe how he caught his wife cheating and as he does this the scene plays out. The incidences from that particular day are still fresh in his head. He had come early from the school that day. On arriving at his house, his wedding song was playing. He narrates everything he saw; underwear pieces of clothing, guys pant with a belt the DVD player, his naked wife. All this time he thought he would get intimate with wife something that hadn’t happened in a long time. To his dismay, the wife, Nikki was cheating with the history teacher. At this point, the audience naturally sympathizes with him. In fact, one is likely to commend his heroic act for beating the man.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that Rusell was able to use elements of styles to create a compelling masterpiece with a strong message. The film shows that both the director and the producer had done background research on bipolar disorder, a fact that makes the movie believable and exciting. They are also passionate about mental illnesses. The use of pathos helped to create a drama and helps the audience to connect with what Pat was going through. Through this Rusell, gets a broad audience for the movies where he artistically tells the story of two mentally unstable people who end up finding love. A clear demonstration of the seriousness of mental illnesses in a comic atmosphere is well displayed.
Works Cited.
Cooper, Bradley, et al. Silver Linings Playbook. Weinstein Company, 2013.
Stephenson, Linda. “Review Of Effective Lighting Useage In The Silver Lining Playbook Film.” THE FILM CRITIQUE By Linda Stephenson, 2018, https://susiestep.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/review-of-effective-lighting-useage-in-the-silver-lining-playbook-film/.
“Therapist Scene Cheating Incident.” Youtube, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmlo1tOPc5o.