Maya Deren - at Land Analysis
Marina de Oliveira Ventura
Beginning my personal analysis of ‘At Land’,the waves mean that Maya is being dragged away from her own life. When she wakes up in the beach again, she has the opportunity of starting all over again, as the water represents a new start. As we see the waves in a reverse motion, they look like a carpet, as she was privileged to start again.
As she climbs the rocks on the beach, the transition of the wild to the table means a transition in our own life: when we stop being children and get in the social world. But as we can see for her position, there’s a moment in between –the teenage years, when we’re stuck in the middle of both scenarios. As she appears for the first time at the top of the table, we can see her curious look, as if everything there is new, and she’s about the discover this world. Also, at the same time we see her crawling through the table, we can see some shots of her walking through bushes, what means she still not noticing this new world as an adult. The people at the table don’t seem to care about her, as if she wasn’t even there. That’s because she’s not a part of the society yet.
When she reaches the other side of the table, her transition to the adult world is complete. That’s when we see the chess piece for the first time: it represents the beginning of the social game. The man who was controlling the chess game at first is a representation of the paternal figure. He is the one who controls our place in this world until we’re old enough. When she reaches the board, she’s not only a viewers, as she were as kids, but now she’s active on this board. The pieces move without anyone touching them, because we can never have full control of our role, our representation and the social game continues even if we try not to be a part of it. The moment she tries to grab one of the chess pieces and it falls from the board, is like she’s seeking for her identity, but can never reach it.
Then, we’re at the wild again. But
Beginning my personal analysis of ‘At Land’,the waves mean that Maya is being dragged away from her own life. When she wakes up in the beach again, she has the opportunity of starting all over again, as the water represents a new start. As we see the waves in a reverse motion, they look like a carpet, as she was privileged to start again.
As she climbs the rocks on the beach, the transition of the wild to the table means a transition in our own life: when we stop being children and get in the social world. But as we can see for her position, there’s a moment in between –the teenage years, when we’re stuck in the middle of both scenarios. As she appears for the first time at the top of the table, we can see her curious look, as if everything there is new, and she’s about the discover this world. Also, at the same time we see her crawling through the table, we can see some shots of her walking through bushes, what means she still not noticing this new world as an adult. The people at the table don’t seem to care about her, as if she wasn’t even there. That’s because she’s not a part of the society yet.
When she reaches the other side of the table, her transition to the adult world is complete. That’s when we see the chess piece for the first time: it represents the beginning of the social game. The man who was controlling the chess game at first is a representation of the paternal figure. He is the one who controls our place in this world until we’re old enough. When she reaches the board, she’s not only a viewers, as she were as kids, but now she’s active on this board. The pieces move without anyone touching them, because we can never have full control of our role, our representation and the social game continues even if we try not to be a part of it. The moment she tries to grab one of the chess pieces and it falls from the board, is like she’s seeking for her identity, but can never reach it.
Then, we’re at the wild again. But