Amy's gaze
May. 6th, 2010 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizbeeOn a whim, I started making an Amy vid on Sunday night. One of the things about vidding is that you spend a lot of time watching the same things over and over again, seeking that subtle moment of change that you need for the narrative you're crafting. You begin to see patterns, and then you construct meanings from patterns, and then Windows throws up another pointless pop-up message, and you decide to chuck it all in until you've learnt vidding in Ubuntu, and turn your thoughts into an LJ post instead.
This is what I noticed: all through the season so far, the camera has focused to an unusual degree on Amy's eyes and hands.
This is striking, because extreme close-ups weren't really a feature of previous seasons, and I can't think of more than a couple of hand shots. But with Amy, she sees, and we see her seeing, and then she acts, and we see her hands.
Now, this might merely be a directorial choice -- it's certainly been most prominent in Adam Smith's episodes -- but the director is as much of a storyteller as the writer. Maybe his girlfriend works in the make-up department, and he just wanted to draw attention to the lovely work that's put into Amy's make-up and manicures, but we wouldn't be fans if we didn't think there was more to it than that.
The multiform exists in the periphery, in the corner of our eye. The Doctor tells Amy to look, and she sees its hiding place. He warns her not to look the monster in the face, or else she'll die, but Amy thinks Keep Out signs are an invitation, and she disobeys.
And that disobedience is what saves her, and the planet. Seeing the multiform is like knowing Rumpelstiltskin's name. It's a bit fairy tale. Amy's eyes are open, and she continues to see, casting her gaze over the Doctor. To her, he was the Raggedy Doctor, and she's watching him shed his rags and take on a new identity.
Also, she's perving.
As the TARDIS vanishes, the Doctor abandoning Amy for the second time, she slowly closes her eyes. It's an exhalation, a moment of despair, exhaustion, and maybe a little relief. She had begun to trust him -- opening her eyes -- but when the Doctor returns, she's once again wary and mistrustful.
In "The Beast Below," the Doctor tells Amy to look closely. And oh, how she does.
She sees what she's not meant to see, the truth behind (beneath) Starship UK. It's another betrayal, this time of humanity and its saviour. So she closes her eyes. She forgets.
Later, when she's well beyond denial, she's the one who puts together everything she's seen, and brings Liz X's hand down on the button. Eyes. Mind. Action.
This is also the episode with a lot of POV shots. The camera's hovering over her shoulder, letting us see what Amy sees. "See" stops looking like a real word after a while.
Maybe it's worth noting that Liz X, who is desperate to see, wears a mask. Hiding her face, hiding herself from the truth. Maybe it's also worth noting that Amy, Liz X and River all have painted nails. Maybe that's just part of the new costume team's preferred look, but I find it interesting.
"Victory of the Daleks" isn't exactly an episode that's heavy on the Amy, but here's a shot that I found interesting, especially in the context of the irrational gunphobia (unless you're on Torchwood, in which case they're sexy, or it's an alien gun, in which case it doesn't count) of the RTD years. Amy's empathising with a suicidal android whose hand has been shot off. It's an interesting moment; I don't for a second believe that Amy is (as some have theorised) a robot, an android or a Cylon, but I do think she understands that kind of grief and despair. Four psychiatrists. And the look on her face as Bracewell remembers the death of his parents.
"The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone" are Adam Smith-directed episodes, and again, they're full of good stuff. "The eyes are not the windows of the soul" indeed. The power of Amy's gaze is turned against her. She has something in her eye.
She has something in her eye, and it's turning her hand to stone. I mean, COME ON. Amy's power is in seeing, and the Angels went straight to the heart of that. It's amazing. "Walk like you can see." She is surrounded by enemies, and looking at them will destroy her from the inside out. You can't tell me that's not amazing, both as a plot and as a theme.
And while her eyes are closed, the Doctor puts his hands on hers and begs her to trust him.
Interesting fact: there are no close-ups on Amelia's eyes. The power of Amy's gaze is a consequence of her early encounter with the Doctor. But there is one thing, though.
But there is a GIANT EYEBALL. And really, when it's open, doesn't the crack look like a ...?
OH YEAH, BABY.
One other thing: the Pandorica is opening. Pandora, aside from being a crazy Gallifreyan president played (most of the time) by Mary Tamm, was, of course, the mythological First Woman of Greek myth, created by Zeus to entrap mankind, as revenge for Prometheus's theft of fire. Pandora was created to be beautiful, enticing and fascinating, but she was also curious, and it was this desperation to know -- to see -- that led her to open the box. Not that that saves her from millennia of abuse at the hands of Greek poets, but, y'know, whatevs.
So I wonder whether something has interfered with Amy, drawn the Doctor to her, made her an ideal companion for him, as a trap. (Back in 2005, this was also a popular theory re: Rose and the Bad Wolf.) But Amy's not a particularly good pawn, and you can all thank your lucky stars I'm refraining from some kind of zany pawn-to-queen metaphor here, because I think we all know that only ends badly. I think, or I hope, that whatever's wrong with Amy, it (a) started after she met the Doctor as a child and (b) is not something over which she has any control, or of which she's even aware. I like Amy just fine as her own mad self, so I hope the solution doesn't involve going back and changing her past, but I desperately hope the season ends with Amy freed from Zeus's plans, and free from her crippling mistrust. At this stage, I don't actually have a clue how that will be resolved, but I'm terribly keen to see.
This is what I noticed: all through the season so far, the camera has focused to an unusual degree on Amy's eyes and hands.
This is striking, because extreme close-ups weren't really a feature of previous seasons, and I can't think of more than a couple of hand shots. But with Amy, she sees, and we see her seeing, and then she acts, and we see her hands.
Now, this might merely be a directorial choice -- it's certainly been most prominent in Adam Smith's episodes -- but the director is as much of a storyteller as the writer. Maybe his girlfriend works in the make-up department, and he just wanted to draw attention to the lovely work that's put into Amy's make-up and manicures, but we wouldn't be fans if we didn't think there was more to it than that.
The multiform exists in the periphery, in the corner of our eye. The Doctor tells Amy to look, and she sees its hiding place. He warns her not to look the monster in the face, or else she'll die, but Amy thinks Keep Out signs are an invitation, and she disobeys.
And that disobedience is what saves her, and the planet. Seeing the multiform is like knowing Rumpelstiltskin's name. It's a bit fairy tale. Amy's eyes are open, and she continues to see, casting her gaze over the Doctor. To her, he was the Raggedy Doctor, and she's watching him shed his rags and take on a new identity.
Also, she's perving.
As the TARDIS vanishes, the Doctor abandoning Amy for the second time, she slowly closes her eyes. It's an exhalation, a moment of despair, exhaustion, and maybe a little relief. She had begun to trust him -- opening her eyes -- but when the Doctor returns, she's once again wary and mistrustful.
In "The Beast Below," the Doctor tells Amy to look closely. And oh, how she does.
She sees what she's not meant to see, the truth behind (beneath) Starship UK. It's another betrayal, this time of humanity and its saviour. So she closes her eyes. She forgets.
Later, when she's well beyond denial, she's the one who puts together everything she's seen, and brings Liz X's hand down on the button. Eyes. Mind. Action.
This is also the episode with a lot of POV shots. The camera's hovering over her shoulder, letting us see what Amy sees. "See" stops looking like a real word after a while.
Maybe it's worth noting that Liz X, who is desperate to see, wears a mask. Hiding her face, hiding herself from the truth. Maybe it's also worth noting that Amy, Liz X and River all have painted nails. Maybe that's just part of the new costume team's preferred look, but I find it interesting.
"Victory of the Daleks" isn't exactly an episode that's heavy on the Amy, but here's a shot that I found interesting, especially in the context of the irrational gunphobia (unless you're on Torchwood, in which case they're sexy, or it's an alien gun, in which case it doesn't count) of the RTD years. Amy's empathising with a suicidal android whose hand has been shot off. It's an interesting moment; I don't for a second believe that Amy is (as some have theorised) a robot, an android or a Cylon, but I do think she understands that kind of grief and despair. Four psychiatrists. And the look on her face as Bracewell remembers the death of his parents.
"The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone" are Adam Smith-directed episodes, and again, they're full of good stuff. "The eyes are not the windows of the soul" indeed. The power of Amy's gaze is turned against her. She has something in her eye.
She has something in her eye, and it's turning her hand to stone. I mean, COME ON. Amy's power is in seeing, and the Angels went straight to the heart of that. It's amazing. "Walk like you can see." She is surrounded by enemies, and looking at them will destroy her from the inside out. You can't tell me that's not amazing, both as a plot and as a theme.
And while her eyes are closed, the Doctor puts his hands on hers and begs her to trust him.
Interesting fact: there are no close-ups on Amelia's eyes. The power of Amy's gaze is a consequence of her early encounter with the Doctor. But there is one thing, though.
But there is a GIANT EYEBALL. And really, when it's open, doesn't the crack look like a ...?
OH YEAH, BABY.
One other thing: the Pandorica is opening. Pandora, aside from being a crazy Gallifreyan president played (most of the time) by Mary Tamm, was, of course, the mythological First Woman of Greek myth, created by Zeus to entrap mankind, as revenge for Prometheus's theft of fire. Pandora was created to be beautiful, enticing and fascinating, but she was also curious, and it was this desperation to know -- to see -- that led her to open the box. Not that that saves her from millennia of abuse at the hands of Greek poets, but, y'know, whatevs.
So I wonder whether something has interfered with Amy, drawn the Doctor to her, made her an ideal companion for him, as a trap. (Back in 2005, this was also a popular theory re: Rose and the Bad Wolf.) But Amy's not a particularly good pawn, and you can all thank your lucky stars I'm refraining from some kind of zany pawn-to-queen metaphor here, because I think we all know that only ends badly. I think, or I hope, that whatever's wrong with Amy, it (a) started after she met the Doctor as a child and (b) is not something over which she has any control, or of which she's even aware. I like Amy just fine as her own mad self, so I hope the solution doesn't involve going back and changing her past, but I desperately hope the season ends with Amy freed from Zeus's plans, and free from her crippling mistrust. At this stage, I don't actually have a clue how that will be resolved, but I'm terribly keen to see.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 03:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 03:50 pm (UTC)Odd emphasis on , too.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 04:05 pm (UTC)seeing/learning + knowing/remembering/choosing not to forget = action
What that means beyond the obvious is anyone's guess though.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 03:49 pm (UTC)And her legs, allegedly.
If I were a director I'd be focusing on Amy's eyes for purely pragmatic reasons, because her acting with them is bloody brilliant. But you're right: there's something thematic going on as well, and it's intriguing. Thanks for this.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 04:55 pm (UTC)I very very much hope the season ends with her free from Zeus's plans but I'm not sure I want her free from her mistrust (maybe just the crippling part) because I think the fact that she looks and looks and keeps looking and won't look away is the reason I have just poured my whole freaking heart into her, and that's certainly based on an inability to trust that the world will be the same if she keeps her eyes closed and belieeeeves. Which: she's right.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 06:02 pm (UTC)