Well, this was kinda my point. I'm afraid I'm not up on the specific cultural differences enough to make any real points by it. I was just saying that the differences in how these matters are perceived ultimately influence the perceptions of the audience. Our cultural bias may well be influencing our view of Angela's situation and we really shouldn't forget that.RiceDaddy7 wrote:Actually, all cultures have those issues, but react to them differently.
I agree with this. Every example and possibility I've listed involves sex. But sex isn't necessarily restricted to violence, and even violent sex isn't necessarily restricted to her father. I may have been heavily descending into Freud and overcomplication involving the pistons, but considering that James was allowed to interfere at all, I think his presence in that scene was "asked for" in the same way that Eddie really wanted to make James, personally, into his next example. That she wanted James involved and allowed him to come in and save her from her father's doppelganger means more than a sub-boss fight. Angela, I think, was reaching out, only to retract when she saw something she found distasteful.Sex.
Since James is a man and Angela is a woman, sex ultimately figures into the equation (yay, When Harry Met Sally), which complicates the issue and the symbols. Being abused by her father, Angela must equate physical violence with virility on a subconscious level, something non-abused females do to varying extents as it is. She also finds those displays of power disgusting, again, thanks to her father. This would be the case, I think, whether she was raped or not. It doesn't take sexual abuse to find sexuality or power displays repugnant, even as they're attractive... and SH2 is filled with cognitive dissonance.
I don't think the doorman and the final boss, in regards to their actual designs, can be compared. The final boss has, indisputably, Mary's face. The only reason she has Mary's face is that James finally came around to accepting what he did. The doorman's about as distinct as the lying figure, the latter of which is also a representation of Mary, and we know how James reacted to it: he beat it to death, then poked it with a stick while muttering in confusion.You have to account for that when two victims of Silent Hill are within the same realm of one another, visions of what the others see may crossover. I, for one, believe Angela does see her father exactly like the doorman. It's exactly as James sees Mary as a demon in the final boss scene. Mary/demon to James is what Father/doorman is to Angela. No matter how weirdly distorted they appear, the characters recognize them. James recognizes Mary even when she was a weird demon. Therefore, it is not viewed through James lens. He is looking at him through Angela's lens. It's possible. After all, didn't he later on see her fire world too? Characters can see each others' worlds.
I think Angela has to see something at least as distinct as the final boss for her to be calling it "Daddy," which would mean she and James probably aren't seeing the same monster. For the amount of recognition that Angela displays, it just doesn't jive with me that she'd be seeing the thing that James sees.
Moreover, James beats down several copies of that thing in the hotel, when Angela isn't present. At this point, the monster has crossed over into James's world, so it must mean something to him, and James doesn't display any interest in Angela's situation or history. This is why I think the violence is more important than the sexuality, in this case, and I'll elaborate on this.
Angela's story has a core, like James's and Eddie's, and it's not that the poor girl was beaten and/or raped by her father. That's not why she's in Silent Hill. She's in Silent Hill because she flew off he handle and stabbed him multiple times, to the point where (if I recall) it was a significant detail in the article by itself. However we judge her moral position on the matter, somebody isn't convinced that what she did was right, be it herself or the powers that be in the town (I tend more toward herself, as I think the town is a passive agent).
If James's experiences are a reasonable template for those of other sinners, we can see that the core element of the Silent Hill experience is that one act that the person or powers that be find most reprehensible. In James's case, it'd be the killing of Mary. In Angela's case, it'd have to be the killing of her father and brother. This is the aspect that would constantly be resurging and being shoved violently in Angela's face, just like how feminine monsters and the masculine Pyramid Head were forcing James to constantly reenact his murder of Mary and how whatever Eddie saw was forcing him to reenact blowing out the football player's kneecap. Angela's abuse, like Mary's disease and the teasing Eddie endured, is the passive background that serves as the excuse for the act.
In other words, I think all of Angela's monsters have to represent her violence against her father, not the other way around, otherwise there's no meaning to her journey in Silent Hill. This is a major reason why I consider the violence to be the tantamount issue and why the doorman can't represent sexual or even physical abuse, thus why Burning Man's explanation ultimately resonated with me. It all comes down to proper storytelling.
Sorry for the ramble. I don't post that often and have too much to say... lol
I forget where, but it was on this forum. Somebody blew up the photograph to reveal that the children were blonde, suggesting that it was just some random family photo that Angela was tearing up.Krist wrote:Granted, the photograph features Angela and her brother as children, so it is still possible that the mother died, but I thought it warranted mentioning.