The bald stalker in brown/camel fur coat is seen center-left of the shot, below the street light, coming up on the Nicon House. The car on the right is a Dodge Neon from the early nineties. The blogger at Tumblr site Welcome to Somerton has noted Bill passes a red Dodge Intrepid traveling in the opposite direction just as he comes upon the gates of Somerton during his return trip.
"Dodge" was linked to "flee," as in, this is what Bill should be doing - should be dodging the scene, instead of returning to it. Again, we see the Dodge Neon on the street when Bill realizes he is being followed. Here, "dodge" is linked to the word "neon," which clearly hints at the neon lights in the maze-like neighborhood Bill gets lost in.
Ironically, again, Bill returns to familiar territory. The block is disguised, but we can tell it is clearly the same buildings/layout used in the Sonata Cafe scenes. Juli Kearns's map shows this. The block is, of course, decorated with neon lights. So, again, the connection between "dodge" and "neon?" Bill should dodge the neon, but doesn't. At the same time, he wants to dodge the stalker and find safety in the neon. Sharky's Cafe, which is the same storefront as the Rainbow rental shop, is masked in a warm neon glow. And, clearly, since it is the double of the Rainbow, we are reminded that Bill finds security in the familiar neon of a Christmas-y coffee house.
I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't follow up with another car reference.
This is an '88 or '89 Ford Escort. The coupe version looks nearly identical to the one seen on screen, though maybe a different color. The connotations are obvious: "escort" is a euphemism for prostitution. Bill is probably trying to dodge this escort too. But, wait, he ends up going to the morgue. So, again, Bill fails to dodge something.
"Ford" is also a strange reference in that it can mean a shallow area in a river. Like in The Oregon Trail PC game, you can attempt to ford the river, meaning, take your wagon across. Soon after this scene, Bill will round a corner, coming upon the Verona Restaurant marked with the "237" street number. He will ford the street (which maybe acts like a violent river - speeding taxis, traffic), and hail another cab, unsuccessfully.
Like the German cars seen earlier, Ford isn't too far off, in terms of symbolic power. Henry Ford, yes, the Henry Ford, automobile magnate, supported anti-Semitic causes. He bought newspaper companies and ran articles with xenophobic content. He even authored a series of pamphlets, collected in a book titled The International Jew, which denigrated "ethnic Europeans" and obviously, Jews. Sadly, this book seems to have influenced the future Nazi Party's anti-Semitism, it being translated into German in the 1920s.
I'm sure Kubrick was aware of this. The German cars being closely associated with the Third Reich and Nazi war-time efforts, it's little wonder to see a Ford Escort - a weighty, loaded symbol. A 1988 model would also draw attention to the number "8" also coded as infinity, suggesting a never ending cycle of human hatred and violence. 1989 or '89 might point back to numbers in a series: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.
The last car we see parked I'm pretty sure is a 1986 Pontiac Grand Am. The grille is boxy and split symmetrically, and we almost see the badge in the center.
The rims/wheels don't really match, so this is a slight issue. Although people do change rims, and, the production year might be off by one or two. The next closest car seems to be a Buick Skylark, also from 1986, but I think we're looking at a Pontiac. "Grand Am" basically refers to two different models - "grand" for luxury, and "am" for performance. Luxury and performance in one car. Nothing too exciting here. It was a popular model at the time, but, it would have been slightly dated in 1998 or 1999.
The name "Pontiac," however, might call to mind...who else but Ottawa Indians? Countless tribes occupied the Great Lakes and present-day Michigan where virtually every major American automobile manufacturer based their industry. "Pontiac" is the name of an Ottawa tribe leader after whom the 1763 French-Indian war is named. The reference speaks more directly to themes in The Shining, but we can, of course, find parallels between the auto industry, war, and genocide, like we saw with German automakers who used forced labor from Jews and other minorities during World War II. Furthermore, I do think nearly all, if not only the last seven of Kubrick's films can be read as a single, master-film serving as a sort of essential document of the 20th century.
Note that it may look like Bill is being hunted. Let's put the words together: he should dodge the "Ford" lest he end up like the Pontiac. Pontiac, the leader, by the way, was assassinated, but not by a colonialist. The killer was a Peoria tribal leader, and the murder was supposedly a personal matter. But even this detail reminds us of Ziegler's nearly-blatant threats. Ziegler is practically coded to be a "brother" of Bill, sharing the same veiled ethnicity. But this fraternal, ethnic, and professional bond is potentially threatened by Bill's pursuit of truth and the upholding of certain moral and ethical duties.
It's ambiguous whether Bill's fate is already sealed for pursuing his investigations, or, if Ziegler is affording him one last chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment