Name: Keana Marie Allesandra C.

Tegio Subject:21 st Literature

Grade & Section: G11-OMGC Teacher: Sir Aldrin Lopez

CORALINE AND ITS EFFECTIVE USE OF PARANOIA

Coraline is about a young girl’s adventure into an alternate reality. Coraline has been described

by Miller (2009) in a site entitled, Film School Rejects as a film that’s delightfully dark, creative

and fun. I believe that the brilliant writers of this film have used the literary technique,

paranoia. Paranoia according to Russell (2017) is a technique where the distinction between

appearance and reality is blurred. It plays with delusions and feelings of persecution. It makes

the audience paranoid to the point that they start to question the idea of reality from a variety

of perspective – psychological, political and philosophical. This technique works by utilizing

narrative styles to create a paranoid mood or environment. Some use a subjective narrative to

make the audience see the point of view of the main character, while some use an objective

narrative to place the character in a delusional world, or in a situation where the audience is not

aware if the character is delusional or experiencing reality as it is. In Coraline, we see things in

the main character’s perspective. We are aware of what’s happening in her life, what she

wanted and how she was drawn into an alternate reality. Because of this, we felt how confused

and scared Coraline was when her alternate reality turned into a nightmare.

The technique was able to make the audience feel what it’s like to be in that situation. Paranoia

touches reality and delusions, making people question and second-guess their decisions and
actions in life. By using paranoia, people are touched in a deeper sense because they felt

paranoid about what’s going to happen or the probability that what happened in the film may

also happen to them. Coraline is a cartoon but it did well in disturbing the audience. Paranoia

also uses symbols, allegories and common techniques to tell a story. It touches dream-like,

confusing, too good to be true scenarios. Characters also have a feeling that they’re living or

must be living in a world that is different than it appears to be. Coraline’s alternate universe has

everything that she has in her reality. But this time, it’s exactly how she wanted it to be – a

sweeter family whose attention is focused on her. The only weird thing is that everyone has

button eyes. It also ended in how most paranoia ends – Coraline was able to realize that her

delusions are in fact delusions.

By analyzing the technique used in a literary text, we can understand the deeper message of

the film. Films are more than just what happens inside the plot, it’s also concerned with what

happens with the audience when they watch the film. The main reason literary techniques are

used is to connect with the audience. It helps us to better see and feel the storyline. It

heightens our senses, pulling us emotionally. By utilizing a literary technique, it can alter,

control, and challenge the way the audience appraise any work. In other words, it is efficiency

at its finest. Like in the movie Coraline, people get confused with what’s a reality and what’s

delusional because of the technique used. The movie may be alluded as a psychologically

riveting film that scared the audience but it has a strong moral underpinning and one example

is a cautionary message about appreciating your parents. If we are well aware of the approach

of writers and directors, we can see the purpose of the film and the significance of every scene,

or symbolism. Watching a film without these realizations can lead to mere leisure, even if the

main purpose of the film was to protest or give a lesson.