Textual Analysis

IB Film Standard Level

M2020

HLB519

Across the Universe: 01:24:31- 01:29:31

 Textual Analysis: Across the Universe

Textual Analysis: Across the Universe (2007)

Sequence Running Time: 01:24:31- 01:29:31

In a world where there was no hate, there would’ve been a world with peace.

Hatred began with wars that led up to our freedom. Civil rights and free speech was a

struggle. In this romantic film, Across the Universe (2007), director Julie Taymor

tells a remarkable love story through the Beatles songs and the historical context

with the Iraq/Vietnam War through the use of imagery. The film is set in the United

States during the late-1960s. In the chosen sequence, the political and historical cultural

context will be thoroughly interpreted. This will be done through the actions of the

characters in the film, the film elements of cinematography, as well as mise-en-scene

such as setting, lighting, costume, make-up, and acting that are represented in this love

story.

The film was set during a time when there were many political struggles in our

society. This was a time when the United States was falling apart from free speech and

civil rights. It wasn’t an important thing at that time as colored individuals were seen as

a symbol of hate to many whites. Segregation was a huge part of people’s lives.

President John F. Kennedy wanted to stop an end to this and have equal rights for

everyone but that didn’t happen so quickly. He wanted to change America’s way of

racism. Lynchings were extremely brutal because of the way the white citizens felt

towards the colored. They didn’t want them to have equal education, job payments,

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 Textual Analysis: Across the Universe

registering to vote, etc. “A negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section

of the state in which he is born, has about one half as much chance of completing a

high school as a white baby, born in the same place on the same day. One third as

much chance of completing college. One third as much chance of being a professional

man” (JFK, 1963). He wanted to defeat the purpose of communism in the land of the

free. African Americans felt more like they were second class citizens instead of being

fairly treated as much as everyone else. In Julie Taymor’s film, the rights of free speech

were completely vanished. Just like how it was for the African Americans.

The film was released in 2007, the same time where the Iraq War was still taking

place. Taymor wanted to portray this to the audience in a way through the Beatles

songs. She wanted to advocate for those people who couldn’t voice their own opinion

and let them be heard of the situations that are happening as of today. “And honestly,

with our horrendous political situation right now, it’s important that young people see this

movie, and see how important it is to get off their cellphones [...], and out into the street

to protest” (Taymor, 2007). Free speech was something that wasn’t taken into

consideration during the time of the war. This was expressed through the characters

and the way it showcased through the movement of society. Politics played a very

important role in this film due to the Iraq War and the parallel connection it made with

the Vietnam War.

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The sequence that I have chosen is one of the most symbolic representations in

the film. It shows the deeper meaning of the war as a whole and how brutally painful it

was for the US troops in the war. What was a very happy life for Jude has now become

a feared one. In the scene, Jude quickly gets furious when Lucy and Max bring in a

small TV for them to watch the war on. Once Jude gets heated and goes into his room,

it escalates when he eyes the strawberries on the floor and wants to express his

emotions through the barbarous war.

In the sequence from the beginning and onward, Taymor assembles Jude’s

emotions through Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography. At the beginning, Jude is in a

medium close up shot in this dark room, smoking a cigarette. As he starts singing

“strawberry fields forever”, the camera gets closer and it’s now a close-up shot. This

really emphasizes his emotions because of the pain he’s feeling and Delbonnel really

wanted to show the audience in a way through the color exposure (Figure 1). The black

shadow in both of the shots shows the darkness that Jude is feeling along with the

smoke fume which could represent the war when the muzzle smoke comes out from the

guns.

Figure 1: Two medium close up and one close up shot (Taymor, 2007)

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As Jude starts taking the strawberries and pinning them on the walls, Delbonnel

emphasizes the scene in a medium close up shot where the strawberries are dripping in

red dye and you can see the shadow being black on his face (Figure 2). The

strawberries being red represent the blood of those fallen soldiers that try and serve our

country and the shadow on his face also represents the anger he has that they couldn’t

do anything when they protested against the war. This catalyzed a huge tension

between the two characters and their relationship.

Figure 2- Medium close up of Jude pinning the strawberries (Taymor, 2007)

The next scene explains the way Delbonnel uses depth of field, showing Jude’s

face out of focus and the strawberries being the main center of attention (Figure 3). The

strawberries represent many different meanings throughout the sequence but the most

important exemplification is the way the strawberries symbolize hate and fear more than

anything. Strawberries are supposed to convey a sweet message but Taymor definitely

didn’t want that to be included in her film. She wanted it to be a visualization of the

strawberries being bombs or grenades that were being

thrown down at the troops during the war. During the

part where he says “strawberry fields forever”, the

camera moves backwards rapidly and it focuses out of

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 Textual Analysis: Across the Universe

Jude’s face and quickly onto the strawberries giving it that “forever” effect to the song.

Figure 3- Depth of field shot

Although cinematography plays a very important role in the sequence, there is

one more element that comes in play with the scenes. This element is called

mise-en-scene. Throughout the sequence, we see many different examples of

mise-en-scene through the way the lighting is portrayed, the setting and how the acting

is through the different personalities of the characters. We gain a deeper understanding

of how each individual character has done this through the role of each element. The

characters in the sequence don’t really wear much makeup and that might be because

of how simple and pure they really are (Figure 4). They’re just children trying to help

stop the war and trying to make their voices be heard to the government. In the scene

where Lucy’s face is a close up, there is a little bit of red lipstick on her lips. The red

lipstick could represent how hurt she really is and how painful it must be for them to

listen to US troops dying from the war.

Figure 4- Lucy’s medium close up and close up shot of her emotions. (Taymor, 2007)

The way that Taymor portrayed the setting was to have it in a secluded area

where there was no one but Jude in the room. Lucy does overlook him, but I think

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Taymor wanted it to be in an environment where it felt comfortable for him to make a

huge mess with his artwork (Figure 5). By doing so, his acting also represents how

trapped he is inside where he lives that the only thing he can really do is express it

through artwork. We can see this through his expressions in the scene and that we

don’t fully know what’s happening to Jude but we can sense a vibe that something

horrifying will happen.

Figure 5- Jude expressing his emotions through his art (Taymor, 2007)

The connections between the cultural context and film elements are extremely

important in a way where it helps open our minds to the film in a deeper sense. The Iraq

War due to its political reasonings and historical background along with the

cinematography and mise-en-scene helped put this film together in my eyes and that’s

what was portrayed best. An example of this relationship would be where the strawberry

is between the two eyes. If you were just watching this part of the film for the fun of it, it

wouldn’t make sense as to why strawberries were used instead of actual grenades or

bombs. The significance to the strawberries being used is to show the dark red color

that the strawberries bring out and how that could portray it to the Iraq War. During this

time, the war in Iraq was far more than dangerous. Many US troops have died serving

for our country and that’s how it is portrayed for the Vietnam War. The strawberry in the

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middle of the forehead represents a bullet going past his head and the juice that’s

dripping down it symbolizes the blood (Figure 6). This is an extreme close up shot to

really get every detail and to show the audience why the strawberry is in the middle of

the forehead. Another very important part in this sequence is the where Jude starts

Figure 7- Medium close up of Jude’s feet

making a mess with the strawberries and starts throwing them around on the wall. The

part where they show his feet covered in strawberries or red paint. This could signify

that the blood is on his hands and feet

because they didn’t get their message across during the protest and the war is still

going on because of them. Jude thought it should’ve been over with by now but it wasn’t

(Figure 7).

Figure 6- Extreme close up shot of strawberry in the middle of forehead

(Taymor, 2007)

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 Textual Analysis: Across the Universe

Overall, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe helped me gain a deeper

understanding of the historical background of this film and the way that Taymor used

The Beatles songs to make it a bit more interesting. The use of cinematography and

mise-en-scene helped me gain knowledge about the society today through a much

deeper understanding using film elements. The political issues and historical

backgrounds also helped me understand the way that society was back then but

portrayed in a sense where Taymor envisioned it as her own.

Word Count: 1712

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Works Cited

“Across the Universe.” Netflix, 1 Jan. 2019,

www.netflix.com/watch/70045863?trackId=14170286&tctx=3%2C0%2Ced8e29
2-d383-4513-b410-c2770b768b6d-85019160%2Caa88320b-ba1f-4eca-a340-69
b152aaf07_28083920X3XX1556485304644%2Caa88320b-ba1f-4eca-a340-69
b152aaf07_ROOT.

Holden, Stephen. “Lovers in the '60s Take a Magical Mystery Tour.” The New York
Times, The New York Times, 14 Sept. 2007,
www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/movies/14univ.html.

“Interview - Exclusive HTF Interview with Across the Universe Director Julie Taymor.”
Blu-Ray Movie Discussion, Expert Reviews & News,
www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/exclusive-htf-interview-with-acr
ss-the-universe-director-julie-taymor.355836/.

“Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights, 11 June 1963 |
JFK Library.” Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil
Rights, 11 June 1963 | JFK Library,
www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHA/1963/JFKWHA-194-001/JF
WHA-194-001.

“Screening the Past.” Screening the Past,

www.screeningthepast.com/2017/12/a-double-layered-nostalgia-the-sixties-the-i
aq-war-and-the-beatles-in-julie-taymors-across-the-universe-2007/.

“'Strawberry Fields Forever': The Making of a Masterpiece.” The Independent,

Independent Digital News and Media, 22 Sept. 2011,
www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/strawberry-fields-fore
er-the-making-of-a-masterpiece-426308.html.