ghosts

Ghosts Before Breakfast appealed to me more than any of the other films we viewed last week, not only due to its charming, whimsical rhythm, but also because of its unique take on surrealism. Unlike the films which preceded it, Ghosts did not limit itself by only utilizing abstract images to evoke emotion, but also showed its audience ordinary, relatable objects which were presented in such a way that defied the natural rules of logic. Last year, my English class discussed the symbolism of the hat in the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot; this came to mind as I watched the hats fly around the lawn in the film. I think the hats represent reason, and, in that sense, reason had almost completely escaped man.

At one point in time during the film, I became confused as to the presence of ghosts in the setting. Were any of the people “ghosts”, and if so, which ones? Without reason, do we as humans lose all substance, and thus become mere “ghosts” of what we could potentially be? The hats were always just out of reach, and yet, it seemed as though the group of men were approaching the problem with very little rationality. Take for example the scene where the one man aims a gun and tries to shoot another man. Either he is trying to shoot a ghost, which would be pretty ineffective, or he is trying to shoot his fellow companion, which would actually hinder the group’s efforts. Same goes for the scene where two of the men are engaging in a gruesome fistfight. The film displays violence as irrational and inhumane.