Elephant feels a lot like a masterpiece to me, even if I’m not quite ‘sure’ about it. Details, on the surface level, are resolutely mundane, and the central question of “Why did these things need to be shown on the same day?” remains. But so does the question of whether that question is ethical or philosophical (it’s both), because although there’s no direct, oh-it-all-makes-sense-now connection between the flurry of social disconnection and inner unsettlement that unfold beforehand, that’s really the point; it’s not ‘half-assed,’ to me, because Gus builds so many subtle visual/emotional connections (and emphatic lacks-thereof) between characters.

The anguish (and solace) of Michelle is crushingly ambiguous; is the library a place of privacy for her or just further alienation? The self-containment that arrives when she hopefully looks up to the sky is temporary as far as her feelings go (but a push towards getting through her angst); same temporality with the sustained frustration of Alex, reacting intensely to nothing at all (pure aural/visual mania) in the cafeteria to the opposite end, given to go home and play the piano, turned off and on by his Eric’s wavering enthusiasm.

Gus’ depiction of high school revolves around the idea that its oppressiveness and surprise and overall dynamic are so inconsistent that their effect depends entirely on personality. Furthermore, he doesn’t neatly categorize people into groups wherein ones feelings accumulate and another’s are dispensed regularly. In Elephant, there are a few things that define our notions of who these people are: what their social ranking is, how well they take disappointment, how they look at the outside world, and how they express affection. What gets in the way of everyone having a certain amount of ‘points’ in all of these categories is that some of them are deeply blocked off and irrelevant, stored away, maybe to deal with in the future: we’re barely given any of Elias, the photographer’s personality. He clearly has a few friends and likes to see people a ‘little happier.’ But at the same time he never reaches out from beyond his social parameters to become some kind of saint, and it’s unclear exactly what he’s trying to do with his photography, judging by some of what we see him take.

Gus’ use of ‘stereotypes’ has been criticized, especially because of the early gay-straight alliance meeting scene, which apparently is simply saying that we ‘can’t judge people by how they look.’ The maddening complexity of the scene arises from the fact that some people clearly project who they are and others don’t, which also topples into where the conversation heads: since those expressive of their personality are also expressive of their political beliefs, the scene ends on a note of “So you’re wearing a pink bracelet, and you’re not gay, and who cares…?” giving the impression of mutual resolution; but the attitude of the room clearly isn’t resolved. Gus’ worldview is one that encourages reflection rather than non-labels vs. labels.

His ‘stereotypes’ also defy ordinary stereotype admittance through reflection: we can’t react to these people in simple ways, no matter what they’re focused on in general. The princesses and jocks are simply not depicted as truly vacuous, self-absorbed, and dismissive; as with the killers, there’s a constant sense of individualized expression, devotion and reflection.

Every ‘explanation’ for how the killers themselves express themselves is also offset by little ironies and ambiguities: it isn’t Hitler propaganda they see on TV, it’s Hitler propaganda propaganda, a sign of generalized and PC-ized historical perspective (the kind that Gus rigorously avoids). Even their Gerry-killing computer game suggests an inexorable link between the pleasure/fulfillment behind ‘cheap’ sadism and existential games; a somewhat uncomfortable one. The film demands reflection on the way we inevitably either simplify or fabricate complexity out of what we perceive in order to express ourselves, and there’s a (fulfilled) sense that such a task can’t be done without some kind of self-implication.

10.25.03

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