Fire by Deepa Mehta
In Deepa Mehta's film, Fire, symbolism is used to show the struggle between tradition and new ideas. This struggle, which Radha defeats with her choice for lesbianism, is symbolical paralleled by the reoccurring scenes of her as a child. The film is a tale of two vital, beautiful women breaking their cultural obstacles and being reborn through the passion they express for each other. Their relationship is forbidden, but it is by giving into their feelings that they find the strength to defy their husbands and turn their backs on tradition.Tradition is one of the dominant themes in the film and is represented by Biji, the mother of the family. This is a good symbolic figure for tradition because her old age represents the ageing of the ideals her generation strictly lives by. With her age she has lost her voice and must ring a small bell in order to display anger or discomfort. This represents the dieing off of old customs and the strength of tradition's voice fading out. This allows for a rise of new ideas because the old ways are losing their power and leavening room for a new voice. Sita, who becomes Radha's lover, represents this new voice through youth and resistance to oppression. She is symbolic of the fight again
She is now free and has become who she really is on the inside. The mother says that just because she has never seen it doesn't mean it is not there. This is the climax of the movie when Radha finally openly defies tradition and follows her desires. These new ideas and opinions create struggling questions in Radha and allow her to begin to fight for what she desires. Throughout the film, symbolism and foreshadowing play an important role in displaying the feelings of the characters and the overall message of the movie. In the end, the evolution of Radha's true self is complete and the social norms in India are put into a new perspective. Furthermore, the visions of the fields are used to support the underlying theme of breaking traditional boundaries and the evolution of Radha's self. She talks about how she feels as if there is a button in her mind programmed for social customs and when it is pushed she reacts like a trained monkey. Here, Radha is a beautiful grown woman but has not realized she is being oppressed because customs and traditions have suppressed her desires. For example, Fire opens with a flashback or dream of a little girl and her parents sitting in a large field of flowers. The child does this but is still unable to see what her mother sees. Here the ringing in the background increases as Sita wakes up Radha and begins to kiss her. Therefore the ringing represents Radha's and Sita's fear of defying tradition as they let desire overcome their social norms. Radha's inner struggle is revealed to the audience through clever flash backs and camera angles that imply hidden messages in the scenes.
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