There are images in certain films which seemed to have lasted for centuries. We can see them in our mind’s eye with such clarity and detail that it seems hard to imagine that they didn’t always exist. The long take of Ben Hur. The rose petals in American Beauty. The shower scene in Psycho. Likewise, there are icons from certain films which have outlived their cinematic counterparts. We’re not talking icons of the screen but rather, the objects which represent their characters, the totems which embellish their every move.
If Inception taught us about anything, then surely it was of the power of the totem. The small, handheld items in the film were carried about by each person going into the dream landscape. They were unique to each person and reminded them of their place (or perhaps displace) in reality. The cinematic totem works in a similar way. Irrevocably attached to its human counterpart, it is almost to impossible the character as absent from the object on screen. The object seems more imbued with life than the person and in many cases, it lives way beyond its human owner. The totem object allows us to read more into the character than dialogue alone, its very shape, size and utility describes more about its owner than anything else. Similarly, the missing totem can speak to us of something deeper, of a longing for something else within the character, or even a dismissal of a long buried memory.
The best totems are the ones that we can conjure up without even having to remember the film, they exist as isolated objects in our mind, telling us the entire story without having to recount a thing. Each person will have their favourite but why don’t we peruse the shelves of the cinematic objects and inspect a few more closely?
The Wizard of Oz
If you’re going to go for the best, why not start with one of the most iconic cinematic objects of all time. Or make that two. The red shoes from The Wizard of Oz are not only completely representative of the entire film world in which Dorothy travels but also, a specific moment and turning point in cinema. In the film, the shoes are indicative of a buried part of Dorothy’s character, the courage and strength that she had forgotten she already had. When she wears the shoes, she is the culmination of all of the characters in the film and the place of Oz, too. In cinematic terms, the glittering shoes marked a turning point, screened for the first time in rich, dazzling technicolour. The red shoes mark the courage and self belief that all cinematic icons have within them and more, the sheer wonder of cinema.
Rebel Without a Cause
James Dean was more than a movie star, he was a true icon of the screen and no more so than in his leading role for Rebel Without a Cause. Representing the disaffected youth, Dean’s teen angst and social unease were manifested no place more than in his red bomber jacket. Turned up at the collar, loosely zipped and casually loose, the jacket depicted a turn away from the preppily dressed peers in Dean’s social group. In his jacket, Dean was the epitome of cool; in his uniform for the anti-teen, he gave hope to all of those who wouldn’t conform.
Heathers
In Heathers, something altogether different happens. Ever-so-slightly on the edge of the high school girl clique, Veronica Sawyer often questions the totalitarianism enforced by her friends, all named Heather. When the team leader of the group, Heather, dies, Veronica is crowned as the new queen bee by being passed on a red scrunchie. When she is allotted the scrunchie, her power status shifts completely; she is indicative of a force she once questioned. With something as simple as a hair accessory, she is granted free reign of the school. And if we know anything about teenagers, it’s that they take accessorising very seriously.
Back to the Future
Marty McFly repeatedly dodges scrapes with the help of his trusty skateboard. Effortlessly hitching onto cars, sweeping away from bullies, the skateboard in Back to the Future is more than just a mode of transport. When Marty uses his skateboard, he transcends his status in reality. He is able to perform tricks and thwart bad guys in a way he couldn’t with his legs alone. With the skateboard, a Hollywood hero is born and without it, Marty is only a shadow of his heroic self.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Under his stetson, Cliff Eastwood’s silent outsider is made into legend. Peering from beneath the rim of his hat, he sees his enemies with more clarity and at the same time, eludes their perception of him. With his hat, the outsider is forever hidden, darting and mysterious. The stetson since has been considered as the very mark of cool, imbuing its wearer with some of Eastwood’s mystery. And no more so than any other item on film, it lands its wearer very much in a specific place and time.
Citizen Kane
Perhaps the Citizen Kane of all on screen objects, the name Rosebud is known to all film lovers throughout the world. Not only a beloved object of the film’s eponymous character, the sledge Rosebud represents the entire mystery of the film, the very reason for which we watch Kane’s life story. Unlike the other cinematic totems, Rosebud is felt as an absence throughout the entire film and it is perhaps because of this that it has lasted in cinematic history. Rosebud indicates what could have been, the simpler time in Kane’s life for which he longs and which was taken so brutally away from him. Despite all of the wealth and success in his life, all he really ever coveted was the snowsledge from his poor family home. More lasting than the other totems, Rosebud marks the ghost of Kane’s former self, the self that he might have been.