Where the Wild Things Are Reading Log
VISUAL
Title: Where the Wild Things Are
Director: Spike Jonze
Cultural Perspective: American
Gender Perspective: Male
Critical Reputation: Yes (Nominated for the Saturn Award)
Date of Response: 21 September 2011 ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ directed by Spike Jonze links to the theme crisis and change through the character Max and his struggle to control his emotions. Max runs away and falls asleep and dreams of the island where the wild things live each wild thing representing parts of himself and his relationships with his family members. On the island he is placed to govern his own feelings after fighting with his mother. The wild things are symbols of the relationships he has with his sister and mum and his own emotions. Many of what happens in his world where the wild things live parallel Max’s reality such as the dirt clod war which contrasts the snowball fight he had where he splits his emotions into good and ‘bad’ teams. Carroll, Douglas and KW are on his side while Judith, Ira, Alexander and Bull are classed as bad. Carroll is a symbol of Max’s uncontrollable anger and his destructive side which Max understands the best because he is constantly battling anger. Douglas is the symbol of reason and KW a girl who is full of love and represents his mother especially when she hides him from Carroll and also the close relationship between Carroll and KW because he does have a close relationship with his mother and she is the one who experiences the most of his anger bursts, however she is not really there when he needs her because she has to work. But there is a lovely moment between Max and his mother early on in the film which symbolises the love between them, when his mother writes the story Max tells her while he plays with her feet. ‘”There were some buildings... There were these really tall buildings, and they could walk. Then there were some vampires. And one of the vampires bit the tallest building, and his fangs broke off. Then all his other
Title: Where the Wild Things Are
Director: Spike Jonze
Cultural Perspective: American
Gender Perspective: Male
Critical Reputation: Yes (Nominated for the Saturn Award)
Date of Response: 21 September 2011 ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ directed by Spike Jonze links to the theme crisis and change through the character Max and his struggle to control his emotions. Max runs away and falls asleep and dreams of the island where the wild things live each wild thing representing parts of himself and his relationships with his family members. On the island he is placed to govern his own feelings after fighting with his mother. The wild things are symbols of the relationships he has with his sister and mum and his own emotions. Many of what happens in his world where the wild things live parallel Max’s reality such as the dirt clod war which contrasts the snowball fight he had where he splits his emotions into good and ‘bad’ teams. Carroll, Douglas and KW are on his side while Judith, Ira, Alexander and Bull are classed as bad. Carroll is a symbol of Max’s uncontrollable anger and his destructive side which Max understands the best because he is constantly battling anger. Douglas is the symbol of reason and KW a girl who is full of love and represents his mother especially when she hides him from Carroll and also the close relationship between Carroll and KW because he does have a close relationship with his mother and she is the one who experiences the most of his anger bursts, however she is not really there when he needs her because she has to work. But there is a lovely moment between Max and his mother early on in the film which symbolises the love between them, when his mother writes the story Max tells her while he plays with her feet. ‘”There were some buildings... There were these really tall buildings, and they could walk. Then there were some vampires. And one of the vampires bit the tallest building, and his fangs broke off. Then all his other