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Mythic Aspects in Teen Comedy
Jul. 4th, 2013 02:42 amThe difference between Charlie Bartlett and Ferris Bueller (other than the lack of a Cameron in the first film) is that Charlie is, ultimately, just a high school kid (albeit one with near-supernatural levels of wealth) and Ferris Bueller is a Trickster-archetype demigod.
That's why Cameron is in FBDO. Watching a demigod running around throwing self-centered but ultimately benign chaos all over isn't all that interesting in and of itself, since Ferris can't be touched by anything he sets in motion. The effects of his supernatural flailing on Cameron, Jeannie, and Sloane, on the other hand, give the audience an 'in' on the action. Ferris can't be touched - but Cameron can. Ferris's actions can't have any repercussions for him - but they do for his sister, and might for his girlfriend. And the entire tension of the subplot with the principal is that, if Rooney can make that happen just once, if he can nail a consequence to Ferris and make it stick, not only is it the end of this one day off - it will render Ferris mortal permanently. When Jeannie rescues him at the end of the film, she is not only helping out her brother; she's choosing not to render him as vulnerable as she is, stripped of his aspect - and she knows that. She could have stepped back and allowed Rooney to strip him of his powers, and she, mortal girl that she is, chooses not to.
Charlie Bartlett, on the other hand, starts the film suffering the repercussions of his actions. The family money buffers the fall each time, but he does fall, at least three times that we see in the film. He's reaching for that archetype, the Trickster beloved by all except those who suffer from his splashback - and he almost succeeds. However, he's not a pure archetype, partly because he also has a Healer aspect, and it's that aspect that calls to him in dreams; it's not until he sets down the Trickster in service of the Healer that he finds his footing. Poor guy; Healers almost always start mortal and have to die before they become demigods.
Someone out there is champing at the bit to tell me about the Fight Club theory of FBDO - that it's not that Ferris is a god-hero, it's that he's a hallucination of Cameron's. I'm aware of that interpretation and I reject it. It essentially writes Jeannie out of the film. The climax isn't Cameron deciding to deal with his dad; it's Jeannie deciding she'd rather have the brother she loves and hates in equal measure kept whole than have him brought low. I've never seen an explanation of the Fight Club theory that adequately dealt with her storyline, even leaving aside the mythic aspects.
That's why Cameron is in FBDO. Watching a demigod running around throwing self-centered but ultimately benign chaos all over isn't all that interesting in and of itself, since Ferris can't be touched by anything he sets in motion. The effects of his supernatural flailing on Cameron, Jeannie, and Sloane, on the other hand, give the audience an 'in' on the action. Ferris can't be touched - but Cameron can. Ferris's actions can't have any repercussions for him - but they do for his sister, and might for his girlfriend. And the entire tension of the subplot with the principal is that, if Rooney can make that happen just once, if he can nail a consequence to Ferris and make it stick, not only is it the end of this one day off - it will render Ferris mortal permanently. When Jeannie rescues him at the end of the film, she is not only helping out her brother; she's choosing not to render him as vulnerable as she is, stripped of his aspect - and she knows that. She could have stepped back and allowed Rooney to strip him of his powers, and she, mortal girl that she is, chooses not to.
Charlie Bartlett, on the other hand, starts the film suffering the repercussions of his actions. The family money buffers the fall each time, but he does fall, at least three times that we see in the film. He's reaching for that archetype, the Trickster beloved by all except those who suffer from his splashback - and he almost succeeds. However, he's not a pure archetype, partly because he also has a Healer aspect, and it's that aspect that calls to him in dreams; it's not until he sets down the Trickster in service of the Healer that he finds his footing. Poor guy; Healers almost always start mortal and have to die before they become demigods.
Someone out there is champing at the bit to tell me about the Fight Club theory of FBDO - that it's not that Ferris is a god-hero, it's that he's a hallucination of Cameron's. I'm aware of that interpretation and I reject it. It essentially writes Jeannie out of the film. The climax isn't Cameron deciding to deal with his dad; it's Jeannie deciding she'd rather have the brother she loves and hates in equal measure kept whole than have him brought low. I've never seen an explanation of the Fight Club theory that adequately dealt with her storyline, even leaving aside the mythic aspects.
