By Kaylee Johnson
Campus News
I recently rented the The Shape of Water, because I felt guilty after watching brain-cell murdering shows, like The Bachelorette and Celebrity Family Feud. When it first came out, The Shape of Water received abundant acclaim, and then it faded with time. As I was watching the deeply creative plot unfold, I kept wondering if this movie is going to age well. The plot is poignant, meaningful, and unique, and the cast did an excellent job of portraying characters who are outcasts in society. The main character, Eliza Esposito, played by Sally Hawkins, is a mute woman working as a custodian at a marine life institute in the 1960s. Her loyal, chatty co-worker and friend Zelda, played by Octavia Spencer, is an African-American woman who faces workplace racism. Eliza’s best friend is a homosexual artist named Giles, who is played by Richard Jenkins. After watching The Shape of Water I felt enlightened and confused, not because of the plot, but because I was led to believe that it was a romantic movie. I think the same people who believe that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel; The Great Gatsby is about glitz and glamour, and overlook the prominent themes of unattainable love, the classic American dream, social observations, and transformations, fail to understand that The Shape of Water is about so much more than romance.
While I don’t believe that romance is the main theme, that doesn’t mean I don’t believe it is present, but not in the traditional sense. Eliza’s odd relationship with the sea creature can also tie into the main theme of inclusion and embracing differences. Both of them see value in each other, whereas others see defects. All of the protagonists were minorities, and felt the unforgiving burn of society’s wrath. While I feel that The Shape of Water is a quality movie, I think it will become a forgotten film within the next few years. Even though it is unique, the CGI of the sea creature will look dated and the plot won’t hold up, since many movies will include minority protagonists in the future. Maybe I will be wrong; I know it will be more memorable than one of those god-awful Amy Schumer comedies that I always regret wasting ten dollars and four hundred calories worth of popcorn on. If you are debating whether or not to watch it, I say try it out, there is something in it for everyone, and even though it wasn’t my favorite movie, I am glad I got to see what everyone was talking about.
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