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The Rebirth of Cameron Frye

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A piece for a group show at Gallery 1988: Venice.
The show is a called "The Road to Shermer" a tribute show to the movies of John Hughes. You know, classic teen movies from the '80s.

I chose Ferris Bueller's Day Off as it's the John Hughes film that had greatest impact on me back in the day. ***There are plot spoilers that follow if you somehow haven't seen this movie, you've been warned.***

After re-watching the film and contemplating a bit, the thought occurred to me that it is not really about Ferris Bueller. It's about Cameron Frye, Ferris's uptight best friend with a miserable home life and a lot of fears. Through the course of the film, Ferris doesn't change or grow, nor do any characters except for Cameron (and, to a lesser degree, Ferris's sister). Ferris acts as the catalyst by which Cameron is forced to confront those fears and (at least in his mind) overcomes them. The pivotal point of the film is the scene where Cameron throws himself into the pool. This is the only time in the story where Ferris seems to express real concern and emotion for anything. It's as if in this world, everything is a joke or a game, except this moment when Cameron's life is truly in question. Cameron is symbolically 'reborn' as he emerges from the pool to a new awareness that will allow him to deal with his father's anger in regards to his prized car. Cameron is the character in the movie I think most people can identify with and his 'redemption' seems the most compelling arch of the story.

Anyway, here's what came of it. If you know the movie, you should get most of the different symbols I threw in the piece.
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© 2011 - 2024 jasinski
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GuardiansFan1988's avatar
This is incredible! I watched this movie yesterday such a great scene..that's the prose and genius of John Hughes's work :D