Iconography in The Day of The Locust

The Hollywood Iconography Lends to The Film Adapted Novel.

Dec 16, 2008

If there ever was a drive in John Schlesinger's The Day of The Locust film it's the iconography of the characters and the setting that surrounds those figures.

Wherever you go in Hollywood you're bound to run into the stereotypes that are behind the driving force of what the town represents. The character of Faye represents that driving force.

She's glamorous, just like the glittery lights of Rodeo Drive. She's sexual and addictive, which represents the magnetic pull the town has over the every day person. The way she dresses really lends to the front that she puts up as someone who's into the "pretty things" of Hollywood. She's also struggling to fit the label and to be inside the box that people are willing to put her in.

For Homer, Faye represents everything that's in his line of vision but he simply can't have. More so, Homer represents the inadequacy of the every day actor. For example, when they are all sitting at the kitchen table and Homer is fixing lunch for Faye. Homer pours the glass of milk and it breaks in his hand before he gets to pass it on to her. This action shows his hunger for her but he can't control himself or his actions. The fact that he wants to rape her lends to his need for something better, but it comes out grotesque.

The main character, Tod, represents the whole; "coming to America." motto. In the beginning of the film, he observes the different "characters", which represents his longing to be just like them. Tod essentially represents how easy it is to get wrapped up in the Hollywood scene and the false nature of the business. At the end of the film when he's on the train, the realization hits him right in between the eyes that he has become a part of the "machine." The dreaded look on his face is that sudden realization that it's better to be your own person then to join the crowd and that he had gone about his pursuit in the wrong way.

Moral

Whether it's the Hollywood tease, an inadequate actor, or the undiscovered mainstream man who's dying to be a part of something, there are many things that the viewer can take away by watching The Day of The Locust. Be your own person, don't give in to labels and if you're going to go to Hollywood, make sure there's an inner self-validity first. None of these characters had that before they started their journey, which is the most important lesson that each of them learn.

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