What's up with the Orgy Scene?
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kenny-164 — 11 years ago(July 09, 2014 07:00 AM)
Zabriskie Point is one of seven Antonioni films I have seen, and agree with the notion that the scene in question was probably not intended to have one interpretation and one only be possible.
I agree also it is logical to view it as Daria's dream (more accurately her "daydream", or imagining), but then you merely remove it one step to attempt interpreting why SHE would have such a dream, and what it means for her to be having it.
At the same time we must remember that Antonioni often moves from the concerns of his characters to if you will a more general perspective. Often the camera alerts us to this shift by moving from the close focus on the characters to a long shot of them in a large landscape shot. The Passenger was filled with this sort of approach, but think in particular in l'Eclisse where Vittoria and Piero are shown walking in relatively close perspective, before they walk down to where an older couple are sitting outside, near a soda machine, but before doing do are shown in long view, as "merely" another part of the landscape.
Combining these two notions, I think part of the interpretation is that Daria is imagining how their sexual encounter "fits" in with the nature of the sexual encounter as an existential element of human experience and history.
Now what to make of such an imagining, and what such nature is, is where it gets more open ended.
As someone else noted, Antonioni has a common theme of viewing sex in the context of our modern, consumer culture and having its issues. Zabriskie's couple are in one sense of the modern world, but in this particular moment are as removed from it as can practically be considered, physically to be sure, but also politically, intentionally, and even economically. Does this mean that they actually are closer to a more authentic, and not consumer-based, human interaction? Or are we to understand that such is instead merely Daria's imagining? Or by imagining, does she see a glimpse, have a vision, of more authentic interaction?
I am not sure. But I think those are the basics of understanding this scene. -
ronaldt49 — 9 years ago(November 20, 2016 04:54 PM)
Death Valley is HOT!
Who in their right mind will roll around in VERY HOT sand?
Very HOT SAND in various body crevasses does not make for a pleasant experience.
Gives new meaning to an expression I heard from an elderly New York couple back in the 60s.
"POUND SAND!" The sand we see in this movie will make that experiences very unpleasant!! -
zwot — 9 years ago(December 31, 2016 11:04 PM)
Anyone looking for symbolic meaning to the orgy will be disappointed to learn the truth about that scene. You see, the producer had a habit of promising someone a role in his next film in exchange for sex. But when the time came to cast Zabriskie Point, the producer realized he had promised roles to
dozens
of people, both men and women. He didn't want to deal with the problem so he just told Antonioni to fit them in any way he could.
Antonioni was none too happy about having to work all these people into his film. As he tried to figure out how to use a bunch of "actors" whose only talent was sleeping with the producer it occurred to him that if they got their roles by having sex then their roles should be to have sex, and he could get it all over with quickly by making them have the sex with each other in one big orgy scene.
Now that I've told the story behind this scene it occurs to me that there is, in fact, a certain symbolism to Antonioni's problem and his solution