The Wall
Alan Parker/Roger Waters, 1982
The wall is a film that widely employs symbolism in both image and sound in a metaphoric approach. It’s a stunning success in addressing the story of the manipulations of pink’s life which is addressed by both graphical animation and live action footage through each song. The ups and downs of Pink’s emotional stages are presented with the help of music and colorful scenes.
The film starts with the title which is a Red text in the background. The choice of color red which is the starting point of the film is an introduction and warning at the same time that this is not going to be an easy viewing film. The intensity of red alerts the audience to be prepared for a mad and uncanny imagery.
The powerful scene of pink floating in the red pool in repeated several times during the film. The red here which translates the blood is symbolizing the pain that the artist is carrying with him through his unrealistic life. Blood is a vital element of human’s life and at the same time it represents death, pain and fear and red is hauling them all. Pink is floating in color red, it shows that he is facing both life and death, he is struggling between two different sides of his life, and he is questioning himself and the reality of his being. The red as blood keeps on appearing more and more as we go through the artist’s life and face his doubt and uncertainty.
The other well-built use of color red is in the hammers which are notably appearing in the film. Hammer is a symbol of demolition and destruction but at the same time construction. It represents both pink’s life and the society which is always in transition between creating and destroying new concepts and ideologies and behaviors. The sign of the two crossing hammers also resembles the fascist control and Nazi figure which metaphorically stands for a dictatorship and creation of the ideas for the whole society. They are forming the children’s mind and changing them into identical icons and soldiers whom are doing whatever they are told. The red hammers also symbolize the disconnection of pink from the outside world. The red here acts as a signal for his isolation as well.
Also the combination of the red and white in the flags where the hammer is standing is a noticeable use of color and manipulation. White usually symbolizes the innocence and accompanying red here stands for sin and guilt in contrast. It resembles the oinks life which is divided in two even contradictory principles of white and red – the purity and the guilt. The flag shows the both side of the pinks life and ironically the combination of the two colors of red and white in nothing but a color ‘pink’.
