Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Lars von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark” and “Breaking the Waves”: Strength, Devotion and the Ideal Portrayed in the “Unlikely” Simple Central Characters
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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 5 page paper discussing the central characters in two films of Lars von Trier, “Breaking the Waves” and “Dancer in the Dark”. Two films of Lars von Trier, “Breaking the Waves” and “Dancer in the Dark” tell the story of two women who prove their strength through their devotion to the ones they love. In a strange scenario and a play between reality and the ideal however, von Trier portrays both women as seemingly simple and frail with their strength only being revealed later in their ultimate sacrifices for others. Bess in “Breaking the Waves” originally is portrayed to viewers as perhaps somewhat “mentally touched” as she talks to herself and God. While these may be seen as weak characteristics in reality, Bess portrays the ideal as her devotion to her husband leads to her compromising her own life. Similarly, Selma in “Dancer in the Dark” appears simplistic to viewers in the onset of the film but her dedication to her son and her perseverance to provide for him the savings he will require to save his sight override any concern for her own safety and she too sacrifices her own life for his; both women’s devotion portraying the ultimate ideal in devotion, selflessness and strength.
Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_TJLarsV1.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Dark" tell the story of two women who prove their strength through their devotion to the ones they love. In a strange scenario and a play between reality and the
ideal however, von Trier portrays both women as seemingly simple and frail with their strength only being revealed later in their ultimate sacrifices for others. Bess in "Breaking the Waves"
originally is portrayed to viewers as perhaps somewhat "mentally touched" as she talks to herself and God. While these may be seen as weak characteristics in reality, Bess portrays the
ideal as her devotion to her husband leads to her compromising her own life. Similarly, Selma in "Dancer in the Dark" appears simplistic to viewers in the onset of the
film but her dedication to her son and her perseverance to provide for him the savings he will require to save his sight override any concern for her own safety
and she too sacrifices her own life for his; both womens devotion portraying the ultimate ideal in devotion, selflessness and strength. Lars von
Triers films "Dancer in the Dark" and "Breaking the Waves" are combined with von Triers other film "The Idiots" in what he refers to as his "Gold Heart trilogy" which
are based on a childrens story which made an impression on him when he was a child. The childrens story is a tale in which "a little girl goes on
a journey and gives away all her possessions to the needy people she encounters along the way until shes finally left destitute, yet she carries on undaunted" (Smith 22). The
main characters of Selma in "Dancer in the Dark" and Bess in "Breaking the Waves" are similar in the same respect in that both women and the films are "marked
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