Lucky_Ladybug (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladybug_archive) wrote2011-10-12 07:32 am
ladybug_archive) wrote2011-10-12 07:32 am
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Smoke Signal
I watched Smoke Signal again after I made my last post. I discovered some very interesting things I hadn't quite remembered.
And I determined that the theme of the movie (or at least one theme) is how easy it is to misjudge people. Both Halliday and Harper are grossly misjudged by each other and the rest of the cast. The movie starts with everyone against Halliday. As it goes on, more and more of the group realize that Halliday is a good person and that he's telling the truth. They then begin to turn against Harper, seeing him as some sort of monster, which is exactly how Harper has been seeing Halliday (and how everyone else did in the past). It looks to me like they start twisting Harper's actions in their minds, which admittedly wouldn't be hard to do, and imagining up things that likely are not there.
I still don't know for sure what was in Harper's mind when he sent Sergeant Miles on that ultimately fatal mission, but it's very possible that it was perfectly innocent. I'd forgotten that he said Miles had been the main scout on a previous mission. So it could be that he simply thought Miles would have the best chance of making it through the rugged territory. He really did look distressed when he heard Private Livingston speaking so ill of him.
Also, there's a part where his temper snaps and he tells Halliday he's a savage and demands to know why he wears a certain charm around his neck. Halliday, at his own breaking point, snaps back that it belonged to his wife. That's when he reveals that his wife was killed in the same battle as Harper's brother. As he storms off, Harper turns away with an absolutely sickened look on his face. He clearly feels horrible about what he said.
By the end scene, all the men are against Harper and threatening to mutiny. Harper has his gun and says that they'll all die if they try it, starting with Halliday. At that point, it's hard to say what's in his mind. He knows by now that Halliday is a good man and deserving of respect, but if the men had really tried to mutiny, I'm sure Harper wasn't kidding about shooting them. If they came at him, what else could he do? But they backed down.
It almost looked like Harper made up his mind for sure when he saw the Apaches waiting for Halliday on the banks. That was when, though he clearly had his chance to shoot his prisoner, he let the gun slide from his hand and indicated for Halliday to escape and go to them, as Halliday had been trying to do. Was seeing the Apaches there the final nudge Harper needed to believe that Halliday was telling the truth? Or had he already been considering letting Halliday go? Maybe even if he believed Halliday, he would have felt the court-martial was a better chance for him than letting him go, until he saw the Apaches. It's hard to say.
What is very clear is that Harper is a good man who overcame his bitter and hateful feelings, and that even while he carried those feelings, he did not completely lose himself. I believe that he was a far better person than the men came to think he was. Luckily, they realized themselves at the end that they had misjudged him.
And why didn't he come out and say that the men were wrong about the Sergeant Miles incident (if they were)? It fits his personality to not. He was the commanding officer; he didn't feel he needed to justify his actions to them. But he gave them a chewing out that really did indicate that they were imagining up things that were not there.
I still really have to wonder if having him and Sephiroth in the same fic will be too much dark awesomeness all at once. But I am getting really excited by the thought of writing for him. I kind of think the fic will open with Aerith on her way to live with Elmyra following Aerith's mother's death. And since I really want to stay away from cliches as much as possible, when Aerith arrives she'll be escorted to town by Captain Harper (as opposed to Sephiroth). Sephiroth won't have arrived in the area yet.
The main thing I'm concerned about now is how I'll stand to write Mrs. Gainsborough's first name. I absolutely abhor the name Elmyra, because I find the character Elmyra from Tiny Toon Adventures so repulsive. I know, I know, she's meant to be the complete opposite of Elmer and that's kind of amusing, but ugh, her childish talk and worse, her inability to care for animals and how she ends up accidentally killing them and not seeming to be upset even though she's supposed to love animals, always made me rage. I hated her even when I was watching the show back in '94 and '95. She was one of the few characters in anything that I really wanted to see dead. I actually laughed once when I found a fic where the author had her killed off because the author was repulsed too.
Anyway, I've always been able to sidestep the problem before, by calling the FF7 woman Mrs. Gainsborough, but I wonder if that will prove awkward in this fic if she ends up being a fairly prominent supporting character.
And I determined that the theme of the movie (or at least one theme) is how easy it is to misjudge people. Both Halliday and Harper are grossly misjudged by each other and the rest of the cast. The movie starts with everyone against Halliday. As it goes on, more and more of the group realize that Halliday is a good person and that he's telling the truth. They then begin to turn against Harper, seeing him as some sort of monster, which is exactly how Harper has been seeing Halliday (and how everyone else did in the past). It looks to me like they start twisting Harper's actions in their minds, which admittedly wouldn't be hard to do, and imagining up things that likely are not there.
I still don't know for sure what was in Harper's mind when he sent Sergeant Miles on that ultimately fatal mission, but it's very possible that it was perfectly innocent. I'd forgotten that he said Miles had been the main scout on a previous mission. So it could be that he simply thought Miles would have the best chance of making it through the rugged territory. He really did look distressed when he heard Private Livingston speaking so ill of him.
Also, there's a part where his temper snaps and he tells Halliday he's a savage and demands to know why he wears a certain charm around his neck. Halliday, at his own breaking point, snaps back that it belonged to his wife. That's when he reveals that his wife was killed in the same battle as Harper's brother. As he storms off, Harper turns away with an absolutely sickened look on his face. He clearly feels horrible about what he said.
By the end scene, all the men are against Harper and threatening to mutiny. Harper has his gun and says that they'll all die if they try it, starting with Halliday. At that point, it's hard to say what's in his mind. He knows by now that Halliday is a good man and deserving of respect, but if the men had really tried to mutiny, I'm sure Harper wasn't kidding about shooting them. If they came at him, what else could he do? But they backed down.
It almost looked like Harper made up his mind for sure when he saw the Apaches waiting for Halliday on the banks. That was when, though he clearly had his chance to shoot his prisoner, he let the gun slide from his hand and indicated for Halliday to escape and go to them, as Halliday had been trying to do. Was seeing the Apaches there the final nudge Harper needed to believe that Halliday was telling the truth? Or had he already been considering letting Halliday go? Maybe even if he believed Halliday, he would have felt the court-martial was a better chance for him than letting him go, until he saw the Apaches. It's hard to say.
What is very clear is that Harper is a good man who overcame his bitter and hateful feelings, and that even while he carried those feelings, he did not completely lose himself. I believe that he was a far better person than the men came to think he was. Luckily, they realized themselves at the end that they had misjudged him.
And why didn't he come out and say that the men were wrong about the Sergeant Miles incident (if they were)? It fits his personality to not. He was the commanding officer; he didn't feel he needed to justify his actions to them. But he gave them a chewing out that really did indicate that they were imagining up things that were not there.
I still really have to wonder if having him and Sephiroth in the same fic will be too much dark awesomeness all at once. But I am getting really excited by the thought of writing for him. I kind of think the fic will open with Aerith on her way to live with Elmyra following Aerith's mother's death. And since I really want to stay away from cliches as much as possible, when Aerith arrives she'll be escorted to town by Captain Harper (as opposed to Sephiroth). Sephiroth won't have arrived in the area yet.
The main thing I'm concerned about now is how I'll stand to write Mrs. Gainsborough's first name. I absolutely abhor the name Elmyra, because I find the character Elmyra from Tiny Toon Adventures so repulsive. I know, I know, she's meant to be the complete opposite of Elmer and that's kind of amusing, but ugh, her childish talk and worse, her inability to care for animals and how she ends up accidentally killing them and not seeming to be upset even though she's supposed to love animals, always made me rage. I hated her even when I was watching the show back in '94 and '95. She was one of the few characters in anything that I really wanted to see dead. I actually laughed once when I found a fic where the author had her killed off because the author was repulsed too.
Anyway, I've always been able to sidestep the problem before, by calling the FF7 woman Mrs. Gainsborough, but I wonder if that will prove awkward in this fic if she ends up being a fairly prominent supporting character.
no subject
...And it doesn't help at all that the only other "Elmyra" I can think of is Elmira Gulch from The Wizard of Oz...
no subject
Wow, I didn't remember that was her first name. I find her far less detestable (rather endearing in some ways, really; such an iconic character and movie), so maybe thinking of her instead of the cartoon character will help my mindset.
no subject
Yeah, I think her first name was mentioned... once? Maybe twice? But if that helps, go for it! (...I'm not crazy about Miss Gulch, but she's got an awesome leitmotif...)
no subject
LOL yeah, Elmyra is a weird name, I think partly on its own and partly because of the weird Tiny Toons character. I haven't seen that show in years, but I remember never liking that character even at age four. XD
no subject
LOL. I wonder if anyone actually does like her. I can't imagine anyone would, unless they're a bit sick in the head themselves.