South Seas Genre Movie Analysis: Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Blue Crush Essay Example

new boyfriend, Aldous Snow, an extremely famous British musician. Noticing his deep depression, the hotel receptionist, Rachel, gives Peter one of the most expensive rooms in the resort. Slowly, Peter begins to control his emotions, get a hold of himself and begins hanging out with Rachel. Peter discovers he has feelings for Rachel. Rachel and Peter continue to hit it off, while Sarah and Aldous seem to be experiencing quite the opposite.

Suddenly, Aldous tells Sarah he is going back to England, and their relationship is over. Peter attempts to console Sarah as she confesses her love for him. Realizing his feelings for Rachel are very strong, Peter refuses to have sex with Sarah. Although this film is filled with nudity, sex, and unprecedented comedy, the romance and Hawaiian culture depicted throughout this film is very common in the South Seas Genre. In the 2002 film Blue Crush, a new group of female surfers with style, courage and attitude attack the beaches of Maui. Anne Marie is a young woman living in Hawaii who has been surfing since she was a little girl.

Over the past year, she has been training for the prestigious Pipe Masters surfing competition. Throughout the movie, she tries to overcome the extreme emotional baggage she suffered when her mother abandoned her years ago. She is forced to raise her younger sister Penny, pay the bills and focus on surfing. Anne Marie nearly drowned while trying to surf the famous Maui Pipeline three years ago, and has yet to shake off the anxieties of this traumatic event. Anne Marie lives with her two best friends Lena and Eden. All three of them work

as maids at a local hotel.

When a pro football team checks into the hotel, Anne Marie meets Matt, a promising quarterback who has his eye on her. Anne Marie is just as attracted to Matt as he is to her. The three girls start to give Matt and two of his friends surfing lessons to earn some income. Anne’s physical and emotional attraction for Matt creates an internal dilemma for herself: lust, love and romance versus her desire to compete in the Pipe Masters competition. Certain key elements to a movie of this specific genre are highlighted throughout Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Blue Crush.

The first is this idea of the “escapist” (Man 16). “Hollywood South Sea films depict the tropics as a pagan paradise where Anglo-Saxon customs and inhibitions could be disregarded along with Western clothes” (Man 17). At the resort, Peter takes advantage of the surfing lessons provided by the hotel. While out in the ocean, Peter asks the instructor, a white man, who moved to Hawaii from the states what time it, was. Kunu, first gives Peter an odd look, then replies “I don’t believe in age or numbers”(Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

Kunu’s response supports this idea of the “escapist. He explains that Hawaii is very relaxed, never a need to worry about date, time, or age and the perfect paradise. Kunu, disregards traditional western business attire, which is assumed to be a suit and tie, wears a bathing suit everyday to work. Blue Crush also illustrates this idea that common western customs and norms are disregarded when in the South Pacific. When the football players are approached by Anne Marie on the beach about

trashing their hotel room, they collectively reply that they are on vacation and they don’t have to clean up after themselves. That’s what vacation’s for” (Blue Crush).

In addition, when the three girls arrive at the beach to teach their first surfing lesson, the football players are all standing big and tough. One of them rips off his shorts, wearing a flower decorated man thong. Wearing a man thong goes against the stereotypical Western view of a tough, NFL offensive lineman, depicting a common element in South Seas genre, breaking contemporary western images. In South Seas film, the Pacific Islands are depicted as the ideal paradise for white men filled with simple, primitive, happy natives (Man 19).

Immediately following his break up with Sarah Marshall, Peter’s realizes the highly demanding, pressure filled city of Los Angeles is not conducive to healing his unstable state of mind. Away from his family, work and daily routine in LA, Peter’s stepbrother suggests Hawaii’s beautiful beaches, warm weather and premier resorts as the perfect getaway for him. Here is one example portraying westerners’ belief that the South Pacific Islands are a peaceful place, without complex, sophisticated societies favorable to curing and relaxation.

Similarly in Blue Crush, the island of Maui proves to be a relaxing vacation spot for Matt’s professional football team. The movie portrays them hanging out on the beach, messing around with each other, giving the team a tranquil vacation away from the rigors of professional football. Anne Marie satisfies the description of a happy, beautiful, personable local who finds herself in the mist of a miscegenation relationship, another common South Seas genre element, with a football superstar. One of

the major themes in both movie is romance.

Common in South Pacific films, romance “alludes to the larger sense of heroism that describes the presumed positive and even curative or healing value that exotic cultures of the Pacific are taken to hold for the western civilizations” (Romance and Tragedy Lecture). Peter and Sarah, Sarah and Aldous, and Peter and Rachel relationships emphasize the importance of love and affection. Sarah and Aldous, a relatively new couple, travel to Hawaii because paradise in western culture is almost synonymous with the idea of a young, loving couple.

Before Aldous’ abrupt departure, the sex scenes between Sarah and him were not only displayed as passionate and utopian but also with the sunset, the crashing waves and sand in the background. Another example of “curing” paralleled with romance is the spontaneous yet dreamy relationship between the hotel receptionist and an emotionally unstable hotel guest. The movie begins with Peter in desperate need of happiness, and concludes with him in a new relationship with Rachel.

Peter’s emotional stability at the conclusion is thus attributed to the curative culture of the peaceful Pacific. Readily apparent to the viewer in Blue Crush is the heavy burden that lies on Anne Marie to take care of her sister, make money and fulfill her surfing dreams. Although living a relatively simple life, Anne Marie does not seem happy or even content with her daily routine or surfing skills until her interactions with Matt begin to unravel. Starting with a few surf lessons, the two realize the feelings they share are mutual.

Despite being ridiculed and criticized by her closest friends for her recent lack of dedication to surfing, Anne

Marie continues to see and engage in sexual interactions with the quarterback. While it seemed as if lust and love were going to defeat one girl’s dream of competing in a prestigious contest, the miscegenation relationship actually comes full circle and brings a newfound sense of confidence to prepare for Pipeline. On the day of Pipeline, Anne Marie wipes out on her first heat.

Suddenly Matt is there for moral support, reliving a story of his own experience the first time he played in a football game. His remarks lead to a booster in her confidence resulting in a perfect score in the next heat and an offer to join the Billabong women’s surf team. Romance is seen here as a savior. Matt’s words of wisdom rejuvenated Anne’s confidence. Thus, Matt is looked at as a hero, once again representing the microcosm of a key element found in the South Seas genre- romance as a means of “curative and healing value”(Romance and Tragedy).

The “Observational Perspective” “visually invites the viewer to fall back into Paradise” (Rony 139). When Peter decides that the trip to Hawaii is a necessity, the camera begins about a seven second zoom in on the blue waters, beautiful mountains, boats, and sand of Hawaii. Not only is “paradise” immediately evident, but also these seven seconds transition the viewer from the urban, complicated life of Los Angeles to the beautiful, peaceful and simple life on the island of Oahu.

In addition, the sex scenes in the beginning between them were all in the bright light, which we tend to associate with safety. The sex scene right before their break up was in the pitch black,

which we associate with danger or disaster. This can be seen as foreshadowing the end of their relationship. Many of the cultural aspects of Hawaii are very obvious too. As soon as Peter arrives at the hotel, the employees put a Lei, a symbol of affection, around his neck showing the amicable nature of their people. All of the hotel employees have flowers in their hair and tropical designed shirts on.

Pineapples, typically associated with the tropical islands, are the centerpieces of the tables throughout the entire movie. The hotel provides an after dinner luau for its guests, with slit drum music and fire dancing. Just like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Anne, Eden and Lena along with all their co-workers wear tropical uniforms at the resort. Colorful flowers, crashing waves, and bright sand are continuously seen to demonstrate the magnificence and loveliness of paradise. The South Seas genre today is quite different than when it first started in the 1920’s.

Today, with the advanced technology in cameras, computers and editing, Hollywood has a greater ability to offer a more dramatic and enhanced view of the South Pacific Islands. Even though, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Blue Crush are entertaining films reflecting modern society, original South Seas films such as Monoa and South Pacific, incorporate similar crucial elements of the South Seas genre. The vast change is today’s society from the 1920’s has resulted in filmmakers skewed depictions of South Seas cinematography.

Since the Western world has colonized most of the Pacific Islands, one’s views of the natives and their islands have changed dramatically. People have a tendency to view the Pacific Islands as a place of luxurious retreat, fulfillment, while

ignoring all outside social pressure. Moreover, although the films of this genre are not quite what they used to be, it still remains by Rampell’s definition as “any film relating to the Pacific Islanders, their Islands and cultures. ” These films still typify the South Seas genre, reflect the Pacific Islands and incorporate the same elements making this genre unique.