Barber Shop Scene Analysis

The barber shop scene in Wes Anderson’s film Rushmore shows Max’s disconnection from his father and Rushmore. Max has been kicked out of Rushmore and is ashamed of his father. The camera shot has Max focused on in the center while he is reminiscing about Rushmore, but his father, who is cutting Max’s hair, is cut out from the shot and only made visible in the reflection of the mirror. The camera shot is meant to isolate Max from his father, because Max has always been ashamed that his father is not able to pay for Rushmore like everyone else. He has even told Mr. Blume, his best friend, that “[his] father may only be a doctor, but we manage.” This quote shows how much being rich matters in Max’s life. On the other hand, Max’s father’s expression is more eager and not ashamed at all, because he has always wanted to please Max. While Max is reflecting on his time in Rushmore, he is afraid that he could become like his father, a poor barber, and this is represented by the way his father is shown in the mirror. The background which is very boring with the main colors being white and brown gives us a dreary feeling, because usually Max is shown in front of an exciting background; there is always something going on whether he is putting on one of his plays or starting a new club. However, the bright lighting contrasts the setting and it shows how Max’s father is eager to reconnect with his son, but for Max the lighting represents a new beginning for Max at his new school and foreshadows his great success at his upcoming play. In this scene I would add Kathy’s Judy Bridgewater tape in the background because her tape symbolizes all of her good times at Hailsham and when she loses her tape she feels lost and when Max loses Rushmore he too feels lost.

Rushmore Scene Analyzation

This scene of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore gives insight into the personal identity of the protagonist, Max Fisher, as aloof and somewhat distant from his peers. The gray halls behind him contrast to his serious coat and tie which works as a symbol for his separation from his classmates. The students behind him laugh and talk, whereas he walks seriously and alone. This shows both that he believes that he is superior to the immature students, and at the same time, it shows his loneliness as compared to the other students. The hallway is lit brightly, but his navy appears to be darker, even more separating him from the students. Max’s coat also is ironic because it hides the fact that he, without saying it, is barely holding it together at Rushmore. Behind his serious attitude hides unspoken fear that he will not be able to attend Rushmore anymore because of his disregard for his grades. The angle of the shot is close and focused on Max himself, illustrating him as an outsider even more. Max walks in front of the other students and shows that he doesn’t have time for the other people around him. This connects back to his initial feeling of fear as he tries to hold it together during his time at Rushmore. If I had directed this movie I would have added a pack of cigarettes sticking out of Max's pocket because it would connect to the books Black Swan Green and Catcher in the Rye. 

The Play

Max Fischer's phenomenal play about a war ends with Max's character looking of into the sunset while holding up a peace sign. This portrays Max's ending of the conflict between him and Murray. In one of the mock fights, Max accidentally gets hit in the face, on his right side. However, in this shot, he's turned to the right to where you can't see the injury. Max hides his injuries to continue the play, just as in the previous parts of the movies, he wouldn't let an injury get in the way unless he had a use for having an injury. Also in this clip, the backdrop is obviously depicting a sunset, showing that the play, along with the movie, is coming to a closing. Even though that Max's face is expressionless, he is holding a peace sign, symbolizing the end of the conflict, both in the play, and declaring peace between him and Murray. Also, Max's eyes are hidden by a pair of sunglasses; however, if you look very closely, you can see a reflection in the glasses, where you can see a soldier in a red hat. The only person in the play wearing a red hat was Magnus, the Scottish bully that Max invited to be part of the play. This signifies multiple conflicts resolved. The major one being between Murray, but also the conflict between Max and Magnus, one of a bully and a victim, is also solved. The close up and low angle shot allows the viewer to see the dark mottled camouflage makeup on Max's face contrast with the background of the sunset.

Barber Shop Scene

 
  
    This scene in Wes Anderson's Rushmore portrays Max's feeling of dismay because he thinks that he will have to follow in his fathers footsteps after he was kicked out of Rushmore. The background in this shot is quite boring and bland.This plainness is shown through the use of the colors white and brown. This plainness helps draw the focus of the scene to Max and the mirror. It also emphasizes how unexciting it is to be a barber. This bland overtone contrasts with Max's exciting and adventurous personality because Max is always doing something adventurous like trying to build an aquarium, bee keeping, or writing plays. The mirror illustrates how Max is doomed to being a barber because it shows only Max and his father. The way Max's father is positioned in the shot reinforces Max's fate because his father’s face is smaller than his and in the corner of the mirror drawing attention from max’s father. This makes it seem as if Max is isolated and contemplating this by himself. The feeling of isolation also contrasts with Max’s personality because he is always surrounded by people helping him with projects like when he was walking through the public high school and had people that were acting as his assistants. Max's facial expression and body language suggest that he is saddened and defeated because he will be a barber just like his father. Max even lies about his dad's job because he is embarrassed of it and expresses this embarrassment when he says to Mr. Blume " I may not be rich, Mr. Blume. And my father may only be a doctor. But we manage.”  The bright lighting in the shot contrasts with the gloomy mood in the scene ;however, The shot is also using the lighting to display a plain, boring feeling which makes Max envision his future.The plain white robe covering Max's clothes reiterates how his creative personality is being suppressed by his lack of opportunity. A good item to add to this seen would be a trash can filled with his plays and items from Rushmore because he has lost all of the things that define him and has been forced to be something that he doesn't want to be.
Rushmore. Dir. Wes Anderson. Perf. Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray. Touchstone Pictures, 1998. DV

Baggage

Baggage 

Rushmore, one of the top prestigious private schools in the nation, harbors all variations of wealth and pain. In this still, the steel grill of Blume’s sleek, black Cadillac is completely in focus, and attracts the viewer’s full attention. The combination of the car, and Rushmore’s ornate stone-bricked buildings in the background, gives off an overwhelming theme of luxury. Inside his car, a tree’s shadow falls upon Blume as he sits in the driver’s seat. Staring straight ahead, Blume practically ignores his son who is facing him, speaking in mid-sentence, and although his facial expression is unclear, it is obvious that Blume is not mentally present within the car. Instead, he is drifting in his own thoughts, most probably assessing the negative aspects of his life. The placement of the Cadillac, shadow, and buildings, convey that although Blume is surrounded by wealth and family, he is still emotionally detached, and sits in the shadow of his own depression. Like Holden from The Catcher in the Rye, Blume’s riches do not make up for the lack of intimacy he craves from human love. When asked if his net worth exceeds 10 million dollars, Blume replies with a thoughtless “Yeah, I guess so.”, brushing off what is of high value to so many others. Blume seems to have no materialistic interests, and similarly to Holden, his hate cripples his ability to sustain healthy relationships and interferes with his love for his sons, wife, and eventually: his affair with Rosemary. The root of Blume’s depression is unclear, but it is evident that something heavy is preoccupying his thoughts, leading him to have an unhappy social life. A fitting object to add to this scene would be Holden’s genuine leather suitcase lying on the grass adjacent to the car. Like Blume, these suitcases have an extravagant exterior that conceals the baggage within.

Club list

This scene begins by showing us the front of Max Fischer’s yearbook. It goes on to show the viewer over 20 clubs that Max runs. The fact that he has so many clubs is very significant. Max tries to stay busy all the time because he does not want to think about the tragedy he still is not over: his mothers death. Though she is mentioned only a few times, it is clear that Max is still not over her passing away. That is why he stays busy and also why he holds so tightly to Rushmore. To Max, Rushmore represents his mother because it was her idea for Max to go to Rushmore. He had written a play and “my mother read it and felt I should go to Rushmore.” The fact that there are bees on the front of the yearbook is also significant. Bees cannot survive without a queen. Max’s mother was his queen and now that she is gone, he feels like he cannot survive. The idea of keeping busy to ignore reality is also shown in Never Let Me Go especially in the cottages. The kids read a lot to stay busy. So therefore I would add a book club to the list of clubs mentioned in this scene.

The scene which Ms.Cross and Max are talking is significant because it has shows the position Ms.Cross and Max are at in their relationship.The color of the scene is warm.The Yellow, green tree and the blue sky are all giving the audience a comfortable feeling. It is a metaphoric way to show that even though Ms. Cross is much older than Max, however, the relationship between Max and Ms. Cross is not weird but normal, comfortable; at least Max thinks is normal.In addition, there are two trees in the background. The interesting thing is the tree behind Max is stretching it's branches towards the tree at Ms. Cross side.Just the same as the desire Max has towards Ms. Cross. However, we can see in the picture that Ms.Cross put her left arm around her right arm which shows she is trying to keep the distance between she and Max. In the scene, Max wears a dark,formal suit with a tie while Ms. Cross wears a purple casual cloth.Also, he sits on the higher level of the benches and he is looking down at Ms. Cross. It shows that even though they have a huge age difference, however, their relationship is just like the other perfect relationship which the male in the relationship are on the top of the relationship and have more control of the relationship."Rushmore was my life. Now you are!" Max says this to Ms. Cross. However, it is a quote that a boyfriend will say to his girlfriend, but not a quote that a student will say to a teacher. It demonstrates that even though Ms. Cross thinks they should just be friend and that their relationship is inappropriate, however, Max has always considers it as an appropriate relationship just like the love between same age boys and girls. An object that will fits into this scene will be a bottle of alcohol. Just like in Cather in the Rye where Holden is trying to invite Morrow's mother to have a drink, it will shows the maturity of Max in a better way if Max

has a bottle of alcohol on his hand.

The Hospital Elevator

Max and Herman are at an all time low, which can be seen by looking at their depressed facial expressions, and are stuck in a box with each other. Herman is divorced, has a broken heart, and is very depressed. We can see this when he puts what is most likely alcohol in his soda and smokes two cigarettes at once. Max has been kicked out of Rushmore, rejected by Rosemary, and thinks that he cannot achieve anything more than becoming a barber like his father. On top of that, no one likes being stuck in a tight space with someone you don’t like. In this scene, they are not only together in the small space of an elevator, but half of the elevator is taken up by shelves. The camera shot is close which adds to the effect of claustrophobicness. However bad things might seem, this scene is also the moment when Max and Herman start to make up. Just like Max said in the graveyard, “what’s the use?”, they both decide that there is no reason to continue hating each other when bad things happen. A factor in this is that they are both going to see Dr. Guggenheim, who just had a stroke. While they don’t necessarily like him very much, as seen by the discarded flowers behind them, the thought is there that bad things happen to everyone. If I were to add an object to this scene, I would add a poster for donations from Never Let Me Go. It would be on the back wall where you could see it easily, but tucked away enough to where you wouldn’t really look at it closely. This way, people know what donations are and might remember looking at it or hearing about it, but they never really question it because its just always there. It fits because they are in a hospital which seems like an appropriate place for the poster.

As Max’s father shows Max his new haircut in the mirror, he is hoping that Max will finally validate him, because he is ashamed that he cannot provide financially for Max in the way that Max wants him to.  All Max wants is to go back to Rushmore, but he cannot because of his father's low income, and his loss of his scholarship. The disappointed mood is prominent because of the dark, blue-tinted hue of the scene.  Max's unimpressed, quizzical facial expression demonstrates his lack caring, where his father's facial expression is eager to please Max. Also, the way the frame angles the mirror to make his father looking ahead, but Max looking to the side reinforces this point.  The relatively close up range of the shot of the frame also insists on the point that Max first thinks of himself, not his father, because his father is in the background. When Mr. Blume says,  “Take dead aim on the rich boys” in the assembly, it reinforces the significance of wealth in this modern society, and Max’s families lack therof.  An item that could’ve been placed in this scene would be Holden’s red hunting hat, hanging on the chair in the background.  For Holden, his hunting hat represented comfort; it was his security blanket.  This connects to the film because Max’s Dad’s “security blanket” is Max. Since his wife, Max’s mom, passed away, Max is the last part of her, and his dad sees that in him.  This is much like the way Holden’s red hat is his “security blanket” concerning his deceased brother, Allie.

Party Scene

              The twin’s party scene in Rushmore is significant because it shows Mr Blume’s lack of connection to anyone in his family and his utter hopelessness. While sitting away from his family, Mr. Blume is having scotch and a cigarette which he does predominantly when he is depressed. Mr. Blume is sitting on the opposite side of the fungus-green pool from his family, representing his long lasting disconnect from them. This is further proven when the camera quickly shows a family portrait, where Mr. Blume is having another cigarette, and standing by his all red-haired family. At this point, I would add Holden’s red hunting hat that he wore in The Catcher and the Rye. If Mr. Blume was wearing the red hat, it would show some connection to his red haired family and also show Mr. Blume’s individuality, as it did Holden’s. In this scene when he sees his wife flirting with younger man, “she looks back to Mr. Blume coldly,” solidifying their lack of connection. The child that comes and takes one of his golf balls represents Max Fischer. Max is Mr. Blume’s only friend and the child is the only one who approaches Mr. Blume in this scene. The child took a golf ball similar to the way Max takes money from Mr Blume. When Mr. Blume is getting ready to jump of the high-dive, the camera shows each side of the pool individually, as if looking through Mr. Blume’s eyes. This is to show the two life paths Mr. Blume can take. The right side, with mostly old people, represents a life in which Mr. Blume can remain unhappy and wait to die; the other side, where his family is, is a path he could take to try to rebuild his family. While standing on the diving board, the child is literally the only one by Mr. Blume, paralleling how Max is figuratively the only one by Mr. Blume’s side. Mr. Blume jumps into the pool and people on both sides shield themselves from his splash, signifying their non acceptance of him, and he remains submerged in the water representing he has chosen a middle ground of finding a new spouse: Ms. Cross. The child again appears and swims by Mr. Blume, but quickly swims away representing the hatred Max will have when he finds out Mr. Blume’s desire for Ms. Cross.

Peace and Love in War

         In Rushmore, Max and Mr. Bloom soon went from allies to enemies, and as Max said, "War does funny things to men." The play at the end of the movie was in essence a way of Max to summarize all of the struggles he had overcome throughout the movie. The low lighting and war related colors symbolize the war-like struggle he'd gone through in trying to get Miss Cross's affection. He and Mr. Bloom had done everything within their powers to passively beat each other. However, because of their endless fighting, Miss Cross wanted neither of them, at least until they were both able to put aside their rivalry in order to work together for a shared goal of making her happy. The peace sign represents the peace found and needed in the chaos of war. In this scene, it is closest to the viewer, making it the mot clear and eye catching. This is to show the peace necessary in war prevalent above even the barren background. Max is covered in the inevitable filth in war as well, showing how war, of any kind, tends to be dirtying. Max's facial expression, while should be covered with an emotion of some sort, seems to instead be calloused. It is as though he feels nothing for the war or the peace. He is neutral towards both, almost as if to say that he should have a balance of them both. That being said, If i were to add anything to this scene, it would be a bird flying south for winter in the background, just to the side of the barren tree. This is because, like the birds in Catcher In The Rye who knew when it was time to move on from where they were; a place that was their home but was also a place that would most likely hold nothing good for them, Max chose to move on from Miss. Cross, from a woman he thought he loved because he knew that being with her wouldn't be good for either of them.

The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party scene in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore reveals and deepens Mr. Blume’s character by revealing his lack of power and disconnection from his life as it stands. The scene opens with the boys’ birthday party. They are eager and having fun as they open presents. The happy boys are carefully framed in the background of the medium close-up of Mr. Blume to provide contrast. Mr. Blume does not even have enough eagerness to properly hold his cigarette and is so disconnected from this party and all of the people in attendance that he sits alone and “absently tosses” golf balls into the pool. “Absently” is apt word choice since he clearly would rather not be there. Blume’s wife is framed with the boys at the party, so she has the whole distance of the pool separating her from her husband as she flirts with another man revealing how powerless Blume is in his marriage. When she catches Blume looking at her, her face registers something between shame and disgust. A young boy passes by, stares at Blume, and takes one of his golf balls, showing Blume’s powerless aura is visible even to strangers. At this point I would add a Lytoceras fimbriatum, the ammonite from the trip to the beach in Black Swan Green. This too is reminiscent of a moment of powerlessness for a middle aged man. Blume stands up to go to the high dive, and we see his beer themed swim trunks and the excess fat around his belly. The camera pans back to the party with the much more fit and well dressed guy sitting with his wife. We also see the same young boy getting ready to jump too at a bird’s eye angle. Blume makes a big splash and disturbs the party as a way of affirming he does indeed have some power. The scene ends in the pool with the blue-green color and Blume’s closed eyes providing a calm atmosphere, and when the little boy does jump in, with one look from Mr. Blume he swims away.

This scenes purpose is to communicate Herman Blume’s  loneliness and isolation from his family. This scene is set at Herman’s sons birthday party. Herman is seated on one side of the pool with a bucket of golf balls, a destroyed cake, and his drink; all the children and his wife are on the other side of the pool. Herman is seated alone to enhance this loneliness. His wife is sitting with another man, which makes Herman jealous. The dark green color of the pool symbolizes his envy of the man. Herman sits there hopelessly throwing the golf balls into the pool. The camera is positioned right behind Herman looking out towards his family and their friends, because you see the scene just as Herman would, his feeling of isolation is very clear; you almost feel left out of what is happening across the pool. In Max’s first days at Grover Cleveland high school, Ms. Cross, Herman, and Max’s chapel partner, come to his school. Max’s chapel partner, Dirk, asks Herman where his sons and wife are; Herman replies, “I haven't the slightest idea, Dirk.” This demonstrates how isolated he is from his family because he doesn't even know where they are. This scene in Rushmore represents loneliness. An object that would fit well into this scene would be a phone booth. A phone booth fits well because it is where Holden, in Catcher in the Rye feels his loneliest when he tries to call someone, but he doesn't have anyone to call.  

Cross&Max scene

Max, being a 15-year-old Rushmore student, brings Rosemary a feeling of affinity and regard and reminds her of her deceased husband, a former Rushmore student. Feeling upset by the death of her husband, Rosemary becomes a teacher in Rushmore to look for traces of him. Rosemary and Max talk about smoking, schools, and finally Latin, leading to a metaphoric dialogue in Latin: "Nihilo sanctum estne(is nothing sacred)?" says Rosemary; "Sic transit gloria(the glory of world fades)." answers Max. Seemingly, they are talking about the abolishment of Latin; however, Max's response coincides with the death of Rosemary's husband and thus inspires Rosemary to get out of his shadow. Both Max's uniform and the setting of the field of Rushmore give Rosemary a intimate sense, no wonder she keeps her face smiling and her eyes flashing.The camera sets at the eye level for the whole scene, which gives the audiences a feeling of reality. In addition, the distance of Rosemary and Max is shorten: when they first meet, Max sits far up from Rosemary, yet they sit close together at the end of the scene with a imaginative back. If I were the director, I would have some students messing around with Rosemary to intense her alienation, and thus, stress her closeness with Max. Moreover, it could also be connected to the scene in book Hailsham, of which Kathy stands out and talks to Tommy while other students are teasing him. 

Elevator Frame

Wes Anderson set a carefully illustrated scene of tension, friendship, and conflict in one frame. The frame shows Max and Blume together in a small elevator compartment reflecting on the past and contemplating the future. Color is very important in this scene as there are four distinct colors associated with the characters: yellow, white, grayish blue, and dull green. One color, yellow, is shared among both characters. Yellow is in both of their clothing and is the color of the flower boutique. In this scene yellow represents something both Max and Blume have in common, and that would be Miss Cross. The placing of the flowers in between them symbolizes a connection of love for her that they both share. However the white and blue towels on either side show difference. White, often times associated with purity, is on Max's side; the darker shade of color on Herman's side is lost and can not be defined, much like Herman. The dull green color of the elevator car is representative of the overall atmosphere and mood of the situation: no life and no shine. Because the camera angle is at eye level and in close focus, we can see both characters' body placement and facial expressions; they tell two very different tales. Since their fighting for Miss Cross has ended it is apparent from how both characters look that they have fared very differently. Although Max has his head down and is indicating slight depression, he seems to be in good shape. He is standing with straight posture and his face looks to be clean shaven. Blume, on the other hand, looks to be in awful shape. His body is tilted to one side and he doesn't seem to be able to stand up straight. His hair is messy and face scrubby. No part of his appearance indicates that he seems to care much about life anymore. He subtly states, "I'm kind of lonely these days"(IMSDb). An understatement to how he's really feeling based on his appearance in the frame. This scene in Rushmore represents journeys, moving forward and looking back. An object that would fit well in the frame would be Holden's suitcases from "Catcher in the Rye" as it likewise represents journey.

Scene 1

This scene’s purpose is to show that everybody gets hopeless no matter how much they try to cover it up due to the characters costumes and body language. Because of Max’s downed head and Hermans slouched shoulders, the mood in this scene is depressed; however, there is a lot of yellow in this scene, which signifies happiness and joy. In this scene, the yellow’s purpose is to show that the characters are trying to cover up their depression because they are both wearing the yellow. There are also flowers in the background, which means that all of the happiness is behind them. When Herman is getting off the elevator, he admits, “I'm kind of lonely these days” and proceeds to get off and walk away, which adds to the awkwardness and depression in this scene. The purpose of this depression is to show that the characters were feeling hopeless. This hopelessness has caused Herman to turn to alcohol and tobacco, and the hopelessness has caused Max to be almost mute, which is very strange considering he has been very talkative in the movie. I think that the purpose of this hopelessness is to show that life is filled with obstacles that affect everybody no matter how much they try to cover it up. This hopelessness is also seen in "Never Let Me Go" within the clones. I think we could relate this scene to never let me go if we added a sign that said "Heart Donation" on it. This would relate nicely to "Never Let Me Go" because they are in a hospital and have little hope, so it would make sense to put the reason clones have no hope, which is donations, into the elevator with them. This would add the hopelessness of the clones to the hopeless scene in Rushmore. This would, in turn, connect the stories using the theme of hopelessness.

War and Peace

Max wrote and designed his play “Heaven and Hell” as an elaborate and symbolic way to call a truce with Herman and Rosemary; this is the exact point when Max admits his forfeit. The mood is set when he gives Herman and Rosemary adjacent seats to prove that he is no longer jealous about them being together. This scene is performed near the end of the play as well as the entire movie, strengthening the metaphor between Max’s real life and his play. The symbol of peace in the midst of war alludes to when Max tricked Rosemary into letting him into her house. He had bleakly commented, “War does funny things to men,” referring to his own desperation in the metaphoric war he was fighting over Rosemary’s affection. The peace sign is prominent in the frame, gestured out toward the audience, and the camera is focused only on the face and hand, visually separating this gesture from the setting of the play. In this scene, Max officially ends the fighting, breaking character and the fourth wall, but he has disguised it through cleverly manipulated plot. Max also designed the play’s set and makeup choices to carry double meaning. Max is sweaty and worn out, his face completely obscured as if in shame of how naively he has been acting, and the red, stormy backdrop and dim lighting reflect the ruthless and depressing nature of the fighting. Even the nearby dying tree adds to the destructive scene, representing how Max and Herman’s fighting has hurt the people around them, namely Max’s father and Margaret. The explosive and dangerous viewing experience is another way that Max admits how much he has hurt the people who care about him. Both Margaret and Mr. Fischer, however, forgive Max, as they are both enthusiastic supporters of the production. If I could alter this scene, I would add the "Perfect Attendance" pin to Max's costume to remind the audience of how Max's time at Rushmore has shaped his future. Max carries his time at Rushmore into his new life at public school just as clones from Hailsham, a similarly exclusive school, are reminded of their superior status through the rumor of deferrals.

Example of a Mise en Scene
Excerpt of Rushmore Review by Peter Travers  
in Rolling Stone Issue 806: February 18, 1999
Murray cannily crowds a lifetime into one small scene. As Herman distractedly throws golf balls in the pool, he notices his wife at another table, flirting with the tennis pro. Cigarette dangling from the side of his mouth, Herman heaves his way to the diving board, casts a look of disdain at his family and jumps, the camera noting his sad isolation at the bottom of the pool. The scene has no dialogue, only a Kinks song ("Nothin' in This World Can Stop Me Worryin" 'Bout That Girl") that catches just the right note of resignation. No wonder Herman responds so strongly to Rosemary. "She's my Rushmore," he tells Max. But Rosemary is haunted by her own ghosts. Her husband, a former Rushmore student, drowned the year before. She lives in a room filled with artifacts from his school days. Max reminds her of the boy she married, Herman of the man he never grew up to be.

Welcome to our Rushmore Mise en Scene Blog! 

You can find the assignment here. 
You can find the movie stills here.