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.