Knife
in the Water:Displaying Cultural
Symbolism?
Kristin
Fuller
Robin
Seaton
English
12Z/002
May
1, 2000
Knife
in the Water:Displaying Cultural
Symbolism?
Knife
in the Water is a symbolic film; male versus male competition are directly
related to the communistic controversy.Poland’s
hard-line leader Wlandislaw Gomulka condemned the film at the 13th
Plenary Session of the Communist Party(http://www.cafeinternet.co.uk/).The
power struggle between Andrjez and the young hitchhiker demonstrates the
rebellion against dictatorship after WWII.Wendy
Furdyna said, “Who are you to dictate to others what their own experiences
have been?Is it conceivable that
others have intellects, perceptive skills and the right to their own memories
and emotions” (paragraph 1).The
need for power and superiority are demonstrated in the constant competition
between Andrzej and the hiker.Should
the government be the ruler of how we spend our time, which jobs or tasks
we take on or how much rations each person needs to survive?The
boy tries to steer the boat while Andrzej and Krystyna are in the water
swimming.He cannot gain control
of the boat and it turns in circles while he tries to get a grasp of the
steering pattern.Andrzej swims after
the boat, finally catching it and pushing the boy aside and gaining controlling
of the boat.Andrzej is like a dictator
in the instance, taking a shaky situation out from under the young boy
and taking over like he is the soul power in control.Andrzej
brushes off all attempts that the young boy made to control the boat when
the wind picked up, almost as if his attempts were irrelevant and meaningless.
Furthermore
demonstrating competition relating to communism, the hiker has a specific
skill with the knife he brings aboard the sailboat.He
is constantly toying with the knife and Andrzej become curious, trying
to perform the same tricks as the boy.He
cannot perform as accurately as the young boy.The
young boy is symbolic of the people and their skills, talents and beliefs.Thus,
allowing the population to express political views openly, perform in theater,
and create art.The old traditional
ways of one ruler and one supreme power may not always be the best way
to negotiate a problem.Communism
is so strong in the European countries that it is looked upon as the one
great power, “communism is already the acknowledged by all European powers
to be its self a power” (Marx).
During
a game of pick-up sticks, Andrzej played while the hiker and his wife exchanged
poems and songs for earlier debts.Communism
denies the necessity of the existence of classes (http://english-server.hss.cmu.edu/).The
one supreme power seems to be unconcerned with the rest of the population,
no distinction between the rich and the poor, the successful business owners
and the homeless, therefore all get the same brutal harshness under communist
rule.It seems that the communist
control was the power that should have been utterly concerned with what
the rest of the country however seemed concerned with its own distress;
the communist control was intensified with the removal of more liberal
leaders (InterPromo).The communist
rule and the dictatorship that arose as a result of World War II, led to
the disruption of the Polish population, much like the constant battle
for supreme authority among the men on the boat created a stress for what
should have been a peaceful outing.
The
theme of sexual frustration among the characters on the boat and the relevance
to the cultural link to the Cold War was prevalent in Knife in the Water.The
entire world was involved in the Cold War after World War II, including
Poland, one of the hardest hit countries.About
22% of the population died, over half a million men and women and 6 million
civilians (Kasprzyk).Simon Sk recalled
some of the difficulties of the Cold War:
There
are so many memories of the Cold War, if you grew up in one of the Soviet
occupied
countries…Poland.I remember standing
in huge lines to buy something to eat before the store even opened and
you didn’t know if there was going to be ANYTHING to buy.I
remember not buying more than two pairs of shoes a year.Toilet
paper…I’m not joking...was a luxury and you couldn’t find it anywhere.
(Paragraph 1)
In
addition to the sexual frustration corresponding to the difficulty of the
Cold War, Krystyna was not satisfied with her husband and his arrogance,
constant competitiveness and superior attitude toward her eventually led
to her cheating on him with the young hitchhiker.Her
unhappiness is much like the conditions after WWII.Poland
was divided between the USSR and Germany, and the polish government was
replaced with communist rule, dominating the Polish Committee of National
Liberation by the Soviet Union (CNN interactive).Poland
was the hardest hit and it was difficult to have a decent life and be happy.Mostly
the people were obedient to the government and just tried to get by with
out causing serious disruption.Krystyna
never questioned her husbands’ actions, she respect his authority and judgment.Harvey
O’Brien stated, “A battle of wills ensues between the older and the younger
man, a clash of political and social values which also contain a strong
element of sexual antagonism” (paragraph1).
Andrzej’s
arrogance and self-consciousness led to competition with the boy only to
frustrate him and the wife by his silly actions.Neither
seemed to be physically attracted to one another.The
Cold War was constant competition, hardships, and a need for super power
by the dictatorships of each country.O’Brien
stated, “…the film is a moment of political hesitancy best understood relevant
to the political climate (Cold War and Communism) in which the film would
have been received, and draws attention to the fact that there is strong
underlying political component…”(http://www.ask.com/main/).
The
ending scene leave the audience with the couple in the car sitting at the
sign, making them curious to where they will go and end up.The
Cold War left people in question and doubt concerning countries economic
situations and political powers.Knife
in the Water demonstrates the consistency for the documentation of underlying
political meaning.
The
sailboat drifted along the waters solemn and alone, separating it from
the rest of civilization, much like the separation of political parties
during the Cold War.Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk
said, “Poles couldn’t return to the country that they had fought with during
World War II because they had belonged to the “wrong” political group or
came from eastern Poland and had thus become Soviet Citizens” (paragraph
3).Moreover, the boat being on
the water separates the three characters from society giving them privacy
and freedom that most Poles didn’t have during the Cold War, but they had
a sense of belonging by them selves with there own political beliefs and
social standings.More political
parties evolved during the Cold War so people could have a sense of belonging.In
February, a People’s Republic was established with the Polish Worker’s
Party-PWP (Polska Partial Robotnicza-PPR).In
December 1948 the communist PWP merged with the Polish Socialist Party
to form the Polish United Workers’ Party-PUWP (Polska Zjednoczona Partia
Robotnicza-PZPR) (http://ciensin.cu.uw.edu.pl/).
In
addition, the division between social class, political beliefs, and power
the separation concerning the hiker’s innocence and naïve thoughts
and the couple’s experience of life grows every apparent. The young hitchhiker
does not fit in with the upper class of Andrzej and Krystyna.Some
Pollack’s were tortured and imprisoned by the Soviets authorities for belonging
to the “Home Army” (Kasprzyk).The
boy was imprisoned by his own lack of experience and innocence just the
same way the poles were imprisoned by the Soviets.He
is an outsider and eventually must disappear for his own safety.Many
Pollack’s left the country during this time to find a better life for them
selves (Bielecki).
Krystyna
was not high class until she met Andrzej.She
soon became submissive and Andrzej’s wife.She
was constantly reminded by Andrzej that he was her “savior” and that he
got her out of the rough life she priory lived.The
Allies betrayed the Poles because in 1945, the Allies put Poles within
the Russian zone of influence in post-war Europe (Kasprzyk).The
Allies put Poles in a zone where the felt uncomfortable and were constantly
reminded of the hardship they were going to encounter, similarly paralleled
to Krystyna’s constant submissiveness to Andrzej.Both
parties thought that if they cooperated that their best interest would
be taken care of, but usually that was not the case.Thus,
demonstrating the separation of the parties and classes caused by World
War II.Polanski demonstrated the
separation through out the film.
In
short, the cultural relevance in Knife in the Water was prevalent due to
the political circumstances during the time the film was released.The
occurrence of WWII, the Cold War following WWII and the societal ciaos
that was caused by the two, led to the underlying meaning of the film.Polanski
cleverly hid the political troubles in the roles of the three characters.Underlying
definition of communism, the harshness of the Cold War and the separation
of classes and political beliefs were apparent when one takes an analytical
approach in viewing the film.
Bibliography
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