The Sweet Hereafter - group analysis

analysis
#21

Just a quick thought, but I wonder how the Pied Piper story fits into the throughlines. Could it be possible that the influence character are the lost children? (As @jhull said, one side figuratively, one side literally) The influence the departed have on those left behind? (Nicole, the town, maybe even Mitchell)

Re: Scene where Mitchell confronts Billy. Is it the scene where Mitchell tells Billy about losing Zoe to drugs, so they both have lost their children? Lost them to TV, malls… they’ve taken them away, they’re gone.

#22

As i recall yes, that’s where he goes off on malls and what not.

As far as lost children – i think that’s the subject matter of the whole thing - but I don’t know if they would act as Influence Characters - mitchell does not have a relationship with the lost children. he does with the parents of those children though.

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#23

Question: should we differentiate between Billy who is against the lawsuit and the rest of the parents that are more pro lawsuit?

Could it be possible that in the end Billy’s role is handed off to Nicole?

Or that the “lost children” handoff goes to Nicole’s father in the end rather than to Nicole?

#24

No, I think the argument is whether or not to engage in the lawsuit, and they waver back and forth as they work as a collective Influence Character. It’s the reticence to engage that challenges Mitchell. He doesn’t get why anyone would not want to sue. This is handed off to four different people (acts):

Hotel Owners --> Hippies --> Billy --> Nicole

If you think of them as one “character” (one perspective) you can see how that influence or challenges Mitchell’s viewpoint.

The question is – is his Resolve Changed or Steadfast by the end?

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#25

Wow. Good thing you took over, I never would’ve seen that.

Re: Resolve. In the end, he tells Sam the whole thing is over, so that, I think, indicates Change.

EDIT: Added the MC & IC to the analysis on top for those following.

#26

How exactly has he changed? It helps to put it in detail - some example of his point-of-view from the beginning and then some example at the end. Also, it’s easier (and more accurate I think) to think of Changed or Steadfast. Not just Change or Steadfast.

This is the state part of his “arc” (the growth is the process). So how has his resolve CHANGED or REMAINED STEADFAST?

#27

Ah. Right. I was thinking he goes from pursuing the lawsuit to giving up, but that has nothing to do with his point of view. His point of view is that there’s a reason behind everything, something that needs to be unearthed and corrected.

After the hearing, Mitchell insists to Sam there’s a reason why Nicole lied and he needs to find out what it is, but it’s clear Sam won’t do that because he knows he’s to blame. So the townspeople, by proxy of Sam, drop the case and move on with their lives, leaving the past behind, while Mitchell returns to the city to try and help Zoe who now has AIDS.

Mitchell is unable to walk away from the past, unable to let go, unable to forgive himself even though he’s not to blame for his daughter’s drug addiction, for her self-destruction.

IC change
MC steadfast

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#28

Agree. MC Steadfast.

The events on the plane happen 2 years after the bus crash, and Mitchell still looks troubled about losing Zoe. He’s in a similar state when he receives the call in the car wash and when he talks with Zoe’s friend.

1985: “Let me direct your rage… we’ve all lost our children”
1997: “enough rage and helplessness, and your love turns to something else… It turns to steaming piss.”

IC change, the town (at least Dolores and Sam) have moved on. Dolores is now driving a bus again. Sam’s relationship with his daughter has changed - they were very close, now they are distant, the staging and framing of their characters is very different than in the beginning.

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#29

Excellent all around and love the examples. Any guesses as to Main Character Growth? This is the process or change Mitchell goes through in order to get to a place where he Remains Steadfast – focusing on his throughline …

#30

Stop. His daughter pressures him to give up on her. “You think it was bad before, daddy? Well, think again. Now I’ve got AIDS. Daddy? Daddy?!” Mitchell refuses to give up on his daughter, looking for a way to make her stop destroying herself.

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#31

The harshest thing Mitchell says to Zoe is “The problem is I have no idea who I’m talking to right now.” But he’s usually much more forgiving “What do you want me to do, Zoe? I’ll do whatever you want.”… “I love you, Zoe. I’ll be there soon, and I’ll take care of you. No matter what happens. I’ll take care of you.” I’d say bordering on overprotective. “Ten years of this, ten years of these lies, of imagining what happens if I don’t send the money, of kicking down doors and dragging her out of rat-infested apartments, of explaining why that couldn’t be my daughter in a porn flick someone saw…”

I’d say he could stop being so overprotective with Zoe (emphasis on the troubles). But we don’t really know Zoe’s side of the story and how their relationship post-spider and pre-phone calls really was.

Or could we say he has to start a more adult relationship with Zoe? I mean, Zoe’s not a little child anymore and maybe Mitchell’s overprotection was a factor of Zoe’s problem, so (emphasis on solution) he has to start to let Zoe be responsible of her actions and decisions. It may sound harsh but he may need to start caring less about Zoe (for his own good)

I’m really not sure about this. I’m leaning more over stop because they talk more about the troubles and nobody mentions a potential solution.

#32

Ok - not really going to go either way yet - but it’s helpful to have this here for reference later. So far so good, what about the Main Character Approach: Do-er or Be-er - does Mitchell prefer to solve his personal problems externally or internally?

#33

I often find Growth and Approach difficult to figure out without first establishing the domains. At first, I was leaning toward Do-er, lines like, “What is it you want me to do, Zoe?” We also see Mitchell running in and out of homes to get contracts, taking notes, filming the bus, buying Nicole presents, etc.

But maybe underneath all those actions, Mitchell is trying to be the kind of person he thinks he needs to be in order to win over the townspeople. Even his mannerisms change with each group of people he meets – snickering with the motel owners, kneeling with the hippies, informal with Nicole and her father, stern with Billy. With Zoe, he’s tries everything to be the best father he can be. Maybe the line that reveals Mitchell’s approach the best is when he tells Billy, “Let me direct your rage.” Mitchell wants to be a channel for others, a surrogate for others who’d express his own anger.

I think @Alejandro’s right with Start as well. Only, I think we’re waiting for Mitchell to hang up the phone and turn his back on Zoe. There’s nothing he can do for her. She’s a lost cause. The solution is to give up & walk away, much like the townspeople.

#34

I’d say MC is a Do-er. I see Mitchell very active: to go and help Zoe, do everything that will make the lawsuit possible.

As @Jerome says he does change his sales pitch according to his audience, but I think this is just an external act, not that he really changes his way of thinking. Deep down he’s the same, maybe if he did change his way of thinking he would use a different approach to saving Zoe. Or giving up.

Very interesting what @Jerome says about Growth, Approach and the domains.

#35

Yes. I always try to avoid thinking of those as best I can. But it’s not easy!

I like what @Alejandro has to say about Mitchell’s activities. Here’s a question for @Jerome, when it comes to Mitchell’s personal problems–the issue with his daughter–what do you think his preference would be, to jump in and do something to save her, or try to win her over with his personality?

#36

Yeah, he definitely jumps in and tries to save her: the knife flashback; sending his daughter to halfway houses and detox centers, again the “What is it you want me to do, Zoe?”

#37

So Do-er it is then … how about Mitchell’s Problem-Solving Style? Does he go about solving problems Linearly or Holistically?

#38

I’ll venture with linear.

When speaking with Wanda and Hartley (the hippie couple), Mitchell explains,

			MITCHELL
	How long has Dolores been driving
	that bus, Mr. Otto? How many times
	has she steered clear of danger?
	What went wrong that morning?

MITCHELL takes the cup of tea.

			MITCHELL (CONT'D)
	Someone calculated ahead of time
	what it would cost to sacrifice
	safety.  It's the darkest, most
	cynical thing to imagine, but it's
	absolutely true.  And now, it's up
	to me to make them build that bus
	with an extra bolt, or add an extra
	yard of guard rail.  It's the only
	way we can ensure moral
	responsibility in this society.  By
	what I do.

Pause.

			WANDA
	So you're just the thing we need.

			MITCHELL
	Excuse me?

			WANDA
	Isn't that what you want us to
	believe?  That we're completely
	defenseless?  That you know what's
	best?

			MITCHELL
	Listen to me, Mrs Otto.  Listen very
	carefully.  I do know what's best.
	As we're sitting here the town or
	the school board or the manufacturer
	of that bus are lining up a battery
	of their own lawyers to negotiate
	with people as grief-stricken as
	yourselves.  And this makes me very,
	very mad.  It's why I came all the
	way up here.  If everyone had done
	their job with integrity your son
	would be alive this morning and
	safely in school.  I promise you
	that I will pursue and reveal who it
	was that did not do their job,	Who is
	responsible for this tragedy.
	Then, in your name and the Walkers'
	name and the name of whoever decides
	to join us, I shall sue.  I shall
	sue for negligence until they bleed.
#39

Great example. Plus the linear fashion in which he pitches the lawsuit to everyone and how he works his way through the town. Great!

So how abut Story Driver? Are the major plot points Actions or Decisions?

#40

I’d say Actions.

Though the story weaving isn’t linear, the bus accident is what starts everything and Nicole lying on record is what ends the overall story.