Blow Up

Blow Up

Boredom, or lack of stimulus in life is often the catalyst for seeing and understanding on our own terms. Seeing is a state of mind, just as positive and negative thoughts are brought forth by an individual’s state of mind, so is seeing. In the British film, “Blow Up” this idea clearly illustrated.
Throughout the film the main character, a well-known photographer is under stimulated with his day-to-day life of photographing models in a studio. So, in an effort to bring inspiration to his mundane life he takes his camera outside of the studio to shoot something different. He finds a man and a woman in a park passionately kissing and decided to photograph what he was seeing. The woman catches him taking photos and without saying why, she urges him not develop the photos. Contrary to her request, he develops them. After cropping and expanding the photos he finds both a shooter standing in the bushes and a dead body lying in the grass. After thoroughly studying the photos he feels as though he needs to share this info with anyone willing to listen. The film continues with the photographer pondering what he has seen while simultaneously trying to find someone interested in his findings. The film closes with him watching a group of mimes “playing” tennis. Eventually, we hear the subtle sound of the ball bouncing on the court and the racket hitting the ball.
Because of the photographers need for something stimulating in life he is able to manifest details within the photograph. As he was blowing up the original photos the shapes within the crops become more and more distorted, these distorted shapes lead the mind to be creative. So, the photographer saw what he wanted to see. He needed drama in his life, so he made it. There is no doubt that the woman and the man in the park were real, but his interpretation of the situation was not real. At the end of the movie the mimes playing tennis were a metaphor for what had been happening throughout the film. Mimes create false situations so as to entertain themselves and anyone watching. The tennis game at the end of the film begins silently, but as the photographer continues to watch he begins to believe what is happening. He is able to place himself within the mime’s “set” and become part of the game. This metaphor helped to explain the actions and indescribable observations of the photographer. In summary, people see (believe) what they want to see (believe).