Mirrors! (a bit more on 4x04)

[misqueue]

I put this on my tumblr too (mentaltortoise)


I’m still digesting 4x04, but I am wondering if anyone has been writing or thinking about the use of mirrors in the episode? They’re everywhere, not just as actual mirrors, but as visual conceits (e.g., the way Kurt & Blaine sit at the fountain).

So what I’m thinking about so far are the functions of actual mirrors: mirrors focus our attention, direct gaze and light, ask for contemplation, create illusions, show truth, evoke notions of vanity and narcissism (And death via vanity: Kurt’s self-absorption [I do not mean this pejoratively; I’m just observing] leads to the death of his relationship?); mirrors represent reality but do not contain it, or, mirrors invert, offer perspective, offer guidance and insight, provide safety, permit surveillance. How do you know which thing they’re doing though?

We get some of these inversions & reflections within and between relationships.

e.g. Kurt is growing up; Blaine is breaking down.
Rachel is an adult; Finn goes back to high school.
Will wants to live his dream; Emma is already living hers.
Santana understands Britt and gives her heart a break. Kurt doesn’t understand what Blaine is going through, and Blaine breaks his heart.

What else?

Oh! And before I forget; the painting on the building outside Kurt & Rachel’s window changed between 4x03 and 4x04. I don’t have screen caps, but in 4x03 it reads S-E-? (X or W?) and in 4x04 it’s something purple. Might be a detail to look out for, if it changes often? I need to rewatch the episode, but can’t quite manage it yet.

Comments

[stultiloquentia]

Ahh, you beat me to it! I rewatched the ep yesterday afternoon with Roomie, and noticed the mirrors everywhere and thought, "I have to go talk to misqueue about this!." At the bar, in the dance studio, in the apartment, in Santana's house...even the outdoor scene is full of wet pavement and fountain pools. Just generally speaking, mirrors add light and visual interest, but when you've got shot after shot someone fully framed in one, something else is up, something DEEP and SYMBOLIC. :P

What I found most interesting was that I don't think a single character looked directly into a mirror. Even in "Don't Speak", when Kurt and Finn are sitting directly in front of one, they're looking down and to the side. Even in your mirror-as-visual-conceit, when Kurt and Blaine sing into each other's faces from two inches away, they're not making eye contact. What's up with that?

[stultiloquentia]

Tangentially, because it's not related to mirrors, but to framing, did you note the very deliberate set-up when Schue told Finn in the choir room, "We're all family, here"? Finn in focus in the foreground ... and little Blaine hunched behind him in the corner of both room and frame. Mark my word: hold that thought.