Following the process of transformation in the movie “Limitless” and analysing the aspects using fashion theory reference and texts.

Following the process of transformation in the movie “Limitless” and analysing the aspects using fashion theory reference and texts.

I will be analysing the transformation process of the character as described by the changes in his costume. The clothing design blend, between the beginning and the end of his transformation, will be discussed with reference to fashion theory as used in similar genres and the film industry worldwide. In the movie ‘Limitless’ the protagonist undergoes the stark transformation from a homeless writer to a senator. The movie takes place in current times, where the specific qualities of fashion items (such as colour, fabric, design and etc.) is of secondary importance, compared to the fact that it is simply on the market. Signifying both body and garment – the main character is followed on his path of complete class and personality metamorphosis. Every step of the process is described through a different costume design, which corresponds to his current level in materialistic modern society in which the branded goods act as a method of distinction and classification. The final version of the character emulates for the many people who see him as an ideal that brings together beauty, self-transformational skills, wealth, business sense and success.

In the Tractatus logico-philosophicus, Wittgenstein proposes a clothing

metaphor for language: [4:5]

“Language disguises the thought, so that from the external form of the clothes one

cannot infer the form of the thought they clothe, because the external form of

the clothes is constructed with quite another object than to let the form of the

body be recognized (Wittgenstein, 1922: Proposition 4.002).”

Language, thought and dress are associated in the text. It describes clothing as a form of bodily disguise, just like language is a disguise for thought. Wittgenstein explains how language and dress are sign systems which “speak” without revealing the true inner mind of the source. It can be verbal language or a different dress style. But there is something that Wittgenstein could not take into account at the time. Nowadays people have various ways of signifying information to the spectator, that has become common everywhere and is “speaking” to us in the same way that the other forms of language would. Therefore, like any other language in this sense, clothing functions like syntax to a set of more or less constant rules. These rules allow body covering to signify meaning, weather that is an important social significance in a logo carried through history, or just following the criteria set by the fashion industry.

What were the key aspects of Surrealism? Discuss one or more major artist from this art movement and consider how he/she has engaged with the unconscious.

Surrealism is a cultural and artistic movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members. Many surrealists work is an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the art they create - being an artifact. Presenting this art to the viewers, allows the artist to start a discussion in one’s mind. The key aspects cannot be categorized or listed due to the fact that they can touch on every culture, religion, political view or even personal experience and knowledge. It is well known that every artist has a different way of expressing the deep message carried in every surrealistic piece. This is understood by the viewer’s mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind, defined by Sigmund Freud as the unconscious. An example proving that is the work of the American identical twin brothers Stephen and Timothy Quay, better known as the Brothers Quay (or Quay Brothers). They are influential stop-motion surrealist animators.

A way to present the key aspects of surrealism is by looking into André Breton’s work. Two Surrealist Manifestos (Le Manifeste du Surréalisme) were issued by the Surrealist movement. The first was written by him and the second one was done under his supervision in 1924 and 1929, respectively. The first Surrealist manifesto defines Surrealism as:

“Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.”

The text demonstrates many examples of the applications of Surrealism to poetry and literature, but also making it clear that Surrealism can be applied in any circumstance and it is not enclosed by the boundaries of the artistic realm. If surrealism had to be described visually, it would be a machine, which uses the artist’s ideas as input, then scrambles them using a unique algorithm, and as a result produces a visual artwork which can provoke deep contemplation from any viewer.