Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

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a_contemplative_life
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Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by a_contemplative_life » Wed Jul 26, 2017 5:17 pm

Let the Right One In: Exclusion and Isolation within Outsider Status

Not sure I'm persuaded by the effort to broaden the themes in LTROI to a political worldview, but the analysis is otherwise worth a read.
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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by jetboy » Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:56 am

I dont disagree but doesnt really need to be said. Its a human predicament be it individual or group. Thats why to using a vampire story is so much more effective than a political one because everybody can relate. Its like the old Star Trek shows and how they used analogy to tell stories relevant to our times.

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by cmfireflies » Sat Jul 29, 2017 4:12 am

If you google a bit, there's a theory that zombies represent the fears of liberals and vampires are the fears of conservatives.
"When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it."

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by a_contemplative_life » Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:50 pm

He's certainly correct that a big part of what drove Eli and Oskar's relationship is that they were both outsiders who found in each other something that helped them live. I like how he picked up on the potential symbolism in the breaking of the egg at Oskar's touch. Does anyone agree with him that part of what LTROI does involves cautionary tale or moral lesson about the importance of empathy in our relationships with people we don't particularly like?
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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by dongregg » Sat Jul 29, 2017 11:24 pm

"However, this is more than just a teen romance story. Let the Right One In explores the exclusion and isolation associated with outsider status, and how this can be overcome through empathy and mutual support, a motif that transcends the limits of age and genre."

I agree, but taking a different tack, most outsiders are not as isolated as Oskar and Eli. They are seen as outsiders by one group, but may be insiders to another group.

That leads me to wonder how the children fared after Karlstad. Their peer-relationship experience is nearly zero (especially Eli's), and there is no family and no circle of friends to encourage them during the inevitable rocky parts of the relationship, which is intense, deep, but perhaps brittle. Granted that empathy (Be me a little) and mutual support transcend "the limits of age and genre," but then what happens? They are Oskar and Eli contra mundum, without even a third party to talk to about their relationship.

Poor little things. Or as we would say in my part of the world, "Bless their little hearts."

But you just know they'll sort things out, right? They have to. They're all they've got.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by ltroifanatic » Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:57 am

I think they're going to be OK.They've found each other and in doing so have become greater than the sum of their parts.Each complimenting the other like a perfect little puzzle.When the bad times come,as they do for every relationship,their unconditional love for each other will win out.As a moral lesson about empathy LTROI works very well.We all know not to judge a book by its cover but LTROI shows us whats inside it.All the characters are opened up for us.They all seem like outsiders at first but as we get to know them we spot universal traits that we all share.The need for love being a big one.The symbolism of the egg is perfect.We see what's between the "book covers". :wub:
Please Oskar.Be me for a little while.

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by jetboy » Mon Aug 07, 2017 8:09 am

dongregg wrote:"However, this is more than just a teen romance story. Let the Right One In explores the exclusion and isolation associated with outsider status, and how this can be overcome through empathy and mutual support, a motif that transcends the limits of age and genre."

I agree, but taking a different tack, most outsiders are not as isolated as Oskar and Eli. They are seen as outsiders by one group, but may be insiders to another group.

That leads me to wonder how the children fared after Karlstad. Their peer-relationship experience is nearly zero (especially Eli's), and there is no family and no circle of friends to encourage them during the inevitable rocky parts of the relationship, which is intense, deep, but perhaps brittle. Granted that empathy (Be me a little) and mutual support transcend "the limits of age and genre," but then what happens? They are Oskar and Eli contra mundum, without even a third party to talk to about their relationship.

Poor little things. Or as we would say in my part of the world, "Bless their little hearts."

But you just know they'll sort things out, right? They have to. They're all they've got.
I would say only Eli is a complete outsider. Oskar is portrayed purposely as a somewhat normal kid with fitting in problems that the filmakers try to get the audience to relate to or be reminded of in someway. So in that sense Oskar IS an outsider, even if only in his mind. His mother loves him and he may have a acquaintance unmentioned but its not about the reality, its about the dissatisfaction. Its the lack of true closeness that matters.

As messed up as who Eli is and what she does, to Oskar, being with her is having a healthy relationship. To get that healthy relationship he chooses true isolation, and true depravity. I love that about LTROI

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by cmfireflies » Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:19 am

jetboy wrote:I would say only Eli is a complete outsider. Oskar is portrayed purposely as a somewhat normal kid with fitting in problems that the filmakers try to get the audience to relate to or be reminded of in someway. So in that sense Oskar IS an outsider, even if only in his mind. His mother loves him and he may have a acquaintance unmentioned but its not about the reality, its about the dissatisfaction. Its the lack of true closeness that matters.

As messed up as who Eli is and what she does, to Oskar, being with her is having a healthy relationship. To get that healthy relationship he chooses true isolation, and true depravity. I love that about LTROI
I agree, although I wouldn't say that Eli represents true depravity. The fact that she is still capable of love after centuries of killing makes her truly innocent and kind.
"When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it."

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by jetboy » Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:46 am

cmfireflies wrote:
jetboy wrote:I would say only Eli is a complete outsider. Oskar is portrayed purposely as a somewhat normal kid with fitting in problems that the filmakers try to get the audience to relate to or be reminded of in someway. So in that sense Oskar IS an outsider, even if only in his mind. His mother loves him and he may have a acquaintance unmentioned but its not about the reality, its about the dissatisfaction. Its the lack of true closeness that matters.

As messed up as who Eli is and what she does, to Oskar, being with her is having a healthy relationship. To get that healthy relationship he chooses true isolation, and true depravity. I love that about LTROI
I agree, although I wouldn't say that Eli represents true depravity. The fact that she is still capable of love after centuries of killing makes her truly innocent and kind.
I dont think she represents it but she particpates in it and though has innocence somewhere in her, shes also very uninnocent just by the very nature of what she does. On the contrary, in a sense, shes less innocent than a cold hearted killer who laughs at their victim because they were made to do that it seems. Eli knows the extent of what she does but still does it. Of course its for food but I dont think anyone can be that cut and dry about that because....why not just eat Oskar?

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Re: Brian Osoro's LTROI Vanderbilt Blog

Post by dongregg » Wed Aug 09, 2017 1:40 am

In the book she comes very close. There are places in the film, too, where Oskar seems in danger.

I don't think it's matter of personality. Cruel vampires and innocent child vampires regularly arrive at the same place -- kill to live.

One can see Eli as being innocent because of her age, if for no other reason. As for regretting that she killed Jocke, I lean toward (but do not insist upon) her tears being for herself, that her curse makes her live isolated and wretched. That she restrained herself from killing Oskar could be seen as Eli still being a human child at heart.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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