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Rabbit Redux Revisited, Etc.Who Really Framed Roger Rabbit?When society chooses to examine its values, it unsurprisingly hedges. To expect such an amorphous entity to take an unsparing look at itself is untenable, so we are forced to personalize the quest from our individual perspectives. Many choose art as their social pulse, but placing a finger on it is not so simple. How do you extrapolate a key to the Zeitgeist from what is essentially a function of an artist's imagination? In the realm of contemporary cinematic arts, this task is further complicated by the specter of commerical viability — what in a motion picture reflects the true state of mankind, and what instead reflects the bottom line? Ah, but does not the chase for profits itself tell us something, and better still, the means for chasing profits? In fact, much wisdom may be gleaned from the careful observance of the art of audience-pleasing. The odyssey of Robert Zemeckis is especially instructive, because of the way his films invariably epitomize both social reflection and commercial success. In "Back to the Future," for example, Zemeckis tapped into a goldmine by tapping the collective subconscious. It's a tale as old as time itself, the desire to retrace one's steps, to alter what has gone before and make the present more bearable. Conquering the fourth dimension is one of the primal urges of rational man, and, tragically, one that will never be realized. But Zemeckis is not content to touch one nerve. In his latest film, the director tweaks the collective subconscious again, and finds some startling truths about ourselves. Laid bare, for all to see, is a shattering portrait man's unquenchable desire to defy physical laws, to, in a sense, obtain immortality. When a safe is dropped on the head of a baron of enterprise, he perishes, and no amount of worldly goods can prevent it. But when a "Toon" suffers the same fate, he merely produces the requisite halo of orbiting stars or chirping birdies, brushes cartoon dust off his trousers (if he's wearing any) and struts away. The halo allusion is no accident, for what being could survive certain physical destruction but a god? Though possessed of seemingly superhuman gifts, Zemeckis's protagonist is a cowering Everyman. Roger Rabbit is the paradigmatic innocent, concerned only with his purpose — to make people laugh — and infused with the love he feels for his mate. That stirring emotion and unerring sense of purpose make for a powerful combination, but Roger's essential sweetness is not overcome. Faced with this paradox, Roger's human companion, Eddie Valiant, is alternately awed and repulsed. Valiant, despite the moniker, represents us; he reveals our own confusion in the face of the supernatural, and our own opportunity for redemption. But in the end, it is Valiant himself who must make the final choice. In the climactic scene, the mere human summons near-godlike strength and resolve, defying his own earthbound essence and singlehandedly overcoming both his prejudice and, in a deeper sense, his mortality. The profundity of the religious parallels in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is thus undeniable. After all, wasn't Christ the victim of the biggest frame job of all? Who, indeed, framed Roger Rabbit? In the end, it was us. |
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