Lelia's Fascination

           John Cassavetes’ 1959 film Shadows provides audiences with not only a portrait of race relations but of humanity as well. Human nature is a big focus in the film especially dealing with the flaws that accompany humanity. In the scene that goes from 00:12:45 to 00:14:09, Lelia decides to walk home even after her older brother Hugh begs her to take a cab. Just as Lelia’s choice in men shows her unwillingness to conform to social norms, so does her act of rebellion against her brother.

            Lelia exits the bus station and has a brief moment of indecision. As she turns her head and looks both ways on the street, Lelia is not only making a decision about just how she is getting home but she is also making a decision on what societal customs she wishes to follow.  Instead of taking a taxi, Lelia shuns the socially constructed and accepted ways for a woman to behave and chooses to walk. Lelia is confident in her choice which is evident in the way she holds herself as she walks out of screen but ultimately her shunning of behavioral norms will lead to an altercation that could have had serious consequences.

            When the next section of the scene starts, the camera is focused on Lelia’s feet and a trash can that is very near to her. As the camera pans up, a man in the background of the shot appears to be following her. The introduction of the trash can so close to her before the camera moves upward to focus on the man following her foreshadows the man’s negative intentions. Just like the trash can, all the man represents is trash.

            As Lelia walks on neon signs flash behind her. When she walks past the trash can, the sign in the background reads “Fascination.” This correlation could allude to her fascination with the side of life not structured by societal as well as behavioral norms and rules. Lelia is her own woman in this scene and the freedom it brings opens entrances her. The sign behind Lelia darkens as she passes and only lights up again when the man following her passes under it. The flashing of the sign shows how both characters are fascinated but for different reasons. Lelia is enjoying her freedom and the man is intrigued by her as a possible target.

            Lelia then stops to look at posters that include slightly sexual scenes of a man laying on a woman as well as a woman in a tight bathing suit posed in a pinup fashion. She gazes at these images for quite some which illustrates how intrigued she is by the possibilities offered to her by going against the social norms. Also as discussed in class, Lelia’s attention to the posters could be hinting at her idealized idea of love and sexuality.

            The scene ends with the man that has been following Lelia approaching and then grabbing her by the arm. Lelia fights him off successfully and then another man steps in to shove the attacker. The man who steps into help Lelia represents the traditional values of society that Lelia has rejected. The idea that she is trying to detach herself from is the notion that she needs protection especially from a man. Lelia’s attempt at independence and liberty are thwarted by men who are willing to take advantage of her naïve nature.

            Cassavetes shows not only Lelia’s trouble with race in her relation to Tony but also her humanity by portraying her a woman who wants to escape the confines of society but when her efforts at independence are derailed she regresses to the norms she is accustomed too.