Look Both Ways – dominant/resistant readings, implied reader and intertextuality example
A dominant reading of Look Both Ways acknowledges the gloomy aspects of the characters lives. The viewer wallows alongside Nick, Meryl and Andy as they contemplate personal crises and project their fears into every aspect of their daily lives. Their ‘doom and gloom’ perspective is reinforced through their unavoidable interaction with media that appears to promote a world of only pain, suffering and death. This is a view that a contemporary audience can strongly relate to. Watt has developed strong intertextuality between the representations of media in the film and real life media. People often feel that the media is overwhelmingly focused on death and misfortune, the viewer understands Meryl’s frustration as she encounters nothing but negativity in the newspaper and throws it away in disgust. The challenge is then set by the text to do just as its title purports; look both ways. Watt has designed a narrative that allows the reader to resist the idea that society has lost all hope and everyone has nothing but despair to look forward to. In a controlled and subtle way, often working subliminally on the viewer, she incorporates snippets of joyous moments within scenes. The young boy with Leukaemia smiles at Nick, Nick and Meryl share a joke, a bird depicts beauty and freedom and, in the closing moments of the film, the news reports a child has survived the Arnow Hill train crash. The implied reader will realise that, through these snippets, Watt speaks volumes. The overriding message that this movie wishes to convey about society and its humanity is that there is hope for us all; what might be somebody’s worst day could be another’s best, where it appears all hope is lost a miracle can occur.
