What Does Rebels Of The Neon God Mean

Although the overall meaning of “The River” builds on top of the meaning from “Rebels of the Neon God,” Tsai Ming-liang does not use the same method for both films to convey the message. In the world where people use sound to capture the attention of each other, he uses background music in “Rebels of the Neon God” to excite the audience or trigger certain moods. However, from the menu to the rolling credits of “The River,” the third film of the trilogy, there is no glamorous music to guide the feelings of the film watchers. From this point of view, it may seem like this lack of melody does not contribute to the ultimate meaning of the film. But the lack of a quality can also have a meaning. This paper notes the significance of “absence,” and

Looking from the title, it may seem like “Rebels of the Neon God” is also non-conformist because the film tells a story of a rebellious teenager. However, the movie title already implies this rebellious quality. The title, furthermore, signifies that this idea of rebellion is not unusual because the short line of the title can convey it. The nonconformist way of the third movie is, however, unpredictable. Apart from the obvious shift of the characters’ sexuality from the first film, the absence of music in the opening and the closing scenes introduces another kind of nonconformity. Instead of having a pleasant piece of music, the opening scene features a rumbling escalator from an off-balanced, and uncomfortable low angle looking up to a building and the sky (Tsai, 1997). This first impression invokes a sense of unforeseen peculiarity, and later serves to illustrate how Hsiao Kang peculiarly sees the world after his neck pain. The closing scene recalls this sight by showing Hsiao Kang looking up to the top of the hotel building to the sky, and later rolling the credits along with a low mechanic-like sound (Tsai, 1997). The absence of any tunes in “The River” facilitates this unique way to expose the oddity of the Hsiao family’s

Specifically, the absence of background music in “The River” portrays the nonconformity as it deviates from the pattern of the first movie. It facilitates hearing the growling sound in the opening and closing scenes which introduce unprecedented impression related to the situations in the film characters. It also symbolizes the uncovering of an ugly truth for Hsiao family. This absence helps make the untraditional sexual desires of Hsiao family members look bare and realistic. Furthermore, the absence of music leaves the film watchers feeling lost and alone just Hsiao family members because they are left to experience their reactions to the film individually without any guide from the music. In conclusion, the absence of music in “The River” can send a message and facilitate certain purposes of the