Friday, February 17, 2012

Stardust memories: rats with wings!!

Title: Stardust memories
Year: 1980
Director: Woody Allen
Running time: 90 min.
Country: United States




I'm not sure if Woody Allen hates pigeons, but I'm pretty sure that his character, Mr. Sandy Bates, does. In this movie, during a romantic scene, Sandy is flattering his lover, Dorrie, about being a good actress. Suddenly, a pigeon enters in the apartment. Dorrie says, What was that thing? That's so pretty and Sandy replies It's not pretty at all. They're rats with wings. Then there is a funny moment of panic, rage and confusion. It's got a swastika under its wings, Bates says while he grabs a fire extinguisher and opens it aiming at the poor bird. The pigeon, very scared, tries to escape and eventually, leaves the apartment. We can see the expression of rage on Woody Allen's face. He is a good actor, indeed, but he probably isn't acting and this expression is real because he actually feels a great pigeon hate.

The expression Rat with wings is used in this movie. I don't want to position myself in favour or against  pigeons. I'm a mere reporter. But I think that these nice animals that have been living together with us since the early beginning of the history, that are the peace symbol, these beautiful-harmless animals don't deserve to be called rats with wings. Link to scene here.



The pigeon escapes from the kitchen.

Bates agressively scares away the pigeon with a fire extinguisher.

Finally, the pigeon leaves the apartment dreadfully scared.



Details of the pigeon starring 
  • Source: Stardust memories. Starring moment: 0:26:29
  • Pigeon activity: it innocently entered into the apartment where it received a hostile welcome. Mr. Bates can be a very gentle man when dealing with women, but in the case of pigeons, he is not gentle at all.
  • Symbolism: This pigeon represents the typical urban bird that accidently comes in the apartment.
  • Relevance: Medium. It created a moment of tension that was eventually solved with a kiss between the two characters (Bates and Dorrie). This is a very romantic situation that deserves a medium level in the relevance ranking.
  • Training level: High. This pigeon was deliberately placed in the apartment. It is a well trained specimen that does its duty well.

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