Movie Screening - "Vita and Virginia" by Chanya Button

This Blog-post is a response of thinking activity on Movie Screening - "Vita and Virginia" by Chanya Button given by Vaidehi Hariyani Ma'am. To know more about this task, CLICK HERE. 

• Intro of the Film:

This film was released in 2018 written and directed by Chanya Button. Starring by Gemma Arterton as Vita Sackville-West Elizabeth Debicki  as Virginia Woolf. Whole story line leads the setting of 1920s, the story of love affair between socialite Vita Sackville-West and literary icon Virginia Woolf. This element of her life forced her to write and finally she shaped her last novel of her literary carrier by very popular novel, 'Orlando:A Biography' published in 11 October 1928.

"Please, in all this muddle of life,continue to be a bright and constant star. Just a few things remain as beacons:poetry,and you and solitude." 

This is my favorite quote by Virginia Woolf, she wrote it in her book, 'Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf '.that I think quite relatable to Orlando which we had studied.The purpose of transparency of these two pictures is, in the background of this picture which I choose is green tree, which shows that their relation is still green in our literature but because of the identity, they not enjoyed their colorful life.

Here are my answer to the questions:  

   

• How far do you feel that Orlando is influenced by Vita and Virginia’s love affair? Does it talk only about that or do you find anything else too?

If we read both's biography mostly the outcome is that both had affair each other. As in the article(Click Here to read) mentioned that Vita was married in 1913 at the private chapel in Knole. Her husband, Harold Nicolson, was a diplomat, politician, critic and biographer. After a brief overseas posting, they returned to England and went on to buy Sissinghurst Castle in a practically derelict state. Together, they re-built the house and designed the now world-famous garden, visited by keen gardeners from all over the world. 

Vita and Harold remained close throughout a relatively unorthodox marriage. Both had affairs with members of the same sex, and Vita's relationship with Virginia Woolf is celebrated in Woolf's novel, Orlando, inspired by Knole and Vita's inability to inherit her beloved family home. The original manuscript for Orlando is inscribed 'Vita from Virginia' and remains at Knole today. Vita's son, Nigel Nicolson, has described it as 'the longest and most charming love-letter in literature.'

Another thing is that about sex. In today's time it is not new thing to see not new thing. But if we can see the setting that while the two women were open about their relationship, it was also during a time when British society was more socially conservative. While male homosexuality in the U.K. was still a criminal offense at the time, there was no equivalent legislation that targeted gay women. However, in 1921, some lawmakers voted to criminalize “sexual acts of gross indecency” between women, although the law was never passed because politicians feared it would encourage women to explore homosexuality. This aspect quite related to the setting of the time while Woolf wrote the novel.

• Who do you think is confused about their identity Vita or Virginia? Explain with illustrations.

I think Virginia and Vita both confused to had their identity.She had already in the particular dilemma but she can't explore it. While she met Vita, there was something in her inside world which forced to keep herself with Vita. While the other side we can see that Vita had many affairs in her life rather than Virginia. She couldn't keep with one person.

According to Times news, "Sackville-West was always frustrated that she would never be able to inherit Knole due to her gender, as English aristocratic custom forbid it. (This was a point that Woolf highlighted in perhaps her most openly political and feminist work, the 1929 essay A Room of One’s Own, in which she advocated for women to be financially independent.)" The confusion about identify own gender was appeared in both. Although, Virginia also loved her Leonard Woolf and Vita's husband also loved her wife. The area of confusion may be rolling between this four characters.   

• What is society’s thought about women and identity? Do you agree with them? If Yes then why? If no then why?

Before answering this question, I raised one another question that why identity is so important? I think, we all survived in 'Identity Crisis' in our daily life.In psychology, this term was given by psychologist Erik Erikson. Here I shared one interesting YouTube video to understand Erik Erikson’s theory.

   

I disagree with what society thinks about women's identity. They have their Independence to choose their gender or choose with whom they want to live either male or female.Generally it's define as psychologically but sometimes we think to escape from this situation but we can't. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, it's define that

 

"personal psycho-social conflict especially in adolescence that involves confusion about one's social role and often a sense of loss of continuity to one's personality" 

This is general point without involving any gender. But if we think about,'Women Identity' it might be different. Her beauty, her style to live in front of the people, her looks these all things society expected from the women.But what are the expectations of women are doesn't matter for them. Society thinks about women to live different from the men, they can't do anything like man, because of, if we can see within our India only that it is still Patriotic Society. We can also see in Shakespeare's major plays presents Patriotism. Like Macbeth,Hamlet etc. We just say that nowadays Women are equally stand in the society like Men but still, it is not. I would like to share one another interesting and award winning short-film which talks about Self-Identity and also one good point is that the main character itself is a women.

• What are your views on Gender Identity? Will you like to give any message to society?

According to my point of view, Gender is only the word which identifies who is male, female and third gender. The word comes to only identifies this three gender. Without knowing the gender, the production of people or in other world, like in animals also is not possible. To know the Gender is necessary thing, but after knowing it and start to judging or misbehaving with them is not the right thing. Third gender is also the part of this society. But our first respect is with the normal people who have normal gender.We couldn't give respect third gender like we give normal's. 

If we talk with the reference of Mahabharata, we can see Shikhandi was an Androgyny (can refer to either a combining of both sexes, or a lack of both.) It is not only today's problem, it came from the years ago while human exists.I would like to give the message to society, that just believe in human being, try to stop looking people with 'GENDER' we have to try live together as human being. 

• Write a note on the direction of the movie. Which symbols and space caught your attention while watching the movie? 

'Vita and Virginia' is a biographical romantic drama film directed by Chanya Button. We saw it in our class on Netflix platform. Film is based on the letters of Vita-Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf. Very first scene caught my attention while Vita saw Virginia at very first time in the party. Virginia's dance was quite interesting to know what's going in her mind. She danced not normally, it seemed like something will be hidden in her. Here I put GIF. Perhaps it symbolized that Virginia was not in stable condition. 

At the nearly end of the movie, while far from her, her mental condition we can see while she saw several black birds in the sky and some attack on her also. Perhaps it symbolized society who ridding her from her identity. Because she now, Vita is not with her after their close relationship. The another silent scene was when she go to near the water to suicide. But she can't because still she believed that she stay with her, but the conflict of to found Vita's identity was still remain. And after that Virginia wrote 'Orlando' which presents the life of Vita.

The another scene was, when Leonard, Virginia's husband was quite worried when he come to know about her condition after Vita leave her. She sudden leave the party when she saw Vita with another women, she first went the river bank and she went her personal room. There was the scene when her husband ran fast to see her, for a while we felt that she suicide, but she actually sat her chair and decide to write a story about Vita, called 'Orlando'.  Even if her sister and other member of Bloomsbury Group were worried for her. She also quoted while she have relation with Vita that,

"I worry I'm quite allowed to desire the same way as you"

• "Vita and Virginia" had to be made into Bollywood Adaptation, who do you think would be fit for the role of Vita and Virginia?

If "Vita and Virginia" had to be made into Bollywood Adaptation, I think , Mandira Bedi will be fit for Vita's role and Shilpa Shetty will be fit for Virginia's role.(I also hyperlinked on their name, you can visit and read more about these actress).

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