Alienation in the Old Man and the Sea Movie

Old Man and Sea

The 1958 film The Old Man and the Sea is based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. The film stars Spencer Tracy, who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. Tracy plays the Old Man, a fisherman from Cuba who has gone several months without a catch. His lack of productivity calls into question the Old Man's masculinity and virility; as fishing symbolizes his potency as a man. Thus, the Old Man fights furiously for days when his reel finally finds a marlin. In addition to raising questions about masculine normativity, Old Man and the Sea also addresses sociological and psychological issues related to intimacy vs. alienation. The Old Man comes to terms with his age via his interactions with the young boy. The contrast between the Old Man and the boy serves as a poignant reminder of how human beings alienate themselves and each other.

The Old Man and the Sea also reveals how the experience of alienation can itself become a source of inspiration. In one of the opening scenes of the movie, we see the Old Man as he appears to his countrymen and colleague fishermen. The Old Man is one among many Cuban fishermen, and yet he maintains no intimate emotional connection with any of them. The boy is his only friend. This sense of isolation yields introspection, which helps the Old Man grapple with deeper existential issues. Therefore, alienation is a paradox. On the one hand, it causes the sorrow that permeates the visage and heart of the Old Man. On the other hand, the alienation from his countrymen helps the Old Man cultivate a more meaningful relationship with the boy -- and a more meaningful relationship with himself.

The filmmakers capture alienation on screen, both by framing the Old Man amid the sea of seamen and also by framing him alone against the stark backdrop of the sea. The first instance of framing depicts the Old Man's ironic isolation in a crowded place. He is in a sea of people, and yet he is alone. The sea of people blurs together; they are meaningless elements of the backdrop that help only to highlight key features of the Old Man. These people are like bokeh in a photograph: they are essential to the composition of the film but they are blurred and have no individual identity. Our focus remains firmly on the Old Man. Yet the framing is not to done to develop a theme that pits man against his fellow man. It is to reveal the great paradox of alienation: that being alienated from human beings can create a greater sense of belonging in the universe.