Scorpio Rising (1963), Anger uses a lot of symbols in the form of objects, colour and sounds. These symbols celebrate the songs played in the back ground, while also contrasting other images used and therefore making a political statement).
It starts off seeming as though it is simple – songs about love while a man is fixing his bike (with a lot of phallic implications) – which make it pretty apparent that he loves his bike… but Anger wouldn’t make a film about a dude who loves riding a bike unless there’s a lot more too it.
There is also a narrative over all of the songs (though it has no dialogue), which ultimately ends in the biker dying. But Anger also utilises each individual song to compliment the images – and while the transitions between these are smooth, they can be separated into segments and some difference can be found between them.
The second segment involves imagery of the biker fixing his bike – screwing something in – while the image of a child winding up a toy is played in tandem, smooth transitions assisted by the motions of the two men. In the background, Wind-up Doll by Little Peggy March plays. The lyrics of the song parody the imagery, and one meaning (at least) is clear. While March sings…
Wind me up my dreams will start
Hears the key unlock my heart
Wind up dolls sometimes get lonely too
Wind me up I’ll fall in love with you
Wind me up I’ll fall in love with you
The men are totally infatuated with their boy toys, and their love for them is apparent – their bikes (more so for Scorpio) have taken over… their way of life, their belief, is in the bike.
The next section I noted was during Elvis Presley’s Devil in Disguise, during which the biker sits in his room watching The Wild One (1953), on TV. His room is also clad in images of James Dean. Aside from more connotations about the bike – both Presley and James Dean liked bikes, and The Wild One is about bikers – both of the stars have had homosexual rumors about them. That might not be as apparent to the modern, teenage audience, but it does suggest something about the character’s sexuality. Anger is moving from the suggestion of the biker being gay and towards firmly stating it.
It’s also all modern (as is all the music) – he has no images of historic events, or anything from the past, he is living in the modern world. The use of James Dean can also represent social estrangement… which suggests that the character is moving away from social norms and towards something else.
There is also more death paraphernalia becoming apparent – the flag with the skull and crossbones in the background – and this is quickly expanded upon by Hit the Road Jack – during which the biker gets dressed and prepares to leave. Though this can be seen as him just going out, he is also fully dressed and at the lyrics –
And don’t you come back no more
There is a fairly direct suggestion to death or the end.
At this point, though, it is still a suggestion, and needs expansion.
This is where colour theory also come in… colour can be used a symbol in film. And though colour theory can be perceived differently, there are clear implications in Scorpio Rising and much of Anger’s work was merged with the occult – and colour theory in alchemy is clear.
Blue-tinted images of Jesus are starting to be intercut with the dominantly red/black images of the bikers. At one point, Jesus cures a blind man, while the biker is putting fake tickets on the bikes – which is a pretty clear statement by Anger on the legitimacy of Jesus.
With the next song, it transitions into images of Jesus and his deciples entering a building, while the bikers do the same, and start satanic rituals (waving skulls around – which also once again references death) and having sex. By having homosexual sex intercut with images of Jesus and his deciples (looking mildly confused but not doing anything), Anger is suggesting that there is a) no relevancy between the two and that b) religion is helpless to do anything against gays anyway.
I think there’s also an image of him pissing into a helmet at the church alter… which is clear in itself.
In alchemy, black/red represents first death and then rebirth – which essentially equates to purification (think about the phoenix), meanwhile, blue/green symbolizes the need for revision and purification. So by the images of Jesus being blue-toned, Anger is suggesting that religion/beliefs need to make way for the new.
Which can be taken in two ways – one being that the American way of life has already moved on, the other being that it needs to be dispelled in order to allow for America to truly flourish.
References
The Esoteric Meaning of Colours.
Minta, 2008, ‘Symbolism and Magic(k) in Cinama’, Kenneth Anger Blog, [online]
