MovieChat Forums > The Virgin Suicides (2000) Discussion > Prom photo = foreshadowing?

Prom photo = foreshadowing?

posted 12 years ago by cobnut
11 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone else think that the photo their dad took on prom night was foreshadowing the way they died?

Bonnie - one arm up behind her head - hung herself
Therese - eyes closed - killed herself with sleeping pills
Lux - one hand up with fingers loose - died with one arm out the window of the car loosely holding a cigarette
Mary - coughs right after the picture is taken - gassed herself to death in the oven

The mirror... it's broken.
Yes, I know. I like it that way. Makes me look the way I feel.

[–] kadeskiss 12 years ago

Does anyone else think that the photo their dad took on prom night was foreshadowing the way they died?

Bonnie - one arm up behind her head - hung herself
Therese - eyes closed - killed herself with sleeping pills
Lux - one hand up with fingers loose - died with one arm out the window of the car loosely holding a cigarette
Mary - coughs right after the picture is taken - gassed herself to death in the oven

Good catch! I never really notice that before , prior to you mentioning it. I think you might be right. I wonder if the director meant it to be foreshadowing of their death?

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[–] TheNewOver 12 years ago

If their poses were meant to foreshadow the methods of suicide they chose, Sofia conceived of or okayed it. The original take from the book on the pre-Homecoming Dance photo had it as an exhibit for the court of public opinion, documenting the girls' emerging as individuals about to start living life. Their various poses were to affirm the first person plural narrator's thumbnail, consensus derived, impression of each girl's personality. Bonnie didn't have her hand up over her head and Mary didn't cough at any point during the passage.

It's plausible that the audience is supposed to draw a conclusion about that scene because it included Lux's untimely distraction by the leaking ceiling. The story dishes all the details, and just as everyone familiar with the Lisbons did, you're to decide what may have been signs in their behavior portending their suicides.

[–] TheNewOver 12 years ago

The Lisbon suicides only gradually brought the neighborhood boys to the court of public opinion that the grapevine has the capacity for. Shortly after the suicides a media circus ensued, one huskster having gone as far as charging admission to a waxy looking mannequin that was said to be Mary's corpse in her underwear. So in the book, when the items in the collection of personal effects are referred to as exhibits, there are several connotations.

http://screenmusings.org/TheVirginSuicides/pages/TVS_557.htm
The instant after the photo was taken.

[–] TheNewOver 12 years ago

They should've had Lux on the furthest right as they entered the hallway after Ceel's suicide.

http://screenmusings.org/TheVirginSuicides/pages/TVS_314.htm

[–] wildmoodswings 12 years ago

I didn't pick up on this as such, but I did pay attention to that photograph and just noticed how, like in the earlier photograph it was Lux who stood out, in this case because of her odd pose whilst commenting on the leak, in the previous picture she looked gormless and dead behind the eyes, and I just figured this was something to do with hinting that it was Lux's actions which would get them grounded and ultimately (presumably) causing their suicides in part.

[–] LillyStryker 11 years ago

That's a really great attention to detail and I would say you were most likely spot on except for the fact that Bonnie was the one that actually coughed, not Mary which means that Mary didnt foreshadow her death at all. I also feel that if this was true they could've chosen a more accurate pose for Lux like her hand flicked downward like a 'look at my ring' motion which would have made more sense for the way she looked after her suicide and it still would've been inconspicuous.

[–] MissChris325 11 years ago

Love this thread, never even thought about the foreshadowing!

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] YRUSOTALL 11 years ago

I'm surprised that anybody would be able to figure this out on their own. But yes, you're correct. Very good.

[–] Mitzishark 11 years ago

I'm surprised that anybody would be able to figure this out on their own. But yes, you're correct. Very good.

This makes it sound like you were involved in the making of the movie or something?

[–] gribfritz2 9 years ago

Unfortunately, Bonnie's the one that coughs. Sorry :-(