I thought "Ermo" was an interesting film but had some questions about it. First, why was the blindman called the blindman? He was clearly not blind and seemed to be the richest man in the village. Was he blind to something else? Perhaps he was blind to what he had in comparison to those around him. Secondly, Why was Ermo so determined to get a bigger tv. The Chief was right in saying that a tv is an only an egg but a house is a hen. Why wouldn't she want to build a bigger house than the blindman's? Was it because she felt her husband was inferior to the blindman due to his weakness and loss of authority. Clearly she was very driven but I just don't understand some points of the movie. I don't know if there is a clear reason for the blindman's name but would love some sort of explanation.
Posted by john at November 17, 2004 12:10 PMMaybe he was called Blindman because he was able to look past how disgusting his wife had become after being pampered for so long. Just a thought.
--Bob
Posted by: Bob Bitterman at November 17, 2004 12:51 PMI think that the fact that Ermo wanted to have the TV rather than the bigger home is something we often see in American culture as well. Often poor individuals will put all of their financial resources into something like a really nice car or trendy, expensive clothes while their homes are lacking. It seems that they desire to possess some very nice but basically unnecessary thing that they can take pride in over what is practical.
Posted by: Megan at November 18, 2004 08:58 PMMegans comment certainly seems to be true, oftentimes we see poor people buy luxury items so that they can have one thing to take pride in and to display to others as a means of getting over their otherwise relatively poor living conditions, but the TV may have perhaps provided something else. A television is an escape for all the senses, allowing us to experience other worlds in some form. At the time, the television was a window into another completely unfamiliar world.
Posted by: joe at November 18, 2004 10:23 PMI agree with Joe and Megan completely. In decades past, the home represented a place of family and pride. Yet with the deterioration of the home as the center of a person's life, and the subsequent decline of the importance of family, it is easy to see why people want to escape it in any way they can. With poor people specifically, I'm sure this tends to be the case. Ermo gives some backing to this claim, as we see repeatedly in the movie that she is upset by her family, community, and home life. Her husband is sick, her child spends more time at the neighbors, and her job means relatively little. By purchasing a TV or other unnecessary amenity, she gives credit to her job, hard work, and life, while distancing herself from her object of anger.
Posted by: dan at November 19, 2004 01:43 PM