Well, I saw Graffiti Bridge last night on the Netflix Instant Viewing thing... and while I liked the movie very much I am SOOO confused. I have so many questions that I can't seem to figure out. I'll post a few below...if anyone is a fan of this movie or knows somethin, clue me in!

Questions:
-Did the feather represent anything?
-What is up with the girl (Aura) dissapearing all the time? She's there and then she vanishes...does she come to life or something?
-Why is Aura's voice whispring things througout the film? I couldn't hear half of what she said. It was like her voice came out of nowhere- and she wasn't even in the scene.
-Why is Tevin Cambell (sp?) in this film?
-Is Melody Cool the name of a club or the name of that woman- or both? And why is it that the "Melody Cool" neon lights are lit up a few times?
-Is the Graffiti Bridge supposed to represnt solace, an escape? If not, what does it represnt?

Maybe we can have a nice discussion abt the film as well. I loved the music (except for the Tevin kid- he got annoying after a while- and I have no idea why he's in the film in the first place). Neways, lemme know.

not sure about the feather ... but the girl is an angel later on in the movie ... i am NOT an expert in this movie --- i hated it . Unlike Purple Rain where the "LIVE" performance is highlight ...in GB - i felt prince went with the "dance " over "live" thing ... and made it almost unwatchable. The music is good ... but the performace sucks ...

just my .02

Turn the sound off on the scene where Robin Powers is dancing for Morris and you have a fine piece of cinema.

[Edited 4/9/07 7:36am]

never was that turned on by ROBIN Powers .... dont get me wrong she is FINE ... but i always thought she had alil BUTTAFACE...

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Your best bet is to simply look at this as a long form music video and ignore any pre-conceived notion that the movie will make sense. I actually thought the '3 Chains O' Gold' video was a more engrossing movie.

DecaturStone said:

DAYUM! She looks better than she used to!.

I'd beat that like she owed me money

sorry, but figuring some of these things out would take repeated viewings of this "movie," and a sane person can barely make it through one viewing of this god awful attempt at film making.

is there anything more cringetastic in prince's career? as an admirer, the film is an embarrassment and i'd be happy to erase it from his career in order to make it look more respectable.

yes, that includes the soundtrack as well. one could argue that we wouldn't have "joy in repetition" or "still would stand all time," but we know the better songs would end up on other albums instead...

and we wouldn't have the fingernails-on-chalkboard "graffiti bridge" title track either.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Stupid is as stupid does. haha Prince, once again, ahead of his time.


She's an angel of sorts.



She's trying to be all breathy and sexy.



He's Melody Cool's son. It ends there.


You answered your own question.



Good damn question! Despite the song, I don't wanna find graffiti bridge, and even without it, I have something to believe in. I'm sure it's some big symbolic thing to Prince though. The real bridge is gone.

Maybe we can have a nice discussion abt the film as well. I loved the music (except for the Tevin kid- he got annoying after a while- and I have no idea why he's in the film in the first place). Neways, lemme know.[/quote]

ernestsewell said:

[/quote]

it was a real bridge? lord. now i really am confused. thank you though for answering the questions.

jtfolden said:

even music videos can have some sort of symbolism and can be analyzed... and knowing Prince, there prolly is some symbolism in the movie, i just don't understand it.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Yeah, I think it's either in the Prince.org and/or Housequake.com FAQ section. One (or both?) has a picture of it. It was unsafe, and has since been torn down. Dig around....I bet it'll come up for you.

bboy87 said:

QFT :horny:That body is worth a Million

I loved that movie. It still makes me cry.

haileyalexander said:

it still makes a lot of prince fans cry to this day...

suomynona said:

b/c its good or b/c its bad? i liked it...though I don't understand why Aura's voice appears throughout the film.

I just felt like I got it, you know, from the first time I saw the movie. It just wasn't like a regular movie. Things are so subtle you almost have to watch it more than once to get the all thats in it.

Auras voice coming in at various times are more poetic musings. Listen to what her character is saying and look at the world around you. Soon you'll see if you're paying attention it fits.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Yup! I seem to remember taking pictures of it when I was in MN. I, also, took pictures of the house where Prince's parent's lived when he was born. I'll have to dig those out sometime.

I think Graffiti Bridge represents the bridge between this life and the afterlife. The graffiti represents art, and specifically Prince's music, as a way to make the transition worthwhile and enjoyable.

AndGodCreatedWoman1 said:

Thats what I always thought as well

kpowers said:

Cool! When I first saw the movie and thought that's what Prince meant by it, I was so touched. I actually cried about that too (as well as Purple Rain). I guess I'm just a big cry baby.

AndGodCreatedWoman1 said:

That makes sense. I think I had the same idea somewhat. But maybe the bridge could represent the merging of the mind and spirit? And the graffiti could represent freedom and self-expression, which art is somewhat for.

Overall, we have similar idea. Thanks for answering the question.

I think that the reason the movie failed besides the obvious reasons( bad acting,no real directing, bad set design, no cohesive plot) was the fact he could not get Janet Jackson or Madonna to play in it.

The good thing was this was the first date with my wife.We always watch Graffiti Bridge on our anniversary.

i have a better question: why the hell was it dubbed Purple Rain pt. 2?

InsatiableCream said:

I guess it was Prince's idea he could grab some of the PR audience again.

InsatiableCream said:

Cuz the original blurb under the movie title was supposed to be
"& this time.... .....it's personal....."

Illustrator said:

well if that was personal then Prince should never get personal again

tznekbsbfrvr said:

IMO, the feather could represent fate.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Aura was an angel. "Are there really angels, or are they just in our mind? It all comes out in the wash in time."

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Angels typically are viewed as the messengers of God. Aura was a messenger of God and when she was speaking (but wasn't in the scene) is when she was relaying the message and/or encouragement to Prince.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Needed a musical child to perform as Melody Cool's son. Also Tevin represented innocence to me.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Melody Cool was the name of the club and of the woman. And as for the neon lights being lit a few times, don't must club utilize some form of lighting in advertising their club?

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Graffiti Bridge doesn't represent an escape or solace. Rather it represents the path to God. It also represents Love. In many of Prince's songs, when he sings of Love, he is singing about God.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

I loved this film because it is so rich with its symbols. Everytime I watch it, I catch something else. Keep in mind as well that at this time Prince was very spiritual, and much of what he sang about involved finding God within you, not outside of you. During this time Prince was deep into meditation and many of the symbols within his lyrics at this time (and even today in many of his songs) are things that someone who has delved deep into meditation has experienced/witnessed.

Oh, I also wanted to add that I saw this movie as an inner struggle. The Kid represented the Prince who felt a strong duty and love for God, while Morris represented the earthly desires. In order to overcome the earthly desire, The Kid had to find his Graffiti Bridge.

This was a terrible movie and the music was bad too in compared to UTCM. Only thing tat saved it a lil was Morris Day.