An Analysis of Begotten

The film Begotten, directed by E. Elias Merhige, is an experimental piece dealing with the story of Genesis in an abstract manner. One of the most vivid aspects of this film is the cinematography, which differs greatly in its aesthetic to a great deal of other films. The film was shot on black and white reversal film, which was then reused when each frame was rephotographed, giving Begotten the strange appearance that it has and also defining it as an experimental film.  This creates a film that differs from others because the end results creates a film with very defined black and white areas, with minimal grey parts of the image. This seems to be one of the ways in which Merhige attempts to create a clear message in his film, providing the viewer with an idea that there is no greying area unlike we are often told, instead this film portrays a definite image of right and wrong. However, there is little shown throughout the film in the way of 'positive morality', and this idea is not entirely backed up by the content of the film in this way, though there is a great deal of negativity shown throughout that might emphasise the director's 'black-and-white morality' message.

The film opens with an image of what is credited as God disembowelling himself for an extended period of time. The fact that this scene takes so long to finish creates an extremely unnerving atmosphere, giving the viewer a sense of unease about the situation. By having the character of God killed off so early in the film, Merhige creates a film where there is no sense of power or control over the situation, such as His presence would have given in any other case. From this session of disembowelling, a woman credited as Mother Earth is born. She immediately engages in an act of necrophilia, impregnating herself with God. Again we are given a scene with a very heightened sense of unease, this scene perhaps indicating that without the presence of God, there is little left sacred within the new world created. From this experience, a new character is born known as Son of Earth: Flesh on Bone, portrayed as a sickly nude man who constantly seems to be in a state of distress, convulsing or vomiting at most points within the film. The manner in which he is portrayed seems to emphasise the environment that this film takes place in; a very dark world in which there is little shown to be healthy or good. Son of Earth is quickly taken by a group of nomads who appear to represent the basis of civilisation, a very underdeveloped version of humanity. They take him away and eventually burn him to death, all the while accepting objects that he frequently vomits as gifts. This scene is the clearest in its intent, following the story of Jesus in his final days as he is used for his gifts (perhaps representing miracles that Jesus performed throughout his life) before being killed by those who greatly appreciated these gifts at the time. Continuing the mirror the story of Christ, the Son of Earth is reincarnated.

It is here that Mother Earth returns and finds her son, the two finally uniting. This seems to be a way of introducing some manner of 'good' within the film, as surrounding this there is only a series of grotesque scenes providing little but a bad light on humanity. After their reunion, they are once more found by another group of primitive humans who then proceed to torture and then kill both Mother Earth and Son of Earth. This scene solidifies the message that Merhige wanted to put across, this being that humanity is destroying the earth and all that is sacred within this. The film offers extremely disturbing images, which could be extremely grating to someone who was not entirely invested in the message provided or the aesthetic choices of the film, although this is perhaps what the director was aiming for; by creating an environment that is disturbing both in context and in visuals, Merhige has put across an undesirable image thus reflecting the message that this is indeed an undesirable world due to what we have done to it as a collective humanity.