This is my assignment for my Great Works of Art course in Aarhus. I wrote it last December but just now remembered to share it.
Full text (.PDF)
Abstract:
The biblical story of the Tower of Babel hints at a perfect, common language that humans apparently used to possess which almost allowed them to reach the heavens. Using and analysing Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s 2006 film Babel, I shall compare the two Babels and how they deal with miscommunication. I will show that the kind of perfect language that the biblical story details is impossible to exist, because of the inevitable (mis)uses of language such as lying, and I will explain how verbal, as well as nonverbal communication, their short-comings and strengths and their portrayal, make the 2006 film a great work of art.