Alienation

the theme of rejection in Far from Heaven is depicted through the
segregation period in America, in the 1950s. The characters are the illustration of how black
people were seen and treated by the white community, in other words, they were treated unfairly
by publicly disapproving of them as we saw with Raymond and Sarah Deagan. Being an adult,
the stigmatization of Raymond is more psychological, that is to say, for instance, it convokes
patronizing behaviors like the expression people make when he does something, like simply
talking to a white woman. It is noticeable, as well, with the director's way of filming, playing
with elements of the setting like the windows and the walls. For Sarah, the stigmatization she is
victim of is portrayed by physical violence, provoked by children of her age; thanks to the music
and shot during the scene she is attacked, we can understand that children can suffer way more
than adults because of their childish innocence. Moreover, the ethnic consciousness is depicted
through the relation between the two protagonists, Catherine and Raymond; the pressure by the
community being too heavy, each of them decide to end their relationship for two different
reasons: for Catherine, it jeopardized her couple, and according to Raymond, his priority was to
protect his daughter by leaving the city. The rejection the characters are victim of provoked a
considerable suffering on a young a child who will probably have psychological consequences
when she will grow up, and the obligation to refuse a love affair with someone he loves, which is
the consequence of a social construction process in the 1950s : the segregation.