As a society we are less likely to change when a mirror image of ourselves is given in a text. In A Single Man directed by Tom Ford, 1960s society offers modern audiences events and people that do not belong to the contemporary world, but the issues addressed in the film are still highly prevalent in our society. The film addresses issues of stigma within societies, fear of the unknown, and the search for happiness beyond pain. The cause of these problems has changed and altered throughout the story, and the 1960s setting allows the audience to look more objectively at the issues raised and compare them to modern society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It is human nature to fear the unknown as we have no understanding or ability to foresee the consequences. In the A Single Man society of the 1960s, fear controls and influences the actions and decisions of the population. With the Cold War constantly present in people's minds, it is no wonder that society is controlled by fear. The fear of nuclear annihilation, the fear of communism taking over the world, and the fear of communism have already infiltrated American society. This fear causes selfishness among the masses and a lack of concern for anyone but themselves, “there will be no time for feelings when the Russians launch a missile at us.” Society has changed from being united to only caring about its own safety and not that of the masses, it is all to one but not one to all. Society is so scared of the threat of communism that it has convinced itself there is no question of nuclear war, not if but when. They don't know what the consequences of the war will be, so they prepare for the worst and believe that this is the only option. “If the minority is somehow invisible…and the fear is much greater. This fear is why the minority is persecuted." Fear is the strongest emotion, it can make irrational actions seem like the only option, fear will always have a direct correlation to action. Communism and the Cold War are not the only "threat" to society in the film's social setting in the 1960s, there is also the black civil rights movement and the growing awareness of different sexualities. This change within society was seen as a threat to "natural" American society. These fears were not the fear of the object itself but the fear of difference and change. Fear is an important part of human nature, it is the brain's survival mechanism against danger and risk. When Christopher Columbus crossed the ocean, people were afraid that he would sail to the end of the earth. The unknown has always been something that has always had consequences within the human brain, we have always been afraid of what we don't understand. This is why people are afraid of the dark or of falling, because we don't know what to expect when we reach the ground. History will always repeat itself, we can see it in our own society. The fear induced by communism is the same fear today caused by terrorism. Because terrorism is made up of ideals and thoughts, it can be invisible, so we fear what we cannot see and what we do not understand. As an audience we are able to relate the events of the film to our own experience and learn lessons from the character and apply them in our lives. Within our complex social world there are many social expectations that influence our behavior and actions. Within societies there will always be pressure to adaptand conform to social standards. This can cause restrictions in people's lives due to these stigmas and expectations where one is forced to be what came before them. Within the film Charley's character is limited by the social expectations of women in the 1960s. She has done everything society expects of her, but she is still dissatisfied and unhappy. She got married, had kids, and had what seemed to be a perfect life: “I don't think Richard ever loved me... or Clay. I do not know. You raise a child and when he's old enough he just goes away. but when all this has collapsed and she is divorced and her children are gone, without the perfect facade she feels she has no role and purpose in her life. She no longer has the stereotypical housewife facade she once had. The expectations that society had planted in Charley's life, that is, what was the right thing to do to have a happy life and be content with that life, crumbled and she no longer had the life she deserved for following these expectations. In a medium close up the audience is able to see Charley trapped in her life and society's expectations, Charley is surrounded by darkness and shows the entrapment in her life. The door that locks her inside her home shows that she is trapped in her life and her home, but no longer has her husband and son to portray her perfect facade. Charley is confined by the limitations of her society and the role she must play because of her gender. Being a woman, she is unable to aspire to anything more than the role of perfect housewife that society limits her to. For women in today's society, expectations and stigmas are still a problem, but they are less present in society. Especially for women, we are still subject to rules that we have to follow, there is still the stigma of getting married and having children, but we have more opportunities than the 1960s society depicted in the film. Stigmas or stereotypes within societies do not allow people to be themselves, but rather must follow subtle rules and regulations based on an aspect of their appearance or personality. Because this film portrays 1960s society to a modern audience, we are able to harshly judge the actions and aspects of that society better than if it depicted a contemporary world. This is because when looking at a text from a contemporary world the audience is more likely to justify the problems and actions taken by certain characters, whereas with a past world we can conclude opinions without regrets or apologies. Sometimes a loss or tragedy can bring a new outlook and outlook on life, this can be seen in the character of George who has just lost his long time partner. George wallows in his grief and because he is overwhelmed by misery he decides to commit suicide at the end of the day. During the day the color is almost monochromatic and represents her lack of happiness and the "color" she feels throughout her life after Jim's death. But as the day continues, George finds moments in his life worth living for. In these moments the color saturation is high, these show his moments of happiness and clarity in life. At the end of the film he realizes that life is about these moments and that they are important enough to live for. This idea of ​​finding happiness can be seen again in the drowning motif throughout the film. In the opening scene the audience is shown a blue-filtered montage of George drowning, but he does not struggle to stay above the surface, but rather allows himself to sink to the bottom. This is a symbol for George's life, he is drowning in his emotions and loneliness. The lifelessness of.