The Hidden Angle | 'Little Fires Everywhere' uses photography to present key plot twists with flair
The last episode of 'Little Fires Everywhere' left us wanting a better future for Izzy while Mia and Pearl managed to find a way out of Shaker Heights on better terms with each other. As the show concluded, one of the most important scenes of the season featured Elena visiting the house that she had rented to Mia and Pearl in the hopes of finding her daughter Izzy there. What she did find, however, is Mia's photography project. It was on Mia's worktable and this project is what brings Elena figuratively to her knees with realizing how she had until now caged her daughter Izzy with her unrealistic expectations that turned her relationship with Izzy toxic.
It is this scene that stressed on how the entire show used Mia's photography to portray plot twists and allude to how different characters felt at a given point. Mia's last project was a Shaker Heights miniature and in the middle of that was a gilded golden cage and inside it was the feather of a bird. This feather was something that Mia had picked from Izzy's room when she was still employed as a caretaker. This feature symbolizes Izzy's freedom and it is this image that overwhelms Elena. The feather has a back story about how, as a child, Izzy had tried to save a bird and was instead looked down upon by her siblings and her mother.
The other important allusion that was made with Mia's project was when she had used a picture of Elena Richardson. She had enlarged the image cut it in strips to form a disfigured image that she lighted up. As the picture was destroyed by the fire, Mia captured this. The resulting picture is a fascinating implication of how Elena's life is going to go up in flames very soon. Mia's attempt is a symbolic reference to destroying everything that Elena stood for -- the classist references, racism, sexism.
The turning point in the show also came about because of a picture. This one of Mia as a young pregnant girl in a bathtub, which was captured by her lover, Pauline. It is by selling this picture that Mia was able to fund Bebe's lawsuit. This picture getting printed in the New York Times is also how Elena was able to investigate Mia further to find out the truth about Mia's past. This picture was also a gift from Pauline in the hopes that it would one day be used by Mia to help fund her daughter's future. All this while, Mia had held on to the picture because that happened to be the only thing that remained with her, which belonged to Pauline.
Even the way Mia sets up different projects of hers indicates tiny details about characters. For instance, the picture that she captured of Izzy the first time she met her was when Izzy was painting or to be accurate, rebelling against her mother. The pictures that Mia captured of her daughter Pearl also gives us a hint as to the kind of relationship that the mother and daughter share. It's free, warm, and caring.
These are just a few examples, but there are so many details hidden in the photography Mia pursues while she is at Shaker Heights and all of them portray different emotions, mind spaces, and opinions. One as fascinating as other and this is all presented in the show with flair. It all comes together quite beautifully.
‘The Hidden Angle’ is a weekly column examining narratives, frames, and sounds that add value to movies and shows but are not part of conversations surrounding their success or failure. The column will be published Fridays.