Themes: Next (No Pun Found)

   Over the years, Nicolas Cage has starred in several films involving future-sight, but one of his more interesting films involving it is "Next". The film Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson, portrayed by Nic Cage. Johnson has the ability to see a few minutes into the future and uses it to avoid being caught by government agencies who want to experiment on him. As a child, Cris underwent many examinations and grew sick of the government and medical establishments. Cris moved to Vegas where he made a living by doing small tricks and using gambling winnings to pay for everything. But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm. The idea of a "Red Room" or a place that fills someone with fear is present throughout the film, such as when Cris is captured by the FBI and is placed in a room where he is tied down and his eyes are kept open. The experience that Johnson has in the room change him and affect the story greatly. In Jane Eyre,  the "Red Room" is literally a red room that Jane's uncle died in. As a child, Aunt Reed would place Jane in the Red Room as a punishment, because she knew that Jane was terrified of the room. Jane's reason for being so afraid of the room was because: "Mr. Reed had been dead nine years: it was in this chamber he breathed his last; here he lay in state; hence his coffin was borne by the undertaker's men; and, since that day, a sense of dreary consecration had guarded it from frequent intrusion"(13). This room played a large role in Jane's life. It was one of the reasons that she was sent to Lowood, which caused her to become a governess and meet Rochester. These "Red Rooms" took quite a toll on each character and shaped the way their story would play out.