Archer Dreamscape

I chose one of my favorite songs, “Hotel California” to do my dreamscape. The song has a lot of symbolism. The Hotel California is a destination for a weary traveler. It looks like paradise until you get there. You can’t have what you want; you can have what they tell you to have. The hostess has possessions and lovely pretty boys that she calls friends, but are they really friends? Are the possessions fulfilling?

Once you get to the hotel you discover that it could be heaven or hell and you can never leave. Everyone is a prisoner, but of their own making. The song is an Eagles classic.

The hotel looks like a great place to stay. The name of the hotel is in bright red which gets your attention against the black and white background. There are flames around the hotel but they are not damaging the outside, it is pleasant on the outside but is not so great on the inside. I chose to put the eagle because it is an Eagles song. The Eagle is on the “heaven” side because Eagles are a regal bird with much strength. There is a rickety ladder towards heaven. The boards match the signs pointing to heaven and hell. The signs to heaven and hell are worn out and hand painted, much different than the classy hotel which is the entry way to that decision. The angel at the bottom of the stairs looks peaceful and makes the entry to the staircase inviting. The lantern is the “shimmering light” that is in the song. The lantern used depicts a light that gives direction like used on the railways. The image is mostly black and white which illustrates simplicity with our decisions; you can take the right road or the wrong road. The color in the light and signs indicates our decisions may result in more complicated results. The color also is an image for the many times our options are presented to us in a flashy way. The options are presented in a flashy way to get our attention. The choice may result in good or bad but both are just as flashy which can be hard to decide and are misleading. Our choices do not always have the outcome we expect.

In life we can choose to view our experiences as heaven or hell. Our attitude to what happens to us determines our happiness. Many people who have nothing are the happiest people and others that have a lot are not so happy. The hostess of the Hotel California has everything and may tempt you to follow but is she really happy? The beauty of the hotel tempts you but when you arrive you discover you can only have what they offer, not what you want.

There are things in life we can’t change and we can “never leave” like the song says. We can choose to be in “heaven” as we muddle through life or we can choose to view this as “hell”. Our choice is our result.