Mariama Diallo‘s indie masterpiece ‘Master‘ does not accomplish much to reconcile the issue in its centre as a psychological horror-thriller. However, the film leaves a trail of thought in the mind of the captivated viewer after the conclusion. Regina Hall dons the robe of Gail Bishop, the first African American housemaster at prestigious Ancaster University, in her first performance.
In the same year, college freshman Jasmine Moore is assigned to the Belleville House’s ill-fated room 302. Because her dorm room is connected to the famous Witch Trial on the college grounds, Jasmine can’t help but look into it. In the midst of all the contradicting signifiers, desperate voices echo a dreadful truth beneath the “inclusive” apparel.
Allow us to assist you in examining the film’s concluding minutes with a magnifying glass.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
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Master (2022) Movie Plot Synopsis
The narrative is narrated through the eyes of college student Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee). It is divided into six chapters:
- “Can Someone Clean That Up Please?,”
- “I Hate You,”
- “That’s What’s Coming,”
- “Now, More Than Ever,”
- “It’s Everywhere,” and
- “I’m Not Going Anywhere”
Jasmine locates a student volunteer to show her the assigned room, and the volunteer, overjoyed, informs her pals that Jasmine has been assigned a room. According to the storey, the room is Room 302 of Belleville House, where a girl committed herself by jumping out the window.
There are a lot of rumours going about the house, and as new House Master Gail Bishop addresses the students, we learn more about them. While she cannot confirm Roosevelt’s rejection from the university, she does know that a witch trial involving a lady named Margaret Millet took occurred there.
Jasmine gradually becomes acquainted with her roommate Amelia, as well as Cressida, Katie, Libby, and the rest of the group. While Gail deals with a snarky remark from colleague Brian and his wife about her being Barack, Jasmine enters her room to find it packed with strangers. Amelia introduces her to the gang, which is led by storyteller Tyler.
Tyler scares Jasmine with a storey about his batchmate Treasure jumping out the window at 3:33 a.m., but the storey is partially true. Meanwhile, Gail discovers an African American maid in an old photo who looks uncannily similar to the dining staff who is suspicious of Jasmine.
The librarian is also antagonistic, double-checking Jasmine’s bag since she is a blatantly visible minority in an institution with only eight members in its nascent racial inclusion forum, ‘The Ancaster Alliance for an Inclusive Future.’
Jasmine becomes increasingly alienated and suspicious as she moves closer to fulfilling the omen, while Gail struggles to find justice in a worm-infested system.
Is Jasmine Alive or Dead in the End of the ‘Master’ Movie?
While Treasure is a made-up name, Jasmine recognises that Tyler’s storey may have some reality. As it turned out, there was a fatality in the room. Margaret Millet’s spirit, according to legend, still haunts the Belleville House, claiming one pupil each year.
Tyler overstated a little, but his exaggeration masks a rejection of the university’s racial injustice undercurrents. Jasmine looks over the school records and discovers Louisa Weeks’ name. During the 1968-69 period, Louisa, a resident of Belleville, room 302, was discovered hanging in her room.
The plot takes a turn for the worst when Amelia witnesses Jasmine kissing Tyler. They quit talking to each other, albeit not telling their housemaster much about the altercation. Gal subsequently finds Amelia in severe shape one night while the offender flees.
Gail visits the room to discover Jasmine’s face blacked out from the photo on the door, and Amelia professes her loathing for her. Meanwhile, Amelia wanders away because Jasmine has the keys (which are in the archive room). Shortly after, Amelia quits the campus for good, while Jasmine is largely shunned on campus.
Her intricate nightmares have a negative impact on her, and she confuses fantasy and reality. The dreams become more clear and freeform, and they frequently extend into her waking hours. Gail discovers the words “LEAVE” etched into the door of room 302 one night. Several forces are at odds in this situation.
Even the canteen employee is taken aback when she sees Jasmine standing on the other side of the counter. Jasmine, on the other hand, comes upon Louisa’s diary, in which she describes her struggles with colorism.
As her migraines worsened, she slipped down a similar rabbit hole. “Margaret” is the last entry in Louisa’s diary, which she wrote with difficulty. To scare Jasmine, someone even burns a cross in the front yard of the house.
Jasmine notices a cloaked spectre, probably Liv’s mother, Esther, as the events unfold. Jasmine makes the connection and believes she is Margaret. Jasmine hurries to her room and locks the door, only to hear a knock on the door (which can be wind).
At 3:33, Jasmine’s foot slips while on the roof, but she escapes the fall. Gail, on the other hand, discovers Jasmine in the room, hanging from the ceiling. Since Gail heard an uproar from Jasmine’s residence shortly before, it could be the fault of her classmates and fellow boarders. Jasmine dies, and the story’s falling cadence is haunted by her absence.
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Is ‘Liv’ Going to Leave the College in the ‘Master’ Movie?
Professor Liv Beckman is a professor of literature who is of mixed race origin. Her laid-back approach to teaching and engaging with students, as well as her original ideas, are readily apparent.
At first, Jasmine and Liv are at odds over her work on a critical race analysis of ‘The Scarlett Letter,’ for which Live gives her an ‘F.’ Jasmine has written passionately. Liv, on the other hand, sees little value or substance in the piece.
Cressida, on the other hand, who has written on the colour red, Indians, and the French-Indian War, as well as the explosive underpinnings of imperialism, has received a ‘B+.’ Jasmine discusses the situation with Gail and considers filing a complaint.
The disagreement prompts rumours among the faculty, who consider re-evaluating Liv because of her lack of publications. Liv’s attempts at a “girl’s night” with Gail, on the other hand, go awry. They are both aware, however, of how persons of colour are underrepresented in the faculty because of racial stereotypes.
As a result, Gail tells Liv that she has no idea what would happen if she left the institution. Liv brings up the topic of Jasmine’s alienation in the classroom in front of the evaluation committee.
Meanwhile, Esther, Liv’s mother, arrives on the scene and creates a new complication. Esther believes Liv is white and that she has been changed by some godforsaken evil force. We’ve also seen Margaret’s portrait on the library wall, which portrays her as white. As a result, it’s not unexpected that Esther mistook Elizabeth (Liv) for a white woman.
As Liv assures an inquisitive Gail, Liv was born out of an interracial relationship. Gail makes amends with Liv after delivering her impassioned speech. Ancaster was also the only college where Liv got a chance, and she did not want to leave her home. As a result, Liv and Gail both wind up staying on campus.
Who Are the People in the Photos At the End of the ‘Master’ Movie?
The faculty gathers in the hall for the last scene, and Gail has an emotional outburst. Faculty members are more concerned in evaluating Liv than with investigating Jasmine’s death. They come across as affluent white people, and Gail’s issue is viewed as “her problem” by the majority of them.
As a result, Gail comes to the realisation that nothing has changed. When she observes people re-enacting scenes from images on the room wall, history comes alive in front of her eyes.
Gail, for example, sees three people at a table playing cards, similar to the image on the left side of the table. It’s possible that the folks in the framed images are the second or third-generation descendants of the ones in the framed photos.
The idea is that while the institution is governed by the same families, the maid may have progressed to master, but the racial undercurrents remain. It hasn’t altered at all, and Gail’s prediction is even more pessimistic: “and it’ll never change.”
