Frank Capra’s 1934 black and white romantic comedy It Happened One Night set the pattern for future “screwball” romantic comedies. The story is set during the depression era and focuses on the unlikely paring of an heiress and an unemployed news paper journalist. The conceited and spoiled heiress has rejected her lavish lifestyle and ran away. The film clearly projects how love is able to cross over class conflicts and monetary differences. Unexpectedly, the film became a runaway box office sleeper hit, and won the top five Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Adaptation (Robert Riskin), Best Director (Frank Capra), Best Actor (Clark Gable), and Best Actress (Claudette Colbert).
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1. Scene Synopsis: Ellie is arguing with her
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Frist, Capra wrote in script, for Peter Warren (Clark Gable) to disrobe and expose his bare chest, without a t-shirt, as was the norm for this period of time. It was surprising to see how far Peter disrobed before Ellie ran away, but I certainly did not expect to see a bare chest in a black and white film. Plus, Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) exposed her bare leg while hitch hiking and was shot wearing nothing but her slip. Not only were these scenes outside social acceptance, so was the issue of an unmarried man and woman traveling and sharing a room together. This would have never occurred in real life in the 1930’s. Thus, Capra was promoting change in a more promiscuous direction. This shocked me, particularly since I am aware of how important it was for a woman’s reputation to remain untarnished. Secondly, Capra purposefully set the undertones of how serious the depression had become, by demonstrating how the boy’s mother on the bus had passed out due to a lack of food and money, which led to the boy receiving all the money Peter and Ellie had on them at that time. This was a very honorable gesture made on the parts of the two main characters during a time in which benevolence was few and far between. This scene was emotionally driving. Not only did it express the desperation of the times but warmed my heart to see those who had very little give all they had away to those less fortunate than they
Women were now capable of partaking in acts that were thought to be “manly” or men orientated. New expectations were set, providing a whole range of opportunity and
The scenes of poverty were inescapable, evident on the faces of adults and children. It was extremely important to me to interact with the children as I would my sister or friend. To me they were not destitute kids; they were just kids, like
At a time when "Let There Be Dark" was in vogue, Paul Bogard tries to get the audience to see how light can pollute the world. He uses diction as well as syntax to get his purpose by tying to persuade the audience to make changes or alternatives with their usage of lighting. Paul Bogard starts off with words that are captivating and that leave the audience thinking. When Bogard uses diction like "too much artificial...wrecking habit...blanket of light..." it makes the audience re-think the way they saw our planet. Also, when he instills the impact that light can have on us both positively and negatively on our bodies, it gets the people to see other perspectives.
New media such as the film industry also gave men a “new definition” into the “male appearance” and its importance and variations in the public eye. Masculine appearance now rejected the clothed modesty of the Victorian Age, to the point that by 1930, men no longer wore swimming clothes that “covered the upper part of the body,” a celebration of the male physique and in many cases their sexuality that evolved through the 1920s. Instead of written rules and dictations of courtship, new social mores now declared that “the peer group” would now define “appropriate sexual behavior,” that courtship as a manner of relationships between men and women would now fade as the concept of dating would take its place. This “driving [of] courtship” into
The clothing in the movie also represents the interactionist perspective. All of the women wear sweater sets that modestly cover their bodies, but also make them look presentable. The men were always seen with their hair nicely done with gel, and wearing dress pants and a nice collared shirt, or the teens wore their letterman jackets. This style of clothing would make a person think of the 50s, the time the movie took place. This perspective helps bring the movie together by
He pointed out Mr. Cathey consistent bombardments of challenges and how he handle each situation. Every good point in his life such as becoming a father was met with a bad point in which he couldn’t go to school because he became a father. The author allowed us to feel happy for the situations that seemed any reasonable person would feel good about and upset about the unforeseen variables that tend to find Mr. Cathey. The author makes sure you feel the joy and pain of a young man who could have made it to a higher level but came up short because of his bad decision
In the midst of all of this he finds a balance by focusing on what really matters. At the same time this keeps him focused on his main goal which is education. Education will be his family's way out of poverty. Through seeing his younger brother that is unemployed and will be having a child soon he looks beyond this and is genuinely proud of where he comes from. He realizes how strong his family is when he seems them fighting through poverty and making things.
Poverty was the parent Jeanette never had. Through her childhood it was the only thing that was constant and gave her something to learn from. Both of her parents appeared and disappeared just as fast their paychecks and did not set good examples. Her mother enjoyed a free lifestyle with no sense of responsibility, while her father used what was earned for gambling, drinking, or women. Although the poverty Jeanette endoured in her childhood was always there to set its weight on her, it shaped her.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy, as well as a subtle but powerful representation of gender. During the time this book was written, women’s suffrage had begun, so women were taking their first steps towards equality with men. The three main women characters in the novel - Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker- all have things in common but can be vastly different; they reflect both man and society’s view of women in the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby portrays the characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan as stereotypes of women during the 1920s, which is shown through their behavior, beliefs, and ultimate fates and their personalities display both powerful and potentially harmful stereotypes of women at this time.
3.2 Film Analysis ‘It Happened One Night‘ 3.2.1 Story/Plot Frank Capra’s black and white movie “It Happened One Night” was released in 1934, starring Clark Gable as Peter Warne and Claudette Colbert as Ellen Andrews. The story of the film is based on Samuel Hopkins Adams’ short story ‘Night Bus’ and has a running time of 1:45:05 while the storytime is 3 days and 3 nights. The Film represents many topics and themes relevant for the 1930s’ such as social mobility, class, gender, and the pursuit of happiness.
With this time period in mind, the audience can infer the financial situation of their family is very dire and that they are holding on by a thread to even live a normal life. Moreover it explains how the play is narrated and held in the point of view of the main character, Tom, and it is a memory play which illustrates that the play is taking place in Tom's memory which recalls events from a person's life that may be exaggerated and described in a sentimental way thus showing how many parts may become fairly unrealistic. Furthermore, in scene two, where the audience is told that Laura, the sister, dropped out of college due to an incident involving a panic attack, the audience is able to understand her personality by demonstrating that she has a very anxious, shy, and coward-like personality, thus adding to the exposition of the character traits. Also, with her dropping out, it explains that the tuition for her college was fifty dollars which was a lot of money, and that it was their mother's, Amanda's, plans and ambitions thrown down the drain which further supports that the family is in need of money because of the Depression. These overall, add to the exposition of the plot by explaining the setting, adding to the character traits, and things as such, but it may also include the rising action which is when Laura decided to drop out of her college, wasting the fifty dollars her mother paid for her
‘Be Music, Night’ by Kenneth Patchen is an intriguing piece of literary art. A picture is painted of human interaction with Earth immediately. The manner in which humans fall into her beauty and vastness is apparent in even the first lines of Patchen’s poem, but why is this important? “Be music, night, That her sleep may go Where angels have their pale tall choirs” This choir is brought on by our musical mother nature.
Rear Window, a 1954 Hitchcock film is deceptively simple on the surface, but contains messages about marriage, class and privacy, to name a few. This essay will explore how attitudes to social standing in the 1950’s are expressed in the film. Lisa displays the attitude that class shouldn't be a factor in determining how she behaves or whom she should get married to. Jeffries is an example of the attitude that because of their material wealth and status, those in the upper echelons of society aren't entirely human and treats them as such. Stella portrays the attitude that class shouldn't be a major consideration in who to marry, but Jeffries would be foolish to not exercise social mobility and marry Lisa to improve his own social standing.
Poverty and discrimination affects both main characters but in different ways. Richard is ashamed of the pity he is getting and Maleeka is bullied because of what she wears. Both feelings will stay with the main character for the rest of their lives and that's what truly arises emotion in the reader. Richard was so determined to prove he had money, he told his class he would donate 15 dollars to the cause. If he had 15 dollars he probably would have given them in rather than buying himself the food he desperately needs to survive.
It was a paradigm shift from women being the objects of male gaze to the creation of a self sufficient female gaze, from being objects to being the subject