hollywood bonnie and clyde era representation of ethinicty/ gender and auteur Flashcards
How has gender gradually changed accoridng to laura mulvey?
gender has chnaged through women being seen through their role of a typical housewife, playing through the narrative acting as an object to a more cecundrukm role . The complexity of womens role has been overlooked , thye deserve to be foregrounded rather than background and in the periphery- connection to psycho
Why was the 60s a prominent decade for womens movement in films?
National attention focused on women and the womens movement, gender roles began to shift
How did arthur penn evaulate womens roles?
Examined issues like womens struggle to discover a voice, male and female sexuality. Manipulates the gangster genre and the sub genre of the rural bandit film, recreate his hisotrical icons into sixties icons- understand the gangsters fenres developement
Why are the conetemporary cultural inerests good as tools?
They are good for assessing and understanding shifts in idelogical thought
What did andrew tudor say?
Crucial factors which distnugish a genre are not only charactersitics inherent to the film themseleves…; they also depend on the patricular culture
What issues did bonnie and clyde reach for in the film?
Due to the increase of sexual revolution that cesnroed sexual content, bonnie and clyde showed the issues with impotence, sexual desire and objectification. Instead of seeing women as an objetc it could merely suggets the weakness of males- as assessed through clyde
How does the opening scene of bonnie and clyde express this sexual heat and indepdnence?
Faye dunaway shows she wants a lif of adventure and intriguness and indepdnence from a normal hubsand, becoming a sex symbol through crime spree
her lips, naked body, shiny blonde hair (symbol of heroine)
How does arthur penn descrbe the first scene?
‘a close up of her hungry lips… for something more than her present existence’
How could the lack of men help encourage this shift in bonnie and cldye?
Due to the lack of men, women were seen to fend for themselves and possessed a increase in freedom and had to undertake male jobs
Why does the opening scene empower her?
Serves a person to not just give her a one dimensioanl representation of her character, helps her find her way
How does the male gaze apply to bonnie and clyde?
The way bonnie is presented shows she isnt just seen as an object she is shown through her sexual self and herself as a character, womens rights
What is the difference between bonnie and clyde and casablanca?
Bonnie is seen as more indepennt and more of a woman which her own means rather than an objective figure, less feminsim. Through the experiemntal filming arthur penn could experiment in contrast with casablanca where the directors were often owned by companises; curtiz and warner brothers
How does bonnie and clyde seek violence?
hrough the televised watch of the vietnamn war more televised gun action, the younger generations began to drink, after the kent state massacre.
Why is bonnie and clyde being set in the 30s a pinnacle time for the audience?
America reveived alot of devestation due to hyperinflation, loss of propites the wall street crass, poverty and low morale making people turn to crime. Bonnie and clyde are being shown to make the audience feel sorry for them, as they connect with them through satirical hatred of the upper class and governement
How does casablanca in terms of the hays code contrast with bonnie and clyde?
Casablanca was a hybrid genre- film noir/meolodrama. Key actors/talent owned by warner bros, no explicit lannguage
makes the film correct standards of life
bonnie and clyde- pca was old and outdated
nudity/violence reflect the resistance to the pca
pca collapsed after a year bonnie and clyde was relased
How does the ending scene of bonnie and clyde represent graphic violence?
The effect of the vietnamn war; reflects moods of pessimisim after riots through the vietnamn war
dr martin luther king assassinations
What type of hollywood was bonnie and clyde set?
The french new wave, which was due to the collapse of classical hollywood. the directors and actors had more controlin what they wanted to do and how. jean-luc goodard is known as the pinoneer of the movement and made due to critics not liking how films were made. Show real life
How did bonnie and clyde want to show more neo-realism and real life in the film?
Used alot of non-professional actors which enrouaged more realism
How do openig shots contrast in bonnie and clyde with casablanca?
Bonnie and clyde used alot of long shots to capture the background and scenery
How is method acting used in casablanca?
The use of no acting in casablacna, the blank facial expressions again shows the no method acting approach in classical hollywood. they are very robot; no emotions. The german aeroplane reaches casablanca and the german and french converse, no improvisatiopn and gives a linear performance for the actors. Warner brothers never wanted the performance to go stary into setnimentality; linear not theatrical
How is method acting used in bonnie and clyde?
improvisation to make the story seem more realsitc, bonnie and clyde often talk over eachother- outside bonnies house. The breakage of the hayes code encouraged more realsitic measures and this method acting through the characters casually kissing on set or swearing
How also did the discourgaement of the star system play a part in bonnie and clyde?
The french new wave encouraged people to watch their film entirely on the narrative rather than the actors themselves, which is in cotnrast to casablanca where it was soley the actors they were focused on.
In bonnie and clyde how does bonnie take on a more masuclien role?
The scene of taking pictures, buck and blanche take a photo but she refuses to smile. Dominance of females
when bonnie does it she does it signualry holding a gun without smiling. Shows how control she is
What are tbe representations of the first scene in bonnie and clyde?
Cross fade to show bonniee lips show this side of feminitt she is hungry for violence somethkng different.
the mirror shows what she masks herself as her role
the scene wherr her head is clust between the bed suggests her boredom and represents many women at that time
bonnie is naked and this nudity suggests the change of gender toles and showen to be more sexualised and less conservatibe compared to ilsa
What is the binary opposition between bonnie and blanchd?
Bonnie is seen as less conservatibe and adopts more masucline roles; posing for the camera rejecting to smile holidin a gun and a cigar
blanche
What did bonnie and clcyde treat?
The great depression
How can we describe bonnie and clyde?
Two titular protagonists
How are gender roles decipted in bonnie and clyde?
Gender roles take on a new level, bonnie goes against women at the time of being homemakers, chooses an alternatibe lifestyle of independent sucess.
She doesnt want clyde to take care of her but to relish this independent patriarchal non-capitalist image
How are bonnie and clyde presented in their relationship?
An inneudo is shown and their relationdhio is shown as electrifying and transparents
Why is the scene of cj ross meeting symbolic?
Bonnie stays in the car whike clyde goes inside shows the switch of gender roles bonnie takes on more of a leadership role. Bonnie remains in the drivers position, clyde in the periohery showing the reverse in gender rokes.
The allurness of bonnies sexual desire towards cj shows her power and her manipulatit which is more concessesnof a male character
How does the scene when the two are in the car show bonnies power on screen?
The rain ourside plays more of a romantic setting interrwined with sadness with clyde having his back to bonnie then we see the camera facing bonnie in the middle of rule of thirds close up to siggest her dominance and her star focus again on screen
How does the poem show the foreshadoeing of death?
zthe poek reads like an epitach which shows her excitement but then shows the foreshadowing of death
What does Owen gilberman say about the revelation of bonnie and Clyde?
“dunked the cinema in a baptism of style and blood and glamour
