Bonnie And Clyde Essay

1. Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde is known by many as one of the first films that brought a new stronger feeling to Hollywood filmmaking. This new strong feeling came to represent American cinema of the 60’s and into the 70’s. The violent of this famous couple test many boundaries throughout the film. These boundaries are tested from the beginning of the film. For example, as Bonnie (Faye Dunaway) lies naked in her bedroom, as she is watching Clyde (Warren Beatty) at her mother’s car. The director Penn does a brilliant job when filming the bedroom scene. He shows a lot of Dunaway skin without exposing anything. The camera moves whenever the chance her nudity might be reveal. Dunaway emotional investment in her character is shown in an early

scene. Penn does a close-up of Bonnie face as she play on her bed in an almost sense of boredom. This scene also shows the character anxiety and was a way of teasing the audience with her nudity. For me the goal of this movie was clear. It was clear because from the beginning Penn announces to the audience that this film will be about doing things that were not previously done in films. He does things that audiences had not previously seen in earlier films. The film unfolds chronologically as Bonnie realizes that Clyde is not the lover boy type. This film rebel against the traditional Freytag drama structure, For example, Penn shows the car stealing scene before he shows the family reunion.

2. This film is propelled by a flight and pursuit narrative. From the beginning of the film the audience is put into a crime scene without any lead up to the story as to what lead to the crime. Penn brought the audience an American crime story that many films from earlier eras didn’t explore. Shortly after meeting Clyde, Bonnie wants to be in the crime world with him. They begin robbing banks. As they rob more and more banks the chase for them increases. As the chase intensified they find themselves in a lot of chases and shoot outs. These chases were done excellently by Penn, as a way to keep the audience glue to their seats as Bonnie and Clyde tried to slip away from being caught by law enforcement. The goal of the main characters is to keep their criminal empire going while eluding the police at every chance they get. While law enforcement only goal is to catch the gang, which is frustrating as they kept escaping. Although in the end of the film they are caught, for the most part of the film it is a game of cat and mouse. This film belongs to the gangster genre. The reason I believe it belongs to the gangster film is because of the crime and violence in the film. I believe that is why Penn doesn’t let the criminal couple live at the end of the film. If he would have let the couple survive it would have deviated from the genre. In gangster films somebody always has to pay the price of breaking the law. As usually in these films that person is the gangster. However, the film did not follow the traditional gangster film. In the sense it put more emphasis on the audience. In a sense the film takes the audience for a ride.

3.

The close-up of Bonnie as she is on the bed in the room I found to be very effective. I believe this was Peen at his best as he did things in this movie that had not been seen before. Like teasing the audience to keep them interested. Bonnie and Clyde was one of the first films to emerge after the collapse of the studio system. Penn Bonnie and Clyde mixed sex and violence. It was an attempt to break with the conventional moral codes. In the movie we see the couple died a very bloody death. From the beginning of the film the camera shots of Bonnie reveals something important to the audience. It reveals that her sexuality is going to be a major part of her character throughout the film. In the last shot we see the sheriff through the window of the couple’s car as they are being chase. This visual message tells the audience that they are trap and therefore can’t escape. Some scene in the movie relies on what is been shown rather than what is said as a way for the audience to interpret what is going on. This film uses jump cut to deliver some of its messages. For example, the bedroom scene when Bonnie is about to get on the bed and it cuts to her already on the bed. The scene shows that she is suffering from boredom and her desire for just a mundane excitement. The use of this style by Penn has a major effect on this film. It keeps the audience glue to their seats and almost salivating for more of this thrilling action pack film. It enhances the emotions of the scene by

making it more realistic. The style in this film does some foreshadowing as to what is to come.

4.

Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde introduced violence into the culture of film. Penn uses graphic violence in Bonnie and Clyde to bring attention to the violence youth of the 60’s were going into. The Vietnam War was at it worse and many of America youth were being killed. He uses a story that takes place in the 1930’s Great Depression and brilliantly uses it to relate to the 1960’s. He skillfully uses Bonnie and Clyde being killed in their youth to young American soldiers being send to fight in the Vietnam War, which many were oppose to. This was also a war were many young men were killed in their youth like Bonnie and Clyde. I believe this film help put the problem of violence on the national agenda. This movie also help the audience which at the time were youth, escape the horrors of war. In a sense the movie made young men face their fears of that time. The idea was if you can’t escape it why not face it. America in the 60’s was facing one of the biggest increases in violence since the 1030’s. The use of graphic violence in Bonnie and Clyde shows the real devastation many Americans were facing in their day to day lives. Another thing that was use in this movie was humor and comedy. I believe this was Penn way of helping his audience escape the devastating problem of violence and releasing the stress they might have been feeling as a result. However, it might have opposed for some, as they had become used to seeing violence in the media. In the last scene as Bonnie and

Clyde are being chase by the sheriff. He shots Clyde and the audience can see that part of his head have been blown off. I believe this was a way of bringing the audience attention to another important event of the 1960’s, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

5. One stereotype of American that is in Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde is that American is violent and love guns. From the beginning of the movie it starts out with violence, as Clyde shoots and killed a man. No other develop country on this planet has the kind of problem that America has with gun violence. Every year thousands of Americans died as the result of gun violence. I’m not only talking about murder but also the sad high rate of suicide of committed by guns. The stereotypes that American are violent and love guns is reinforce in Bonnie and Clyde as the couple robs multiple banks and get into gun fights with law enforcement. Throughout the film violence is depicted. The graphic and bloody scenes in this film are one of the key aspects that keep the audience during the 60’s interested. Another stereotype that is presented in the film is the role of women. For a long time society had saw a woman as the person that takes care of the house and kids. However, in Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie (Faye Dunaway) deviates from that role that was previously set for women in a patriarchic society. In the film Penn bring new life to this stereotype by showing that women can do more than just conforming to gender roles that had been set for them by men. His presentation of Bonnie in the film catches the audience eyes that women are more than just house wives that cook and clean.