Violence In Bonnie And Clyde

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Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn in 1967, was a film about two lovers who robbed banks at the start of the Great Depression. It was filmed in America while the Vietnam War was constantly being broadcasted on television sets, and the “Summer of Love” was taking place in San Francisco and other major cities across the country. The Vietnam War was said to be the first American war to enter the peoples living rooms due to rise in popularity of television. America was already growing more and more violent in general but now it was beginning to take on an unreal quality, especially from the media perspective. In regards to the final scene, Penn said that it was influenced by media reports about Vietnam: “it seemed to me that if were …show more content…

Bonnie is seen moving about her room naked, notices Clyde out front and rushes downstairs before she’s fully clothed to meet a man she’s never seen before. The sexual attraction between them is obvious. In the next scene where Bonnie and Clyde are standing next to one another drinking bottles of Coke is loaded with sexual themes. For example the Coke bottles can be viewed as phallic objects that the two characters are fiddling with and teasing one another’s sexual curiosity. Another example from this scene is when Bonnie seems to become disinterested for a moment stating that Clyde is a “faker” and has never actually robbed a bank. Clyde realizes he is being challenged and proceeds to show her his gun; which is a direct representation of his phallus. The sexual tension increases and is shown to the audience through Bonnie’s shocked reaction at the sight of the gun and then when she proceeds to tenderly touch the gun. Immediately after the gun touching shot, both characters faces emote euphoria. The scene then rapidly becomes violent when Clyde proceeds to rob the grocery store to prove he knows how to use the gun. These drawn out sexual themes could be referring to “free love” which was a big component of the “Summer of Love”. Also, going along with the violence of the scene prior, Penn subtlely slips in an anti bank theme while Clyde is teaching Bonnie how to shoot a gun on the farm. When the farmer and his family who used to live on the farm approaches the two of them they each take turns firing shots into the bank foreclosure sign posted in front of the farm

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