Bonnie And Clyde Criminality

Words: 1183
Pages: 5
Open Document
Criminality of Bonnie and Clyde Arthur Penn’s 1967 film, Bonnie & Clyde, is widely considered one of the key movies that epitomize the rise of “New Hollywood.” Their representation of criminality revolutionized the way violence is dramatized in film. The main protagonists in the film, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, are murderous criminals on a crime spree across the United States. The story of Bonnie and Clyde embodies the hidden side of a person that wants to rebel against societies norms including the daily grind. This representation of the main characters as criminals makes the viewer not only sympathize for the villains, but root for them too. It puts viewers in a position where they question whether they want the good guys to win. …show more content…
Almost immediately we get a sense through Blanche’s body language that she is not acclimated to the criminal life like the rest of the group. This is further enforced with close ups of her face when she reacts to seeing guns. The viewer can anticipate her dramatic reaction when the police arrive at her home and the clan begins to bear arms, preparing for a fight. She screams, causing both sides to begin shooting at each other. After escaping an intense gunfight, Bonnie has enough of Blanche’s lament, and begs Clyde to get rid of her. As a moral person, one should be siding with Blanche, yet the film is assembled to make you side with the criminals.
The real story at the core of Bonnie & Clyde, is the love that the misfits have for one another. The film manifests the idea that people around the country are beginning to recognize Bonnie & Clyde as an intriguing love story, instead of dangerous criminals. Not only is the viewer rooting for the murderous Barrow gang, the people in the diegetic world are too. The way the film portrays criminality favorably initiates the feeling of support towards the …show more content…
By forging the villain’s actions as favorable, and the heroes’ unfavorable, the film is able to relate the viewer to the criminals. The delinquents show mercy to the sheriff that tries to kill them, but when he has the chance to return the favor, he fills them with bullets. These actions help to reinforce the audience’s favorability towards the villains, furthermore making one wonder who the real miscreants of the movie are. Prior to the emergence of New Hollywood, it was morally wrong to not only side with the villains, but additionally to see their vantage point as the main perspective. Bonnie & Clyde breaks down these barriers, introducing the world to an unfamiliar variety of narratives, one opposite that of traditional Hollywood. A narrative in which the Villains drive the story forward, and the heroes hold it
Show More

Related Documents: Bonnie And Clyde Criminality

The 1920's: A Brief Film Analysis

The earliest film images of gangsters emerged in the 1900s as a result of concerns over industrialisation and urbanisation in American life. The late 1920’s brought in a new vision of the gangster as a social climber who was now part of the emerging urban middle-class. Characterised by capitalism, consumerism, and a common work ethic, the modern gangster became a symbol of consumption culture of the 1920’s. No longer a social outcast, the gangster became a central figure of the new urbanism and modernity…

Words 1583 - Pages 7