film reflection 2

Friendly Water Front:
On the Water Front was very effective when used in correlation with All My Sons, because they both had many overlapping themes even though the situations were quite different. For example, Joe Keller’s decision in All My Sons to send broken airplane parts to the air force, jeopardizing the lives of those pilots. He did this because he was under immense pressure, and was afraid if he didn’t ship the plane parts out, his business would be shut down. In On the Water Front, Terry faces a similar situation because he can help shut down the mob that is taking control of the dock workers, forcing them to work for little pay. However, since Terry helped bring down the mob, Terry was nearly killed. The theme of when is it ok to break the rules of society is very integrated in both of these story’s plots, which is amplified by the literary and dramatic aspects of each story.
For example, when the priest is giving his speech to the workers after the mob killed Kao, he brings up the main theme of when it is ok to be a whistleblower. He points out that the mob had manipulated society so that it is now breaking the rules to give the authority tips on what is going on, but if they continued allowing this rule to be enforced, then their situation would only become worse and worse. Had not Karl Malden acted the way he did, with his voice loud and strong, the theme would have seemed weaker than it did after his speech. The setting of that scene added a subtle benefit to the speech as well, because the priest is standing over Kao’s dead body, with wine caskets scattered about. This careful layout of the scene made you think more deeply about the horrors that the workers were letting the mob get away with. The setting of the docks itself is powerful because it shows what a powerful working class we had during the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. It shows that as our economy grew, so did the greed of the people in power. The mob completely taking over the union in order to rob the workers of their hard earned money.
Marlon Barndo (who played Terry Malloy), was an excellent choice because of how he presented his character as a slower person, but was having trouble being a “patsy”. He made it obvious that his character didn’t always think too deeply about his actions, but Marlon did very well in the sense that he made it apparent that Terry was smart enough to regret what he had done. For example, when Terry witnesses Joey pushed off the building, he realizes that he just helped kill Joey, and regrets it immensely. Had he made Terry seem too slow, then the independence Terry had to show would have seemed unrealistic which would have reduced the efficiency of the theme. An example of Terry’s independence was when Terry starts to question his brother’s actions in the car, when the two of them had brought up Terry’s past life. He didn’t say his questions using the most sophisticated words, but he certainly had thought deeply about what had happened to him. Karl Malden did an excellent job playing Father Barry because he had firm voice when his character was trying to convince the workers to defeat the mob, but when he was confused, his voice wasn’t quite as strong, so it made Barry seem naive when his character was. For example, his voice seemed less firm when he was first questioning the workers about why they let the mob control them. Had he used that same tone of voice when he was trying to convince the workers to take a stand, his speech would have seemed flimsy and that part of the movie wouldn’t have been as thought provoking.
Lee J. Cobb (Johnny Friendly) was excellent at being someone who appeared friendly and someone you wanted to know, to a person willing to kill in order to make money. This trait was crucial to the characterization of Johnny because it added depth to the play because if Cobb’s character had immediately acted selfishly it wouldn’t have generated so much anger at him. When Johnny is first introduced, awareness is created that he breaks the rules, but it doesn’t seem so awful. But as Johnny is revealed as a cruel, horrible person, angry is generated because it’s obvious that he manipulates other people with his outgoing personality, which only allows him to get away with stealing the workers money. The make-up on Johnny’s face after he got attacked by Terry, adds dimension to the movie, because not only does it give satisfaction that Johnny’s in tough shape, but it also is symbolic that Terry alone made Johnny bleed.
The cinematic aspects of the film were important to getting themes and other key messages across to the audience. Photography was crucial in doing this because of all the close-ups that were used to emphasize points, like when Terry is explaining to Edie that he really didn’t expect her brother to be murdered, and the steam engine horn starts to blow droning him out. The camera zoomed in on the horn, which enlightened the audience that it was a deliberate act of the director to have this horn being blown as loudly as it was. The horn itself was important because it symbolized the whistle blowing by Terry, and it foreshadows a little as well because when it was blown, it hurt Terry. So when Terry tips off the authorities, the audience already knows that he is going to be hurt in some way. Again cinematic aspects of the film prove useful in making the movie more enjoyable because the music playing throughout the movie set the atmosphere. When there was little or no music, like when Joey was pushed off the roof, the atmosphere was dreary. When Edie and Terry were dancing, it was apparent that the movie was much lighter because of how light the movie was. The duration of the shots proved significant in providing the audience with important scenes and continuing the plot line of the movie. For example, the scene in the car when Terry is talking to his brother, the duration of the shot on his speech outlined its importance. When Terry said “I could have been a contender, I could have been somebody.” The camera focused on him throughout that whole line.
On the Water Front and All My Sons had multiple similarities, but some critical differences. Consider Edie and Chris. Edie always saw things in an optimistic light, and because of this was somewhat arrogant to the fact that the waterfront is a very corrupt place. This is why she was like Chris from All My Sons because he too is arrogant to the corrupt society around him. Until his father tells him near the end of the book, Chris had refused to believe that his father had framed his friend and neighbor, even though all the evidence pointed towards his father. Another similarity between them is how Chris always talked to people about chasing their dreams, even though if they did, it would hurt their families because of how little income they would be getting. The major difference between these two characters was that Chris got extremely upset and basically killed his father, where as Edie got angry at Terry and her family, but she never actually did anything other than yell at them. So Chris gets much more extreme emotionally, where as Edie was less vocal.
The biggest theme in both stories was when it was ok to be a whistle blower against their society, but the outcomes and the fates of the characters were decided because of whether or not community members took a stand. No one stood up for Joe’s employee when he was placed in jail unfairly, even though it was the right thing to do. However Terry in On the Water Front finally stands up to the mob and shuts it down.
I highly recommend this move because of the one aspect to it that elevates above most other movies, and that is the theme of the when it is ok to break the rules of society. The movie shows perfectly how hard it is to stand up to an oppressive group of people, especially when they control the society. Which makes the movie all the better because of the conflict created by doing the right thing. The movie also does a good job in incorporating action and suspense with lots of dialogue to enhance the plot of the movie, but at the same time keep the audience interested. This movie appeals to all audiences, but to enjoy it to its full extent, I would suggest you be old enough to appreciate the themes in the movie, rather than just the action given.