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Is It All About Eve Essay

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Is It All About Eve Essay
Is it all about Eve?

Manckiewicz’s critically acclaimed feature film All About Eve states the film-makers intention from the title- Mankiewicz will explain “all about” his protagonist, Eve Harrington, throughout the course of the film. However, although the title suggests the film will contain a depiction, of “golden girl”, Eve Harrington, remaining the main focus from commencement to closing scene, this is not the case. Mankiewicz goes to an extent to construct Eve as the main protagonist, as the film is about Eve, however Mankiewicz brings in several themes and symbols to his audience directly to interpret that it is not “All About Eve”. The audience do not know “All About Eve”, as her actions within and surrounding the theatre are all an act. A hierarchy of the theatre creates most of the film, as issues and conflicts arise from the egos of the “theatre”. Through the title, Mankiewicz places Eve to be thought of the main protagonist, however it can be concluded that it is actually ‘All About Margo Channing’. Lastly, there are several conflicting relationships Mankiewicz constructs within the film, to reassure the audience that it is not “All About Eve”. These ideas along with motifs, camera techniques, consistent voice-overs and more, allow the audience to understand that Mankiewicz proclaimed film is not “All About Eve”.

Throughout the film we do not truly learn about the character Eve, as her activities are all an act. Mankiewicz makes it clear to the audience that we do not know all about Eve, as her name is not even Eve, it is Gertrude Slojinsk. Mankiewicz constructs her character to be all lies, as the audience never hear her inner monologue and she presented to us in a costume acting most of the time. “Acting and make believe began to fill up my life more and more”, Eve tells her theatre companions. Eve is an actor, and can almost be described as ‘not real’. Her abnormal obsession with renowned actor Margo Channing, allows her to pretend to be innocent

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