Preview

On The Waterfront: Film Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1039 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
On The Waterfront: Film Analysis
The medium of film is enriching as it is able to transmit powerful themes and/or social issues to an audience, leaving them with a new understanding.
Explain how this statement is true of the set film you have studied.

"On the Waterfront", a well-known film by Elia Kazan, tells the story of the old former professional boxer Terry, energetic, at New York Harbor when union leader Johnny Friendly sent Terry's brother Charlie to kill Terry's friend Joey. Eventually in front of the bloody reality, all the workers have known the truth and crushed the evil plot of Johnny Friendly. The film reflects the real life of dock workers , their awakening awareness and struggle against the union’s inner corruption, which you can get a glimpse of iceberg
…show more content…
The beginning of the drama unfolds around Joey's death, one who dares to defy the trade unions. His death is indirectly related to Terry, but Terry is not moved much by that accident. Later Terry met Joey's sister, thus leading to an important emotional clues, a factor in making the change of Terry’s attitude. After Dugan's death , in fact, Terry has the awareness of saving Dugan, but he is not strongly motivated until Charlie's death, so he has had a real change of heart, and finally decides to testify against Johnny Friendly. Later, pigeons have been killed by the children, which shows that Terry decided to testify after a pessimistic isolated …show more content…
On the one hand, as a representative of his positive character, supports the development of the whole story. On the other hand, some of his parts are slightly exaggerated including Dugan's death and his long speech. “Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. Well, they better wise up” typically demonstrates the good will of Father Barry who spares no efforts to influence the community. Even after Charlie's death, when Terry went to the bar to find Johnny Friendly, Barry tried to comfort and enlighten Terry as a priest, etc. All of these facts subconsciously convey the idea that “American violence” will ultimately be affected by legal

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Kazan and Schulberg effectively blacklisted for decades many of their creative, intelligent, and politically active peers. The only loser from Terry’s decision is Johnny Friendly, a merciless bully who clearly deserves what he gets. Kazan’s testimony allowed him to pursue a directing career undisturbed. However, many of his subsequent films deal with themes similar to those in On the Waterfront, which suggests that his HUAC decision haunted him, even in the creative realm, for at least a decade. The recurring themes also suggest that Kazan felt a need to continually assert the right of the individual’s conscience over that of a mob or governmental authority. At the end of On the Waterfront, Terry is surrounded with people who admire and respect him. His informing has elevated him in the longshoremen’s eyes, and he has no reason to doubt his decision. Kazan, though he built a successful career, was never fully embraced by Hollywood, and his own decision to inform stranded him in morally ambiguous…

    • 3208 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Terry is confronted with guilt of taking part in the downfall of Joey Doyle’s murder. This is what…

    • 849 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elia Kazan’s film portrays loyalty as a constant struggle through morals and views, as Terry and Charley have an ongoing dilemma between their different views of loyalty. So often, Terry is filmed behind a fence, portraying his sense of freedom. He is caged like his pigeons, he envies their freedom. Charley is supposedly Friendly’s ‘brain’, trusted with the financial dealings of the union. He is one of Friendly’s acolytes and has pledged allegiance to the union boss, Charley has shown some loyalty to Terry, ensuring he gets easy work on the docks as long as he remains ‘D and D’. In one of the scenes in ‘On The Waterfront’ there is a shot in the back of a car involving Charley and Terry. In this scene, we begin to see Charley’s real love for his…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edie

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages

    On the Waterfront details the story of a reluctant hero, Terry Malloy, as he grapples with his conscience and ultimately attains redemption through an act of unbridled resistance against the corrupt waterfront union. As Terry comes to terms with his burgeoning ethical imperatives, the influences of others, especially that of Edie and Father Barry are of paramount importance. However, it is Edie Doyle, who through her unrelenting quest to discover “who is responsible for Joey”, provides the moral backbone for Terry, an inarticulate lowly longshoreman who once believed that his philosophy of life was to “do it to them before they do it to you”. Through Edie’s love and moral guidance, Terry is able to transform into a person who acts with moral conviction, able to overthrow the union mob and garner the respect of the other longshoremen.…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the Waterfront

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On the Waterfront is a film that is as problematic as it is extraordinary, Director Elia Kazan’s beliefs are demonstrated within his main characters in “on the Waterfront”. Elia Kazan demonstrates his beliefs and situation through his character’s, such as explaining him testifying on his colleagues and such as relating the communist party to the mafia. Kazan throughout the movie tries to demonstrate his theories and philosophies though his main characters of the movie, many like terry, Edie, father Barry and more.…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Complex in nature, one’s search for atonement is critical in the journey of self-exploration and understanding. Kazan’s classic On the Waterfront follows the protagonist, Terry in the multifarious and multifaceted changes he undergoes in the hostile environment to seek redemption. Certainly, his metamorphosis is driven by his burgeoning conscience to atone for his culpable part in Joey’s death and his ethical imperatives to be a good citizen. Kazan explores the idea of gaining acceptance and acknowledgment in the sacrificial deaths of Dugan and Charley. Father Barry’s liturgical role also elicits the deliverance of others. However, whilst Kazan imbues the importance of individuals seeking liberation from one’s past, it would be remiss to consider that the collective redemption of united longshoremen ultimately influences their long awaited victory. These paths taken by individuals may not in fact be the resulting impact of their squalid and sordid world, but the means of coming to grips with their respective pasts.…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Over a period of time, specific audiences construct expectations of different types of media, related to either what they have been told, or perhaps what the media have exposed them to in the past. Indeed, it could be argued that the success of a film to a large degree, rests on whether or not such expectations are met, surpassed, else the audience successfully surprised. Certainly, such expectations have to be addressed by the film, if it is to be considered satisfying for the audience, and in this way, elements within the film, such as character representations, the narrative and cinematography are all important components which allow this to be achieved. Additionally, the social and political context in which the film is being viewed must be considered, as it is against this background that their expectations will have been formed.…

    • 3110 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The protagonist shows way to overcome and deal with conflict this happens in both ‘Twelve angry Men’ with juror 8 and ‘On The Waterfront’ with Terry Malloy. While juror 8 is confident while having all the odds against him, Terry Malloy is very different while he needs encouragement from those that are around him. Juror 8 shows he is willing to break the law to achieve justice for the boy. He shows this by getting a knife and getting it inside the jury room. Terry is unsure on what to do and seeks advice from those around him such as Father Barry. Father Barry convinces Terry Malloy to do the right thing and use his evidence against Johnny Friendly in court. Elia Kazan shows a message that the truth will never come out if you don’t speak up.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    On the Waterfront

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages

    At the beginning of the film Terry’s past is significant, it plays a prominent part in Terry’s negative self perception. Terry’s past plays a huge role in his journey, it is crucial because it affects the way he sees himself and the journey he makes throughout the film. Terry had a harsh upbringing, his father was murdered when he was young and Terry was brought up by his older brother Charley. The boys both lived in a boy’s home until Johnny Friendly came along and became the boy’s father figure. But Terry is portrayed by many as a selfish, hard headed boy for the corrupt person that Johnny Friendly becomes. This is shown through Terry Malloy’s body language especially in the opening scene of the film when he receives his final demonstrative order from Friendly ‘You take it from here, Slugger’ the audience learns from this that Terry is on side with the opponent, he is basically do it because he feels he has to. There is an element of Terry which shows he has a conscience at work. Terry’s transformation from being a morally compromised individual to hero is illustrated as he initially associates with Johnny Friendly’s gang who commit thuggery and extortion over the longshoremen under the semblance of a union to an individual who defies and breaks the stranglehold…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    john

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The film On the Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan depicts the conflict between righteous and evil in 1954. The dock workers live under the fear of Johnny Friendly, the leader of the corrupt mob run union. The antagonist Johnny Friendly requires complete loyalty from not only the longshoremen but also his henchmen, in order to maintain his power in the waterfront community, he does not allow any betrayal or even the idea of trying to testify against the mob run union is restricted. He would even manipulate the weak to do his dirty work. Furthermore, Johnny Friendly thinks that violence is the most important mean for him to reinforce his power over the whole community. Terry Malloy, the protagonist heroic efforts to stand up against the wrong doing of the corrupt union stopped this reign of terror.…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the Waterfront

    • 3621 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Elia Kazan's film is still amazing after 50 years. It's curious how it parallels Kazan's own life in the way the main character, Terry Malloy, ends up naming names to the commission investigating the corruption on the waterfront, the same way the director did in front of the HUAC committee, presided by the evil Senator Joe McCarthy and his henchman, Roy Cohn.…

    • 3621 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the Waterfront

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    ‘By establishing Terry Malloy as the hero, On the Waterfront values individual conscience above community loyalty.’ Discuss.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the Waterfront

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Terry Malloy, a former boxer, makes the journey from being a character who is motivated by self-preservation to one who possesses an understanding of greater moral truth. He is initially depicted as a person who lives by the code of “standing with the right people so you have a little bit of change jinglin’ in your pocket”. Like many of the other longshoremen, he understands the importance of loyalty and adheres to the code of “D ‘n’ D”. Although he is uncomfortable with the role he played in the murder of Joey Doyle, he is aware of the potential repercussions of defying Johnny Friendly. However, once he starts a relationship with Edie Doyle, his view of “do it before he does it to you” is challenged. Terry begins to empowers himself with Edie’s principles upon trying on her white glove which emphasizes Terry’s slow transition from moral ambivalence towards a more morally righteous path. Later in the film, Terry wears Joey’s jacket, a symbol of acting in accordance with the demands of one’s conscience, and…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    waterfront

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In order for a friendship to be understood, an individual faces decisions of difficult consciences. At the heart of this film lies one man’s choice. Terry Malloy which begins the film as a young man who understands the importance of “standing with the right people so you have a little bit of change jinglin’ in your pocket”. His journey from a character focused on self-preservation, to one who possesses an understanding of some greater moral truth and is determined to finish what he started. Terry understood the importance of loyalty and its clear representation in the tradition of “D ‘n’ D”. Terry, like many of the other longshoremen, stands as an individual in the face of authority, represented by both the Union mob and the Waterfront Crime Commission. Terry knew the level of loyalty towards the mob that was required…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On the Waterfront

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “On the Waterfront shows that change is only brought about by individual effort” Do you agree?…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays