As we move through our lives, experiences can cause our perception of our lives to change. Sometimes exposure to a different lifestyle can reveal that the life we were living was missing something. In Howard Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby (1938), the carefree Susan (Katharine Hepburn), tears David (Cary Grant) away from his mundane life of working on a brontosaurus reconstruction, and takes him on a wild adventure across the countryside. David’s glimpse into Susan’s chaotic lifestyle helps him to reevaluate his work-centered life and to accept that he wants a more exciting existence. Howard Hawks illustrates David’s growing desire for a more exciting lifestyle through David’s behavior, the settings, and the use of sound in the film.
David’s behavior …show more content…
The first and last scenes take place inside the museum in a very large, bland room that houses the brontosaurus skeleton. This room is representative of David’s life before being exposed to Susan’s eccentric way of life. In the room, the dinosaur skeleton takes up the majority of the space in much the same way as David’s work has consumed his life. However, even with the massive dinosaur, the room is not. This emphasizes that despite David’s best efforts to bring meaning to his life through work, David’s life is an empty one. Over the course of the film, Susan forces David away from this dull setting and drags him on an adventure into the countryside, into a forest and eventually lands him in jail. As David physically moves farther away from the museum and into these more diverse surroundings, it shows that his worldview is expanding and broadening into something more meaningful, dwarfing his original work-centric. His life is no longer confined to the spaces of his museum exhibit. He has grown, and his past life no longer means as much to him now that his worldview has expanded past the bland walls of the museum. In the final scene, Susan climbs on top of the dinosaur, destroying David’s life work. This action, which would have previously also tore down David’s entire world, does not have the same affect on him. Although the destruction of the …show more content…
During David’s time with Susan, fast paced dialogue, animal cries, and singing create a barrage of chaotic sound that is experienced by the audience. In the final scene, before Susan enters the room of the museum, David is sitting alone in silence. The absence of sound at this moment after the bombardment of noise that had preceded it is used to create a feeling of emptiness. After growing accustomed to the constant presence of sound, the viewers are struck by an overwhelming feeling that something is missing. This mirrors David’s feelings as he too is realizing that there is something missing in his life. After returning from his time with Susan, David is hit by the hollowness of his work-centered existence in the same way as the audience is struck by the sudden silence. This use of sound allows viewers an insight into David’s changed perspective regarding his life at the museum and reinforces his desire to escape from his mundane existence. Furthermore, by having Susan be the character to break the silence, a connection is made between her and David’s desired escape from his old life. By returning sound to the film, Susan brings back the cacophony that the audience has grown accustomed to. As Susan’s shrill off-screen cries
David’s behavior …show more content…
The first and last scenes take place inside the museum in a very large, bland room that houses the brontosaurus skeleton. This room is representative of David’s life before being exposed to Susan’s eccentric way of life. In the room, the dinosaur skeleton takes up the majority of the space in much the same way as David’s work has consumed his life. However, even with the massive dinosaur, the room is not. This emphasizes that despite David’s best efforts to bring meaning to his life through work, David’s life is an empty one. Over the course of the film, Susan forces David away from this dull setting and drags him on an adventure into the countryside, into a forest and eventually lands him in jail. As David physically moves farther away from the museum and into these more diverse surroundings, it shows that his worldview is expanding and broadening into something more meaningful, dwarfing his original work-centric. His life is no longer confined to the spaces of his museum exhibit. He has grown, and his past life no longer means as much to him now that his worldview has expanded past the bland walls of the museum. In the final scene, Susan climbs on top of the dinosaur, destroying David’s life work. This action, which would have previously also tore down David’s entire world, does not have the same affect on him. Although the destruction of the …show more content…
During David’s time with Susan, fast paced dialogue, animal cries, and singing create a barrage of chaotic sound that is experienced by the audience. In the final scene, before Susan enters the room of the museum, David is sitting alone in silence. The absence of sound at this moment after the bombardment of noise that had preceded it is used to create a feeling of emptiness. After growing accustomed to the constant presence of sound, the viewers are struck by an overwhelming feeling that something is missing. This mirrors David’s feelings as he too is realizing that there is something missing in his life. After returning from his time with Susan, David is hit by the hollowness of his work-centered existence in the same way as the audience is struck by the sudden silence. This use of sound allows viewers an insight into David’s changed perspective regarding his life at the museum and reinforces his desire to escape from his mundane existence. Furthermore, by having Susan be the character to break the silence, a connection is made between her and David’s desired escape from his old life. By returning sound to the film, Susan brings back the cacophony that the audience has grown accustomed to. As Susan’s shrill off-screen cries