Marlon Jackson

The play A Streetcar Named Desire explores brutality vs. tenderness displayed through the personalities of Stanley Kowalski and Blanche DuBois. Marlon Brando's charismatic portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire undermines the validity of Blanche's struggle. The contrast between Vivien Leigh's Blanche and Brando's Stanley emphasizes the most negative aspects of Blanche's character while supporting and validating the most positive of Stanley's, unbalancing the original intentions of Tennessee Williams in depicting the struggle between the Old World and the New. This contrast affirms the importance of the consideration of Williams’s stage directions included in the original version; it demonstrates how the ways in which the characters are interpreted for film production modifies the audience’s understanding of the play. Marlon Brando’s portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in the film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, through the use of method acting, modifies the audience’s understanding of the play. As a representation of the savage and brutal forces of modern society, Stanley’s character pursues and is driven by desire: “Animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitude. Since earliest manhood the center of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, he sizes women up at a glance,…

Elia Kazan and quickly signed on to become the director of the play and the film adaptation hiring an almost unknown actor Marlon Brando in the role of Stanley Kowalski. The play became a smash hit, and even a Pulitzer prize-winner. This caused the critics and audience to demand more greatness from Williams just under 40 he was America 's most famous playwright he started to feel the weight of it all and started hitting the bottle. He dealt with alcoholism in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a play about…

The 1950s was a frantic decade during American history, WW2 just finished, the baby boomer generation just commenced, paranoia of the Communist conquer was rampant and racism was at its high especially in the southern parts of the US. Popular Culture or otherwise known as Pop Culture started during the 1950s in America. It brought to light other perspective and views of society that were considered radical and degenerate. Popular Culture had many branches such as fashion, music and film where…

rationalizes that being exiled to the island and taking care of Pres will suffice as her punishment. With Julie’s history of being in love with Pres and going to extremes, it can easily be argued that being exiled to Lazarette Island is what she genuinely wanted because she would be the one with Pres, not Amy. In A Streetcar Named Desire, also set in New Orleans, but in the 1940s and focusing more on the middle to lower class citizens, manipulation is also present. The premise of the story is…

In 1954, the film “On the Waterfront” by Elia Kazan was released. “On the Waterfront” tells the story of a man bringing down a corrupt union boss along the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey. Kazan uses the film to paint a vivid picture of the waterfront as a space distinctly unique from other spaces in America. Through techniques of narration, Kazan uses the setting, characters and events of the film to create an allegory of morality. The waterfront, corruption, communist party, and events in Kazan’s…

Racism is something that has been something occurring in the world for a very long time. The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad represents the time period of imperialism; when Belgium colonized the Congo. Conrad depicts the racism that occured in the Congo of Africa because of the Europeans colonization. The main protagonist named Marlow, a European sailor, goes on an adventure with his crew through his perspective going up the Congo River with the goal of meeting an idealistic man, Kurtz.…

Tennessee Williams in his play A Streetcar Named Desire explores the natural state of man and his primitive desires and actions. Through his characters, Stanley and Blanche, he shows how the two sides of man’s natural state. William’s goal is shown in the 1951 production of the play starring Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh. In this production the play is acted out in a way that allows all audiences to grasp the underlying theme while remaining entertaining and engaging to the audience. The…

and borrows Osgood’s material possessions to woo Sugar. Coincidentally, Spats, the leader of the mafia in the St. Valentine’s Massacre arrive at the Miami hotel. Fearing an encounter, Joe and Jerry decide to flee, leaving behind Osgood and Sugar. Breaking her heart, Joe informs Sugar that he, Shell Oil Jr, must go to Venezuela due to an arranged business marriage. As they attempt to flee, Joe and Jerry are seen by Spats and his gang; thus, Joe and Jerry hide under the table of a banquet hall,…

Stanley Kowalski was played by Marlon Brando. Brando had begun implementing the Method acting technique which caused obstacles between Leigh’s classical training, however it caused their chemistry to be more unpredictable on set. Stella played by Kim Hunter and also Mitch who was portrayed by Karl Malden. Blanche DuBois was played by Vivian Leigh, she too had played the role of Blanche before on the London stage. Leigh also had played the Southern belle of Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the…

After the death of Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando), his youngest son Michael (played by Al Pacino) is now the head of the Corleone crime family. With new responsibilities placed on his shoulders, Michael now orchestrates the murders of his rivals, the other head families, in order to take control as the dominant family. Through a five minute scene, the murders and the baptism of his nephew manage to intertwine a lot of prevalent themes in the Godfather (by Francis Ford Coppola), into a…