In times of hardship, storytelling can be a powerful coping mechanism. The 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde” directed by Arthur Penn is quintessential in that aspect. It was one of the most groundbreaking films of all time, testing the limits of cinematic content and metaphorically pressing ideas of revolution within current events. The dynamic duo essentially travels from state to state, acting as a sort of robin hood in the era of the depression, and steals from the villainized banks until one day a job goes wrong. Every previous robbery was a success, but that all changed when Clyde Barrow shot a man in a horrific moment of hysteria. From that moment on, the Barrow Gang lived life on the run, repeatedly getting discovered by bounty hunters and the police in every hideout.
More than just heartless criminals, the film follows two nobodies who get tangled up in love and a life of infamy. Any audience member can assume they know how the story goes from there: a young couple of people meet, connect, fall in love, and throw all caution out the door on their immoral adrenaline rush. However, these assumptions are deemed false when Clyde refuses to be Bonnie’s “lover boy” and reciprocate her romantic desires. This is the first sign that “Bonnie and Clyde” is a very different story than the cookie cutter outline of young romance. Clyde’s refusal of Bonnie’s sexual and romantic advances is extremely harsh and therefore shocking to the audience. It adds a whole new layer of depth and complexity to the characters and their seemingly stereotypical relationship. This new type of relationship is based on more than just the thrill of young love. It revolves around a mutual need for something better. Both feel oppressed by the hard times of the depression and they connect on a deeper level because of it. The film’s choice of emphasis on their similar goals over their romantic relationship is one of the main reasons why “Bonnie and Clyde” is so unique and powerful for its time.
While many critics such as Pauline Kael suggest that “our best movies have always made entertainment out of the anti-heroism of American life,” the film was more than just entertainment. It served as a form of therapy for the country in a time of hardship. Though the film was a huge success, it was unconventional in almost every way. The main purpose of “Bonnie and Clyde” was to test political and controversial ideas. It happened to blow up in the process, becoming the second highest grossing film for Warner Brothers, and winning two of the ten Academy Awards it was nominated for. But the film was made for more than just profit and awards. It was intentionally set in a time period that was socially and economically similar to the sixties in order to resonate with the audience. In 1965 The United States of America sent troops to fight in the Vietnam war. Two years later, and around one year before President Nixon was elected, “Bonnie and Clyde” showed America a symbol of resistance and revolutionary thought.
Throughout the movie, the Barrow gang is depicted as oppressed by the law: similar to how many citizens felt awaiting their conscription into the war. The most brilliant aspect of the film is that it takes place around 1934, which was in the middle of the great depression. By creating a story set in a past time of hardship, people were struck with a sense of familiarity. The scene where Clyde gives a farmer his gun so that they can shoot his recently foreclosed house shows “the economic absurdity of the times” and how the banks essentially went bankrupt by “eating their own entrails” and foreclosing more and more houses (Penn 1:56). The setting and story of the two rebellious lovers resonated with so many people because they felt the need to take action against the current war, the draft, and other social norms.
The film caused revolutionary thinking, as it encouraged people to stand up for themselves, resist the draft, and live life the way they want to. It was time for change. Arthur Penn took advantage of the current state of the country, and realized it was a perfect time to rally people to fight for what they believed in.
Interestingly enough, the main protagonists are quite immoral in reality. If america didn’t feel the inevitability of the draft, “Bonnie and Clyde” would not have been the same film. Even though the film victimizes the barrow gang, they are still criminals who broke laws, robbed banks, and killed countless people. The film tested the boundaries for graphic content and created a connection between the characters and the viewers. The sheer brutality of the final scene, in which Bonnie and Clyde are repeatedly shot to death, is a powerfully disturbing metaphor for how soldiers were being butchered in Vietnam.
I like the way you pointed out how the storyline isn’t exactly how most audience members would assume it would be. Being someone who has never seen the film I assumed that is how the story would go.
I like how you elaborated on the importance of the film at the time it was released and how you pointed out the connection of the final scene being a metaphor for how many of our Vietnam Soldiers were shot in combat.
Hunter,
I watched Bonnie and Clyde movie as well. I like your opening as it makes a great overview and keeps the reader interested on your essay. I admire the work you did with the shortcut links and I think I should use this way of referring to the subject on my future essays as well.
I love how you use the shortcut links with your essay! I should learn how to do that. That made your essay so much more interesting. I did like the scene where the farmer shoots the bank’s sign. And they way Clyde handed it to him showed that he was not too bad, in the beginning. I believe he was a good guy at first but turned bad on his first kill.
Hi, Hunter!
I really like your way of explaining the movie. It is true that the movie gives us a different image of a young couple, and puts more deep meaning into them. I agree with you that Bonnie and Clyde was a groundbreaking film that emphasized resistance and revealed some social problems at that time. I like the link and references you put in your blog! Nice work!
Wow. I have watched this film a few times and never truly understood the meaning behind the entertainment screen. The foreclosure, the banks that were closed, the gory shooting all linked with bankruptcy and war that I just didn’t see. It is truly incredible to see others interpret the same exact film not as entertainment, as an important message to the viewers. I am very happy to have taken this class to learn that there is “more than meets the eye”. I truly hope to see films the way you do one day. I love this reading and incredible translation. Thank you, I can’t wait to read more.
I never saw the film but I enjoyed your perspective on the couple’s romantic relationship. The push and pull the two have when trying to find their romantic identity. Additionally, the ongoing theme of yearning for something better during the Great Depression.
I also agree that the traditional storyline focuses on Bonnie and Clyde as the antagonists. But in reality, they did so much for the common man during the depression and draft. They represented a violent response to oppression.
Naturally, I am not a fan of robbing and murdering but there is social justice to their overall actions which I supported.