Drag Racing as dark play - Research Paper Example

The movie shows a delivery driver, Kowalsky, who agrees to take a car to San Francisco from Colorado. Kowasky is shown as an aggressive man who has suffered a lot in life and lost all his loved ones. From flash backs in the movie, the audience is told that life has not been easy on him as he suffered injuries in the war with Vietnam and was also convicted of drug charges after he stopped his partner from committing rape. Tired with life, he hits the road at high speed to take out the frustration he had inside him for so many years.

Though his intentions were not to hurt anyone on the road, Kowalsky is portrayed as a rebellious man who is willing to take any challenge as it comes. The police soon learn of a speedy driver on the road and the chase between Kowalsky and police begins. He soon becomes very popular and the media starts reporting him on radio and newspapers. The movie at length shows how he dodges the police and manages to avoid the traps they lay for him. After playing all the catch and mouse game, the man with no purpose in life (Kowalsky) intentionally hits his car against a truck and commits suicide (Berra).

When I closely analyzed the movie I penetrated that Kowasky hit the road at high speed least realizing the consequences he would have to face. It was just like a usual task only this one had a little aggressive approach to it. Kowalsky did not intend to gain the attention of the cops when he started his journey and a series of events made him a victim to the police. He was a player who did not know the kind of mess he would get in. His actions were abrupt and though he later knew it could get him in trouble, he cared less for it as he started to relish the moment he was living in.

It made him feel important and popular and he was much happier to be in a risky state like this than to play safe in isolation (Berra). Cape fear is a classic example of a movie that psychologically explores the elements of deep play. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movie shows an attorney, Sam, defending his family from a man he once defended in court. Max Cady, a tattooed, heavy smoker and a drunkard was convicted of rape which he believed he did not commit and was not guilty of the crime.

He blamed Sam for his recklessness in handling the case and claimed it was because of him that he had to suffer 14 years in prison. Once out of prison, Max starts to stalk Sam and his family. When Sam gets to know this he looks to take help from the police and gets Max charged for stalking him and his family. This infuriates Max even more and he gets more vengeful than ever. It leads Max to kill one of Sam’s associate with whom Sam had an affair. This leaves Sam with no other option but to vacate his home and live in a place far away from the psychotic killer.

But Max however follows him and despite all the protection Sam could provide his family with, Max tries to assault them. It ends up in a mess when max is deceived by Sam’s daughter, who he mistook as an accomplice, and is stabbed by her. In the end Sam manages to get rid of Max by killing him in self defense to protect his family (Chibnall) I analyzed elements of deep play in Max’s character. This movie shows how Max starts with a small crime of stalking that leads to bigger crimes of killing people around him.

He did not need to kill Sam’s associate but the vengeance against Sam had crossed all