Final Paper Assignment - Essay Example

Comparing Natural Born Killers to Bonnie and Clyde Introduction Natural Born Killers (1994) is a film about two mindless young lovers, Mickey and Mallory Knox, (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis respectively); Mickey and Mallory blaze their way across the Southwest, killing people in their path while becoming famous criminals. Oliver Stone, the film’s director, claims that the film was inspired by the real life murders by Charles Starkweather and Caril Anne Fugate and that it was intended to scathe the media glamorization of violence and serial killers. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) is a film noir of two love birds cum violent robbers who follow the real life story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Bonnie is played by Faye Dunaway, whereas Clyde is played by Warren Beatty. Though both films depict a storyline of two lovers who team up to do crime, the plot, message, violence levels, purpose, and the finale differ. Natural Born Killers and Bonnie and Clyde prove that the world is a society of media-crazed and celebrity obsessed people who glamorize crime and violence. Discussion Arthur Penn, Bonnie and Clyde’s director, developed a plot that the people would love, a plot that would make the audience fall in love with Bonnie and Clyde; he made it look like society made Bonnie and Clyde the violent people that they were. On the other hand, Oliver Stone used Natural Born Killers to satirize the media’s obsession with mass murderers and serial killers, and the effect of this obsession on the public. There are various similarities and differences in how the two film noirs relay their message; however, in the end, it is evident that the media plays a central role in popularizing and helping the criminals by spreading polarizing ideas, following their every move, and helping them escape from prison. Similarities Both movies are based on a romantic couple that sets out to do commit crime; Arthur Penn and Oliver Stone use their films to introduce the viewers to a world of necessary evil suing their two characters, in a way that Western films had never seen. The controversial film noirs introduce us to the characters of Clyde and Mickey as being the saviors of Bonnie and Mallory’s lives respectively. Bonnie and Mallory come from troubled pasts, and they are tired of the way they lead their lives. Bonnie is tired of life as a waitress, and Mallory is tired of living in an abusive home, therefore, meeting the carefree characters of Clyde and Mickey makes them fancy the life of freedom without restraint. Stone employs the aesthetic of black and white to describe the thoughts of Mickey and Mallory when they first meet; their subsequent activities together prove that they were a match made in hell. Bonnie & Clyde and Mickey & Mallory both use the media to their advantage to help them escape capture and eventually escape prison through media personnel such as Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr). Gale’s interview with Mickey provokes the other inmates to cause a riot in the prison due to his insightful comments about murder. During this riot, Gale continues his interview with Mickey, something that distracts the guards, causing Mickey to dispossess a gun from one of them, killing the rest and taking some hostage. Bonnie and Clyde, like Mickey and Mallory, are proud of what they do; Bonnie and Clyde are always introducing themselves to strangers as bank robbers. Consequently, Mickey and Mallory always leave someone alive in their murder scenes so that they can tell their story. The media picks up on these stories and makes the most out of those confessions to make celebrities out of those people who understand that there is a positive side to negative publicity when it comes to committing a crime. The publicity enables Mickey & Mallory and Bonnie & Clyde to become famous, and consequently keep tabs of what the authorities plan for them. The media coverage kept them ahead of the authorities for long spells in the films. Wayne Gale represents the media personnel who claim to be neutral informants, yet they possess the power to sway public opinion, as is evident in the way Gale becomes a perpetrator by allowing violence to become an acceptable fact (Ebert 3). Another similarity that proves that society is comprised of people who are obsessed with violence and crime is the fact that, some of the most innocent looking people in the film end up being absorbed into the life of crime. The character of Wayne Gale in Natural Born Killers and the character of Buck Barrow, (played by Gene Hackman), are similar in the sense that they both seemed neutral to the actions of the criminals. However, their commitment to unraveling the lives of their ‘anti-heroes’ causes them to commiserate with the killers in the crime spree. Detective Jack Scagnetti (played by Tom Sizemore) can be slightly compared to Buck Barrow’s wife, Blanche (played by Estelle Parsons); no one would ever imagine that these characters could be absorbed into the fugitive lifestyle. Scagnetti is supposed to be an upstanding citizen who upholds the law, and Blanche was the daughter of a preacher. Penn and Stone develop their plots to show that these people engage in crime due to some psychological drive, an effort to save themselves, or because of the violence that surrounds them. Both films bring the concepts of violence and sexuality together in a mutually inclusive way; this is best depicted by Mallory’s sexual escapades with other men whereby, she would attack her partners after being engaged in sexually suggestive activities. The scene at the diner proves that her obsession with sex fuels her appetite for violence. At the diner, she attacks the man who was flirting with her asking him, “How sexy am I now? Huh, Flirty Boy!” After their marriage, Mickey and Mallory kidnap a woman that Mickey rapes later after Mallory contests the idea of a threesome. Another similarity is the sexual deficiencies in Mickey and Clyde; after killing the clerk at the pharmacy, Mickey steals a bottle of virility medicine, which goes to show that he might not be as potent as he portrays himself. Clyde is also an impotent man whose efforts to engage Bonnie sexually result in anti-climactic frustration. Natural Born Killers and Bonnie & Clyde both display extreme violence, gratuitous and bloody scenes; Mickey and Mallory are straight up serial killers who enjoy violence, brutality and blood. In a scene before the murders at the diner, we see Mickey covered up in blood while making a cheeky laugh, proving his thoughts that people have an inner demon that controls their actions. Before Mickey and Mallory’s capture, they indiscriminately kill fifty-two people in their ride along journey across the South West. Mallory smashes Scagnetti’s face against the wall as he tries to seduce, further explaining her violent behavior. The aesthetics that Stone employs show Mickey and Mallory as being empowered by murder, as if they drew some inner strength from murdering people, as if they had fun and loved the idea of getting away with it. Mickey proclaims himself a ‘natural killer’ during his interview with Gale immediately after the Super Bowl; he also encourages Mallory to kill; after their escape from prison, they kill many more people before settling down. Bonnie and Clyde, on the other hand, were more of robbers than killers, however, violence was as gruesome as it could be for a movie of those days. Bonnie and Clyde used machine guns to stop those who dared get in their way, they stop making small-time heists and in one of their bank robberies, Clyde ends up shooting the manager in the face as he clings to the get-away car. This scene is similar to the Point Of View shooting of the lady in the Kitchen in the opening scene of Natural Born Killers; the manner in which Bonnie and Clyde die is one that depicts the ruthless nature of the authorities against the criminals. Both films portray various special effects and aesthetics that help spread the message of the social acceptance of violence. The use of slow motion and the black and white themes spares the viewer the reality of the horrific crimes being committed at the Diner by Mickey and Mallory. While black and white makes the actions fictional to the viewer, these activities are happening, yet the viewer seems to be condoning the idea of violence. The same slow motion and spastic effects are employed in the last scene in Bonnie and Clyde to slowly outline to viewer the gruesome details of violence in the scene (Mazzucco). Differences One of the main differences is that although both movies had extreme amounts of violence, Mickey and Mallory were outright killers as compared to Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde were more interested in pulling big time heists and getting much money; however, Mickey and Mallory were just obsessed with murder and killing. They kill Scagnetti and many other guards in the prison, and eventually kill Wayne Gale, their only supporter. At the diner, we get the aesthetic of what is yet to happen before it happens; this aesthetic is used in many other scenes especially in black and white and green colors to depict the evil thoughts of Mickey and Mallory. They killed for fun as compared to the occasional murders perpetrated by Bonnie and Clyde in their escapades. Bonnie and Clyde knew the difference between what is right and what is wrong, on the contrary, Mickey and Mallory just did not care. When Clyde shoots the manager at the store, he blames Moss and says that he did not intend to, but he had to. Bonnie and Clyde are lovable because they made it look that society made them who they are; that their actions were driven by circumstances. The finale in Bonnie and Clyde is different from Natural Born Killers; while Mickey and Mallory escape from prison and eventually have a family, Bonnie and Clyde are set up by their C.W. Moss’ father, leading them to their death. They are sprayed in bullets in such dramatic fashion that one feels pity for them. This scene is one of many that shows impact and exit wounds produced by bullets; this was very new in Hollywood at the time (Cook 412). The portrayal of Mickey and Mallory’s escape further satirizes the media’s obsession of a criminal mastermind that outthinks and eludes the authorities, thus enabling the media to have another item of news (Cook 877). To further show the badass in Mickey and Mallory, they end up killing the one person who put up with their psychotic activities, Wayne Gale. Natural Born Killers is a movie based on the media’s praise for criminals in today’s social culture, whereas Bonnie and Clyde is a movie based on the real life characters of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Bonnie and Clyde are people who were upset with the political, social and economic states of their lives during the depression period; this was a common feeling for most people in the depression period, however, Bonnie and Clyde decided to do something about it (Cook 429). This is what Bonnie and Clyde aimed at showing its audience in its violent, romantic, political, and comedic fashion. Natural Born Killers, on the other hand, depicts the media as being very obsessed with violence. Wayne Gale watches people dying around him during the prison riots, most of his filming crew get killed in the tussles yet Gale’s camera still rolls live on national television. This obsession is what Stone seeks to enlighten his viewers about. The use of aesthetics in Natural Born Killers outdoes the simple special effects employed in Bonnie and Clyde; in Bonnie and Clyde, the slow motion effect, the bloody display of injuries and murders are subtle as compared to the gratuitous images that are displayed in Natural Born Killers. When Mickey, Mallory, and Gale run into Warden McClusky (Tommy Lee Jones), the trio rush into the shower room filled with blood; this scene tells the audience what is yet to happen, and true to this aesthetic, the Warden and his guards are attacked in by hordes of inmates. Stone employs the green color, and the black and white colors to hide the gruesome violence in the film, to make it acceptable to the viewer, in such a way that the violence takes place, but in the eyes of the viewer, it is all fiction. Conclusion. Based on the analysis, it is clear that Natural Born Killers and Bonnie and Clyde prove that the world is a society of media-crazed and celebrity obsessed people who glamorize crime, criminals, and violence. The ways in which Penn and Stone through the violent imagery at the audience, the brilliant use of aesthetics, and the special effects helps in proving this message. It is believed that Penn’s depiction of Bonnie and Clyde was a warning to the youth who senselessly engaged themselves in the Vietnam War, which the media publicized as patriotism. The films, therefore, prove that violence has become more acceptable because of media influence and that the public is becoming numb to the violence that is portrayed in Hollywood and reality. Works Cited Bonnie & Clyde. Dir. Arthur Penn. Perf. Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty. Warner Bros, 1967. Laser Disc. Cook, David A.. A history of narrative film. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2004. Print. Ebert, Roger. "Natural Born Killers Movie Review (1994) | Roger Ebert." All Content. N.p., 26 Aug. 1994. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. . Mazzucco, Thomas. "Filming a Revolution: The Birth of Graphic Violence in Bonnie and Clyde." Reel American History - Films - List. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. . Natural born killers. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Woody Harrelson, Julliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr. Warner Home Video, 1994. DVD. Read More