Crime and Violence in Film

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses that, although the films "Bonnie and Clyde", and "Scarface" are set in the same basic time period, the 1930s, the films were made more than thirty years apart and reflect different sensibilities in keeping with the time of production. The paper notes that at the same time they also reflect certain similar ideas about the nature of crime and violence, its origin, and the societal elements that contribute to both. The paper further notes that although both films are violent, "Bonnie and Clyde" is more overtly so, and also more able to show the results of violence in a more realistic way, unlike the characters in "Scarface" who are more likely to be shot and expire with hardly a mark on them.

From the Paper:

"Tony Camonte in the course of the film is squeezed more and more until he ends up in a small apartment, fighting off the police with only his sister on his side. The tone for the 1932 film is set by the huge sign across the way from Tony's apartment, a sign that glows with the message "The World Is Yours," an advertisement for a travel company. The sign seems to be a promise to Tony, but in the end, it becomes a taunt as he is killed in sight of the sign, suggesting something he cannot have, or had and lost. Tony Camonte is finished when his sister dies, and he never fires another shot."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dirks, Tim. "Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)." 2006. May 4, 2006. http://www.filmsite.org/scar.html.
• Hawks, Howard. Scarface. United Artists, 1932.
• Penn, Arthur. Bonnie and Clyde. Warner Bros., 1967.
• Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.
• Wollen, Peter. "The Auteur Theory." In Movies and Methods Volume I, Bill Nochils (ed.), 529-541. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.

More papers on Crime and Violence in Film:

• Analytical Essay # 111245 : "'Fight Club' and Violence"
• Persuasive Essay # 111451 : "Prison Violence"
• Persuasive Essay # 102238 : "Media Violence"

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