"Roman Holiday"

Paper Summary:

The paper utilizes the film technique of mise en scene to analyze the film, "Roman Holiday, given that the fantastic, fairytale aesthetic qualities and tone of the film are more important than the evolution of the rather transparent plot. The paper focuses on the film's many fairytale 'world upside down' scenes of the princess' reverse, physical transformation into a more ordinary, modern person. The paper thus highlights how each scene revolves around a power dynamic that is generated by identity confusion and reinforces the fairytale motif.

From the Paper:

"Roman Holiday" is a fantasy film, a kind of Cinderella-story in reverse. It tells the story of a princess, played by Audrey Hepburn, who must pretend to be a commoner, and pursue common rather than aristocratic pleasures, to find her true self. She rides on a Vespa motor scooter, eats an ice cream cone, and sees tourist sites with an ordinary man, who just happens to be a journalist. She gains a new sense of personal authority and autonomy that makes her more mature and able to fulfill her official duties. To pull off the difficult feat of creating a fantasy romantic film where the romantic protagonists never have any real hope of 'being together,' the film is set in Rome, but a never-never land of Rome with a carnival atmosphere where a princess can easily get lost (except from the watchful eyes of the international press and paparazzi)."

More papers on "Roman Holiday":

• Essay # 48298 : "Roman Catholic Holidays"
• Term Paper # 128563 : "The Roman Empire"
• Research Paper # 8768 : "Starlet of the Century: Audrey Hepburn"

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