Bonnie and Clyde and Annie and Bart

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Every film has elements of good and evil, two opposing forces with a decisive winner. Order and chaos works in a different manner; protagonist and antagonist can play the part of order and chaos while remaining either good or evil. However, it is not only the character that acts according to the principles of order and chaos, external elements such as history and social ideologies craft character perceptions of a disaster or paradigm shift. There are many examples of order and chaos being used to define what is "good" and other times defining what is "bad". Classic examples in Hollywood cinema of order and chaos in films are Bonnie and Clyde and Gun Crazy, where the protagonists play both sides of good and evil elements while staying true to the elements of order and chaos. The purpose of this essay is to explore elements of order and chaos in Bonnie and Clyde and Gun Crazy by analyzing: the lead couples and social-historical contexts.
Both films involve a couple and feature their adventure together however, the female lead of Gun Crazy represented chaos while the male is order whereas the female and male lead of Bonnie and Clyde represent chaos. Annie Laurie Starr (Gun Crazy) has a dark past, possibly hinting towards prostitution and a murder; the classic "Bad Girl" and dangerous fem-fatale. She makes it her story and her homicidal tendencies less opaque hence the element of extreme chaos and free will. The male lead, Bart Tare is "Good boy" turned bad and seems to haplessly follow Annie's orders rather than appearing dominant or masculine. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Bonnie and Clyde) are alike to Annie although they seem hesitant in the first heist, the couple was gradually consumed into the life of crime and meet a simila...

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...s, the directors of both films were able to use characters to express social issues and the political lunacy of 20th century America. Whether it was Bonnie and Clyde or Annie and Bart, these couples mirrored the resistance against order otherwise known as the government. The socialist overtones are died down by the thrills and action in the films yet, retaining the original message: Be aware of what is happening in our society and the government's involvement in socio-cultural spaces. Joseph H. Lewis's characters and the use of noir to break from order into the element of chaos; moving from ignorance and mindless obeisance to awareness and individualism. Arthur Penn uses of depression era gangsters reflect the grim events of the 60's. In conclusion, the couples of both films are similar through social-historical contexts as well as film elements of order and chaos.

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