Evils of Money and Industrialization in the Film, The Wages of Fear
The messages or themes of The Wages of Fear are fairly easy to understand. Among them all, the strongest of these messages is that, simply, money and greed can corrupt and even kill. This message is clear in several aspects of the film. For example, the plot of the story is that several men take on an incredibly dangerous task, knowing they could die, because the completion of the task could bring them a large sum of money. Of course, the incentive behind their choice can be attributed to the local American oil company that is offering the money, which controls the local economy in the first place (the implication is that these men would not have to go on this dangerous job if the oil company used fair employment practices in the first place). This brings up the question, then, of what exactly is Henri-Georges Clouzot criticizing? Is he commenting on negative aspects of human nature in general, or is he making specific accusations against American big business and the so-called American way? Of course, he could be making an all-encompassing commentary on both of these topics. Regardless, this question will be explored through both the study of the four individuals who undertake the job, and also through an examination of the American oil company involved, and more particularly the boss, O'Brien. Finally, the last scene will be interpreted, and an explanation will be offered as to why this scene was absolutely necessary in order to bind all of Clouzot's criticisms and arguments together.
The first thing that needs to be said is that the characters in the film undertake the job of transporting the highly explosive nitroglycerine ...
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...n that was posed was whether The Wages of Fear was anti- American or anti-human nature. After studying the film, it can be said with confidence that it is not the latter. As for whether or not the film is anti-American, it seems to certainly be so. In the film, America stands for all that is wrong with industrialism and even capitalism. While the U.S. is definitely not the only place where such things exist, in Clouzot's interpretation, it seems to be the epitome of the corruption and social disintegration that those systems cause. Thus, The Wages of Fear is a film about the social and emotional influences that money and industrialization (particularly in America) have on human nature. Judging from the fact that at the end of the film, all of the main characters are dead, there is no need to speculate about whether or not these influences are positive or negative.
When people are scared, they tend to follow a routine, or pattern. In "Night" this is shown when a prisoner tries to steal soup during an air raid. Elie states "Hundreds of eyes were looking at them, shining with desire. Two lambs with hundreds of wolves lying in wait for them. Two lambs without a shepherd, free for the taking. But who would dare? Fear was greater than hunger." (Wiesel 59) This shows the way that fear can cause conformity in a society because the prisoners were too scared to go out and even attempt to try and get some food. They were
Authors often try to interweave themes or meanings into their works in order to create a deeper and more intriguing work of literature. For instance, The Crucible, a film written by Arthur Miller, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”, a parable by Nathaniel Hawthorne, are two pieces of literature that share the recurring theme of how fear affects a person’s decision making. By examining two of the characters from The Crucible, Abigail Williams and John Proctor, one is able to see how fear can lead people into hysteria, causing them to do things they normally would never do. Another example of fear changing peoples’ views and actions is displayed in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. This theme is well displayed in the town’s responses to Mr. Hooper’s
The 1920’s in the film industry today can be seen as a decade filled with many landmarks in technology as well as overall progression in all aspects of on-screen storytelling. Director Erich von Stroheim serves as somewhat of a symbol of 1920’s film as he directed so many important and notable films during the era. Stroheim’s Greed is the one film always referenced when mentioning Stroheim’s catalog due to the magnitude of the film when considering costs and enigmatic legend that comes along with its release. The full-length seven-hour version of the film has never been seen as the version released was just a tad over two hours in running length, meaning there are five hours of unseen cinematic history stowed away with hopes from many to
"Culture of Fear" is a book that describes that it is our perceptions that dangers have increased, and so much the actual level of risk. Glassner explains in all of his chapters how people and organizations use our fears as a way to increase their profit. Glassner also states about the prices we pay for our panics and all the time and energy we spend worrying. Americans are afraid because of the media's broadband expose of crime, violence, drugs and diseases.
Money, death and lies are the central theme of this book. Which has existed since the beginning of time and present in society today. This play heavily focuses on falsehoods and fate. The question of whether or not should we as a society be doing anything to change America, my answer is affrimative, I agree we should. With that being said, the only way to stop greed is to stop the capatilistic machine. Destroying currensy on a global scale and putting zero emphasis on money and more emphasis on building
At times, fear motivates people to behave unscrupulously. Personal fears instigate some characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible to cry witch. Reverend Parris fears losing his job, Abigail fears prosecution and losing John Proctor, and Tituba fears physical retribution. Fear induces people to defend their personal whims and use their power to harm others.
The prominent theme in the thriller movie, Psycho and the short story, "The Devil and Tom Walker", is that greed has its consequences with the suspenseful and uneasy atmosphere which was developed by the high, overwrought emotion.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, accusations of witchcraft were made on behalf of fear and greed. Abigail Williams and her friends were caught dancing in the forest and were immediately accused of working with the devil. Words of witchcraft began to spread throughout the village quickly. At the time, witchcraft was considered a crime that was to be followed by the death
The idea of the American Dream is it began as an idea people could thrive from, but became detrimental through corruption. Society’s necessity for material goods and money for personal happiness distorts the American dream. One’s morals will be compromised once one decides to live a life for the sole purpose of following a corrupted ideal. In Hunter S. Thompson’s literary work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his viewpoint of the American Dream is expressed. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by Hunter S. Thompson, expresses the decline of society’s morals due to materialistic needs. Thompson proves through symbolism and characterization that society‘s corrupted perception of the American Dream provokes an individual’s morals to decline.
Inside us all there is a deep dark fear this is what grabs us by the thresh hold of life. It controls the most important aspects of our lives. This is found within the deepest and darkest chasms of our souls. The very creature that wreaks havoc in our minds we cage and never confront we lock this beast away to afraid to overcome it. If the beast is not confronted it begins to contort and change who we are as a person and how we interact with others. Even the very decisions we make as a person to affect those around us and are loved ones to also suffer the consequences of our actions. Such as the crucible and how each person was warped into their own monster by greed.
Over the past couple of years there has been a vast increase in the number of Americans suffering from ADHD. ADHD has become a hot topic of discussion for the public resulting in rising attention and concern. The way health professionals go about treating and making sure they properly treat patients suffering from ADHD is by thoroughly assessing the patient. As this disorder became more known, it resulted in more parents becoming more aware and realizing that their student’s poor performance in school or behavioral problems might not be intentional.
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us how fear and suspicion can destroy a community. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear and suspicion increase and destroy the community. Throughout the play it becomes apparent that the community gets more and more divided as time goes on. In the beginning there were arguments about ownership of land between some of the villagers. As the story progresses people fear for their own safety and begin accusing their neighbours of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged.
The purpose of this research was to describe and understand Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the most effective treatment options that are available today. ADHD is a mental health disorder that affects 3-9% of the population in ways that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on the mind of the sufferer. It makes concentration difficult, large tasks seem insurmountable, and causes impulsive and hyperactive tendencies. Fortunately, research and experiments have led to new and effective treatments to help those who suffer from this disorder (Dupaul 8). This research examined journal articles and internet sources on the topic to help unlock the complexities of the disorder through scientific research. It also was a way to separate the myths of the disorder from the truths, while discovering the causes, diagnosis methods, and best treatment alternatives to battle this prevalent disorder.
In Junot Diaz’s essay “The Money” he explains where his family stands economically. Stating that his father was regularly being fired from his forklifting jobs and his mother 's only job was to care for him and his four siblings. With the money brought home by his father, his mom would save some. Her reason was to raise enough to send to her parents back in the Dominican Republic. When his family went on a vacation, they came back to an unpleasant surprise; their house had been broke into. Eventually Diaz was able to get back their money and belongings. Diaz returned the money to his mother although she didn’t thank him for it, this disappointed him. Like Diaz I have also encountered a similar situation where I was disappointed. When I was in second grade, my life life took a completely different turn. My dad took an unexpected trip to Guatemala, on his return, the outcome was not what I expected.
To an extent, fear can be used as a way to mold society. The fear of terrorism set out by the event of 9/11 made it a more fear-driven world with growing minds of over analytical, blind, ignorant and assumable citizens, finger-pointing at others. But Jose Saramago's Blindness shows the possibility of fear molding our society. An epidemic of a bright, white blindness affecting all people, such brightness that no one would see anything but the white brightness itself, the novel uses this metaphorically as that we choose to ignore so much of the misery that goes on around us, the awful things that are happening in front of us, the despicable aspects of life. Instead, we chose to see what we want to see.