Connor Clay
12.2
English
Mrs J. Klopper
English Fourth Genre Essay
Final Draft
In “The Great Gatsby” and “Strictly Ballroom” directed by Baz Luhrmann, it is evident that he is fond of outlandish visuals and intense music woven thought the movie. In both films, “The Great Gatsby” and “Strictly Ballroom”, characterization and symbolism are key features that Baz Luhrmann uses in order to grasp the audience and enhance the meaning and effect of his films, and how his techniques developed throughout the years.
In Baz Lurhmann’s first film, “Strictly Ballroom”, costume and wardrobe play an important role in enhancing the meaning of the film. In the first scene in the film, all the other contestants are wearing less bright colours, where Scott and Tina are wearing a bright yellow and stand out from the crowd. Another key aspect in the movie, is when Scott is dancing in the studio and Fran sees him; he is dressed in dance clothes, where
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In “The Great Gatsby” however, it is clear that his directing has evolved as he doesn’t only use colour and wardrobe to portray symbolism and characterisation. He also uses locations, objects and lighting to enhance the deeper meanings of his films. In “The Great Gatsby” he uses numerous objects to do this, such as the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which represents that God is always watching. In the scene where George Willson finds out that his wife, Myrtle has been cheating on him, he references the fact that, “God sees everything”, and she runs into the road, and gets hit by a car and then the camera focuses on the billboard, which is symbolising the fact that the billboard is “God always watching”, and that although you can hide certain things from certain people, you can’t hide it from someone who is always
The Great Gatsby is a novel written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald and is based throughout the ‘roaring 20’s’. Throughout the novel there are affairs and corruption, proving life lessons that the past cannot be repeated. Fitzgerald uses many forms of symbolism throughout the text some of these include; colours, the eyes of T.J Eckleburg, clocks and the East and West Eggs. The Great Gatsby is a story of love, dreams and choices witnessed by a narrator against the ridiculous wealth of the 1920’s.
Luhrman uses a similar technique In Strictly ballroom. The scenes in which Scott dances with Fran are juxtaposed to those of other dancers who are under Barry Fifes rule. The lighting is natural and simplistic compared to the harsh theatrical lighting, which is otherwise used to demonstrate the fake and falsehood of federation. As well as the use of shadows and half-light, which is used to create a sense of fear or suspicion. This makes for a great metaphor and image of Doug secretly dancing in, out and around the spotlight in the otherwise dark room. This use of lighting suggests to the viewer that contrast of belonging and not.
Gatsby’s car is the most important symbol in the novel. It became the main topic upon the town’s people after it killed myrtle and leaving an eye witness to specify the dullness throughout the novel is expressed through the color gray. Wilson is described as “pale” and “glazed” as he is the bearer of lifelessness in the novel.... ... middle of paper ...
In the setting of the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s Mansion is where it’s taking place throughout the whole story because Gatsby started out as a poor boy helplessly in love with a rich girl named Daisy. In the story of The Great Gatsby, Tom says “...was a colossal affair by any standard - it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy and a marble swimming pool, and than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion...” (Fitzgerald 5).
The color gold for example, as we know in our society this color would symbolize wealth and beauty however, in the novel it represents corruption and even death. Examples of this are represented in tiny details i.e. Daisy who can be considered “the golden girl”, Gatsby wearing a “gold” tie to meet Daisy. In the novel the eyes of TJ Eckleburg are also an important symbol because it represents that we are being watched without even knowing it, just as God would watch us. Fitzgerald embarks this symbol in several ways in the novel one being when George and Myrtle are facing the window and George makes the comparison with God to the eyes saying you can 't fool God and that God sees
... on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour” (24). The symbol is important to the story because it shows that no matter how fabulous a place looks there is always a dark side. Another symbol in The Great Gatsby is the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg which symbolizes the eyes of God staring down in distaste of the corrupt city and how God has lost his connection with that city. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are described as this, “The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high” (23). F. Scott Fitzgerald mentions the eyes again soon after, “I followed him over a low whitewashed railroad fence, and we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg’s persistent stare” (24). This symbol is important to the story because it shows that the flashy cities were not approved of.
As the case with most “Novel to Movie” adaptations, screenwriters for films will make minor, and sometimes drastic, adjustments to the original text in order to increase drama and to reach modern audiences. Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film interpretation of The Great Gatsby followed the 1925 classic great plot quite accurately, with minor deviations. However, Luhrmann made some notable differences to the characters and settings of The Great Gatsby in order for the story to relate to the current generation and to intensity the plot
It is the place where Tom discloses to George that the car that killed Myrtle was Gatsby’s ultimately sealing his fate. All of these misdeeds are watched over by the glaring eyes of T.J Eckleburg. Wilson explicitly states the relationship between the billboard and god in discussion with Michaelis after Myrtles death. He says "I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God. ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!” (Fitzgerald, 152) whilst staring out the window and towards the billboard. All of the “immoral” activity occurring under the watchful eyes of T.J Eckleburg suggests god now watches over a “sinful” land, full of corruption and
The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are perhaps the most important symbol in The Great Gatsby. The eyes can be taken as the eyes of God or even as us, the observers. We are observing the characters in what they do and analyzing them as an example of what is wrong or what is right. In this case, we are observing Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. We are observing their conducts and deciphering whether their actions are wrong or right.
In the story The Great Gatsby, the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg are mentioned throughout the book. It is said that those eyes see all the lies and secrets the characters are keeping and it sees the results of those secrets when they are found out. After Mr. Wilson found out about Myrtle, his wife, cheating on him with someone, he explained, “God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. I told her she might fool me, but you can’t fool God!” This quote is on page one hundred and fifty nine in the book. He thought the eyes on the billboard were like God seeing all. In this book those eyes are an example of secrets leading to misfortune. Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night. “That’s an advertisement,” Michaelis assured him, also on page one hundred and fifty nine.
There I no doubt that the eyes seen throughout the story symbolize the corruption, demise of spiritual values, and the true emptiness of the American Dream during the 1920’s. This time eventually led to the Great Depression and the worst economic times our country has ever seen. There are many connections that a reader can find between life and The Great Gatsby. The biggest one being that there will always be people surrounding you that are genuinely bad people. However, if a person withholds from being like the horrible people that surround them, they show their true character and who they really are.
Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing. characters wear. There are three main symbols used in The Great Gatsby, they are The East and West Egg, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, and the eyes of Dr.T.J. Eckleburg.
Although in the novel the reader has to decipher and figure out the importance of these symbols, in the movie these symbols are enhanced and are shown more clearly to the viewer. They show Gatsby out on the dock reaching for the green light. When Gatsby is close to finally reaching his dream the light is shown brighter. Then, later on in the movie, they show light flicker and slowly go out after Gatsby’s death, showing how he had failed to gain the one thing he desired most, Daisy. Another example is the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, the movie makes it more apparent that they represent the eyes of God looking over the corruption and loss of morality in the Valley of Ashes. While reading the book is more in depth, the movie can help the reader to further understand the meanings of these
How the film techniques used by Baz Luhrman to influence the portrayal and development of characters in the film Strictly Ballroom?
Baz Luhrmann uses a postmodernist style throughout his films (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet, The Great Gatsby) to create a unique viewing experience. Baz Luhrmann creates films that reflect on real, emotional, moral stories that both excite and enthral his audience through a world so deceiving, while telling a story that inflicts on pain and the power of loss. He uses mis-en-scenes of shots, proxemics space and lighting that enhance his post-modern style. He embraces change through re-imaginings, capturing the youth through music and his very unique editing techniques. One simply cannot separate a director from his art. Therefore I strongly agree with this statement and I will elaborate on each film individually on his post modernistic style of directing.