Monday, April 28, 2014
White Heat
In at least 3 hearty paragraphs, discuss White Heat, as well as the characteristics of the gangster genre and its role as an art form. In your discussion, bring in another gangster film if you've seen one on your own (The Godfather, Goodfellas, etc.). Your discussion should be in relation to this Robert Warshow article about the gangster as an individual. I want to see 2 quotes from the article in your discussion. Use your film textbook for more information on the gangster genre.
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White Heat is a late 40s gangster genre film about Cody Jarrett, a mama's boy mobster that has an obsession with the idea of everyone knowing who he is. Though White Heat is primarily considered to be a gangster genre film, it is clear that there is also film noir inspiration present. Being released in 1949, White Heat was smack dab in the middle of the film noir era (earlier) and the gangster era (later). At the time of its release, White Heat was fairly well received and now, is considered one of the greatest gangster genre films of all time. Being a gangster film, White Heat features extensive violence and crime and other aspects often found in gangster films but we also see cinematic elements of film noir in White Heat such as the shady black and white cinematography, the use of a femme fatale character, and the twisted psyche of the criminal gangster. The meshing of film noir and gangster elements cause White Heat to stand alone as a uniquely innovative film to look back on.
ReplyDeleteThe gangster genre is a subgenre of American crime films covering organized crime and often, the mob. With gangster films there would frequently be overlap with film noir elements as seen in White Heat. American movie, "The Black Hand" is believed to be the earliest surviving gangster film. The gangster genre first became increasingly relevant in the 1930s when films such as Little Caesar and the Public Enemy were released. It was Public Enemy that jumpstarted Cagney's career into other movies such as White Heat. The gangster genre was important because it kept Americans going through the great depression and hard economic times seen in the 1930s. The Great Depression is what gave organized crime a name for itself as a subculture. The failure of honest hard work and careful investment to ensure financial security led to the circumstances reflected in the explosion of gangster films in Hollywood and to their immense popularity in a society disillusioned with the American way of life after the Great Depression.
Gangsters are criminals that are members of gangs. They often take part in organized crime (like in White Heat). Gangs are unique to individual crimes because they provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger crimes. No one can really explain why gangsters do what they do, but as reflected in White Heat, we can speculate that it often has something to do with their early life. Jarrett's dad passed in an asylum when he was a child and his mother (whom he came to be obsessed with) always told him "top of the world" , which has become a very famous aspect of the film. From that point on Jarrett just wanted to be known, regardless of how it were to happen. This, for me is what makes Cody Jarrett the prototypical "gangster".
Jack. Did you read the article? Also, it appears you lifted a lot of information from the Wikipedia article on Mob Film and didn't cite.
DeleteJack. Did you read the article?
DeleteNo, when I click on the link it says Windows can't find the correct program to open it. Sorry, I thought I mentioned that at the beginning.
DeleteAlso had to use Wikipedia for some of the plot etc. because I wasn't here the first two days we watched and never got the dvd lol
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ReplyDeleteThe gangster genre is one that many are familiar with, at least when it comes to film. There are countless movies that have been produced over the years dealing with gangsters, or the gangster himself. Most of the time they are the tragic heroes, that are often looked upon with some admiration for their plight, but nonetheless they are still criminals. Even if the viewer fantasizes with their lifestyles, the viewer still prefers to be on the good side. After all it’s pure fantasy, and as Robert Warshow said in an article, “ … he is what we want to be and what we are afraid we may become”. That is where the gangster genre shines, we feel for the characters, but would never become them.
ReplyDeleteWhite Heat, by Raoul Walsh (1949) embodies the essence of a gangster film. Cody Jarret, played by James Cagney is a ruthless gangster who has a soft spot for his mom. She’s who holds him up. This makes for an interesting dynamic, as she is his achilles heel, because soon after she dies, he does as well. All his life she was his crutch. Besides that, Cody embodies the classic gangster, as he is tough, he has a set of useful criminal skills and connections previously established before the viewer sees the film. It increases the movies verisimilitude, or the believability in the movies world. Cody’s been in the criminal lifestyle for a long time, and he’s the leader of the gang, a typical type in gang movies. He calls the shots, and his rules are abided by until Big Ed decides to betray him. This is something that we, as the viewers, are familiar with in the gangster genre. That is what makes it tragic as well, there is very little loyalty in that life, even with Cody to his own men. When one gets hurt on a train robbery, Cody gives a kill command. Even though this doesn’t happen he is left for dead. Also, still along the lines of this being a tragedy, and the gangster not being able to trust anyone, the person Cody lets in the closest, is a cop. He was unaware of this fact, and ultimately it got him killed in the end. The one person he trusted after his mother, was his downfall. It usually never ends well for the gangster. That happens in most, if not all gangster films.
Another gangster film that holds similarities to this one, is Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. In this film there are six strangers, with various crime lives assembled together to do a job, rob a jewelry store. However, the plan goes awry, as the police arrive ready to stop them. The problem then became, escaping the police, and finding who the informant was. Just like, White Heat ,we find our protagonists in trouble, perhaps evoking some empathy, as they are betrayed, and still we, the viewer, fantasize about their lifestyle. However, we still remember, that their lives are riddled with betrayal. No matter how hard they try, the gangster never gets off easy, and ends up with the them usually paying their lives as the ultimate sacrifice to the lifestyle.
The film White Heat is an exceptional example of the gangster genre as discussed by Robert Warshow. In the film we see Cody striving for the love of his mother as well as success in his form of business which is robbery. Throughout the entire film Cody demonstrates his will to make it to the “top of the world” and expresses this to his ‘Ma’ and even yells it as his last words. Stealing things is his mode of differentiating himself from others and attempting to have his name known across the country. One can easily identify with Cody’s love for his mother and his innate will to please her and society, but this is magnified ten-fold through the extremes to which he loves his mother, who he appears to love even more than his wife. This is very important in validating the idea that “The gangster’s whole life is an effort to assert himself as an individual”.
ReplyDeleteThe most important part of this, however, as well as what makes Cody a tragic hero is the idea that looks for love and a confidant in his life, at first this is his Ma whom he loves more than anything, but her death ends up being his downfall in more ways than one. Because of the death of Cody’s mother, he is left open and needs to form a bond with someone else. Warshow states that “the gangster always dies because he is an individual” and this is quite the same in White Heat. Because he has no confidant, no one to befriend due to the hate that Big Ed and other lessers have for Cody, he is almost forced to take on Fallon as his only friend. He even states "I split even with Ma, didn't I?" which early on shows us that his downfall is eminent. Because of the fact that he is alone, and an individual, he eventually ends up being caught and killed by Fallon.
The Godfather, of course, is another perfect example of gangster film. The trials and tribulations of Michael are a large part of the idea expressed in Warshow’s article of the gangster being what we want to be and what we are afraid we may be come. Michael does not want to become his father but due to society and the push of events he ends up becoming the man he did not want to be, while still achieving success he must want. It also embodies the ability of gangster film to be undistorted with it’s blatant and bloody murder scenes and the use of ironic parallel editing such as that between church and brutal murder. This film provides major evidence of the ideas discussed in the article.
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