On the Waterfront Assignment

I feel as if this film does a great job on honing in on christianity and religion in general within our society. Like at the beginning of the film, the woman asks the priest why her brother has died? The significance of this is that she is asking a priest. She looking at religion For the answer to her question. And this is a theme that reoccurs throughout the film. Religion is what people in American society look too when they need answers. And I feel like this film does a great job of portraying this.

I enjoyed this film today when we watched it in class. The religious symbolism in the film is obvious. As the meeting is taking place in the church, and the members are being attacked, one priest rushes to the aid of the people, while the other does nothing but cower. This shows how the second priest refuses to accept the modern world that he lives in, whereas the other is truly spreading the word of God by applying it to the world that he lives in, in order to actually make a difference, rather than preaching it.

Powerful religious imagery is used quite frequently. One scene that struck me was when there were the job tokens, like Roman coins, scattered among the desperate souls at the shape-up. Another symbol that has been prominent in the film thus far are pigeons. They represent the men who are kept from testifying by the mob. Those who testify would be considered “stool pigeons.”

Terry in the movie who has two sides to his character. He is a fighter in the gang but when he is with Edie he has a different side to his character. In the pidgin coop he talks about the bird's faithfulness to each other and is very loving to the birds. Edie is often seen with crosses around her on the balcony and could be the god-like figure that is changing Terry.

The beginning of the film is interesting when they introduce the different characters. It is interesting how Friendly's gang uses Malloy as an intervention to bring out the longshoreman Doyle onto his roof and tricked him. The gang push Doyle off the room, making Malloy an accomplice in the murder. It is interesting the twisted views of the gang members?

I found the start of the film interesting because of the way the criminals enter the scene. It sets a tone for the rest of the movie when the criminals enter. They are coming from an isolated place in society and act like germs that are infecting the rest of the town. There are only about eight of them, but they manage to intimidate everyone they encounter. The main point that I got from this was that individuals can make a difference in society, but it takes courage. The way that the scenes are shot are restricted and narrow. This represents how the mob is confining everyone's freedom. There is a lot of focus on the nature of good versus evil. There are lots of shadows, intense music, and use of tight shots. This foreshadows that something bad will happen soon in the film, and it does. I was also interested in the name Johnny Friendly. This name is ironic because he will be nice to people who do what he says, but will kill anyone who doesn't agree with him.

My realization after watching this segment of the film is that Terry is saved by Edie. WIthout Edie, Terry would stay the same, a criminal, essentially. Edie is the only good thing that has happened to Terry, according to him. Edie is Terry's sort of confession place. She gives him a sense of good and that is crucial for the movie's theme of Good Vs. Evil.

I found it interesting that Eddie serves as a confessional for Terry. She makes him be more honest about himself. He tells her that she should stop worrying about the truth so much. There is a lot of symbolism used in the film that uses a lot of Christian imagery. When the priest rises up with the dead body, it's like death is rising, so that his spirit can live on and be free. I thought it was a good film technique when Terry was talking to Eddie down by the shore, and the horn from the boat went off, and the viewing audience couldn't hear their conversation. This forces the scene to only rely on the actors for understanding. The emotion of their faces and in their actions was made very clear.

Edie is able to connect to Terry on a personal level as she gets him to confess about his live. Even in the beginning of the movie Kazan hints that he has good morals hidden behind his gangster characteristics. This side of him is expressed even more in his care in the pidgins. Edie tries to bring out this hidden morality in Terry. With this good morality revealed he is able to make decisions on what is good and bad to discover what he really wants and how bad his life was.

From the beginning of the film there was a "Grand Torino" kind of feel to the movie. The protagonist Terry first does what Johnny Friendly wants him to do, but he has a change of heart when his actions kill an innocent man. At this point he falls in with the working man and tries to help them beat the corruption so the worker ill have a better life. Terry now has a "loaded gun" against the Johnny.

The second part of the film focused more on the mob and the working man. I loved the quote "The is an unhealthy relationship." because Johnny is referring to Terry hanging out with Edie. It isnt that they are together, but the fact that Johnny might have Terry silenced if he listens to his heart. Then the scene with the boat horn sorta made me upset since we couldn't hear what Terry and Edie were saying, but now I admire the scene because it is so thought provoking and amazing.

I was really intrigued with the idea of rooftops being a haven for Terry. I feel like he felt that he could retreat to a rooftop and feel a closer spiritual connect, and that he was physically closer. Similarily, Joey Doyle spent time on a rooftop and that is where he decided to testify. I feel like the rooftop allows the characters to look down on the world below and think about their actions and intentions and allow themselves to analyze their own lives without the distractions of the world and its expected constructs.
Also, I was interested in the pigeons. Clearly they are outstanding symbolization of Terry. When he is seen inside the cages, he is viewed as a pigeon. His life is spent on the rooftops, he is one of them. Free as a boxer, but still with a connection to the pigeons and the roof. When the other characters insult the pigeons and call them stool pigeons, aka informants, Terry gets really upset because of his connection to them. I think this is a symbol of Terry's connection to them and to his connection with nature and the higher purpose they have.

I loved how realistic the film was. The acting and emotions were honest and the scenes were shot in a very relateable fashion. For example, when Terry is confessing the truth to Edie, the sounds of the shipyard block out their voices, but the emotions on her face clearly illustrate her fear, confusion, and anger. Some directors may have chosen to end the scene more realistically and have her fall into his arms and kiss him, disregarding the truth. Instead, she runs away tearfully, and much suspense is felt before they argue once again. Only after their angry emotions are released do they kiss and accept their romantic attraction, which is obviously a more realistic approach. It also demonstrates how moral people deserve to be forgiven. Terry, although he has made poor decisions in the past, is clearly a moral, good-hearted person, whereas Johnny Friendly appears to have no morality whatsoever.

This film reminds me of Battleship Potemkin, not only because of the frequent shots of a shipyard, but primarily because it illustrates how it only takes one man to stand up and challenge a group in order to start a revolution. In the end, good will most likely triumph evil. Although the fate of Friendly is not completely disclosed, it can easily be assumed that his status is lost and Terry gains his well-earned respect and power.

I loved how realistic the film was. The acting and emotions were honest and the scenes were shot in a very relateable fashion. For example, when Terry is confessing the truth to Edie, the sounds of the shipyard block out their voices, but the emotions on her face clearly illustrate her fear, confusion, and anger. Some directors may have chosen to end the scene more realistically and have her fall into his arms and kiss him, disregarding the truth. Instead, she runs away tearfully, and much suspense is felt before they argue once again. Only after their angry emotions are released do they kiss and accept their romantic attraction, which is obviously a more realistic approach. It also demonstrates how moral people deserve to be forgiven. Terry, although he has made poor decisions in the past, is clearly a moral, good-hearted person, whereas Johnny Friendly appears to have no morality whatsoever.

This film reminds me of Battleship Potemkin, not only because of the frequent shots of a shipyard, but primarily because it illustrates how it only takes one man to stand up and challenge a group in order to start a revolution. In the end, good will most likely triumph evil. Although the fate of Friendly is not completely disclosed, it can easily be assumed that his status is lost and Terry gains his well-earned respect and power.

This film shows that a single man is able to overcome adversity to seek justice against corruption. I found that this suggests that it is more important for an individual to follow their conscience as opposed to caving to the expectations of the group. Nevertheless, Kazan maintains the idea that it is inevitable that some will be powerless against the oppression and that corruption is a neverending cycle.