When discussing
abusive relationships people always ask, “Why doesn’t she just leave?” They believe if
they were in the same type of situation they would just leave. Leaving an
abusive relationship is very hard to do. There are many circumstances and
factors that impact the difficult decision and act of leaving an abusive
partner. Stella has many reasons that would make it difficult to leave Stanley.
One of those reasons includes her having a child with him. Another reason is that it was difficult to be
a single mother at the time. Stella also did not have anywhere she could really
go. I also believe that she stays with him because she does love and desire
him.
I believe A Streetcar Named Desire had a different
ending in the movie than book because it gives the audience more closure. In the movie she tells her baby, “we’re not going in back in there, not this time,” and then leaves to Eunice’s house. It leaves the audience with the impression
Stella will no longer trust Stanley, and might actually leave him. The entire play I believe we are rooting for Stella to
leave her toxic relationship and the movie gives us that ending.
I agree with your idea of Stella's situation. On one hand, she is forced to stay with Stanley because she has a child and on the other she could leave him and escape the abuse that she endured. The movie's addition to the ending provides a sense of satisfaction to viewers because I believe that it finishes the movie instead of providing a sense of bad taste due to a sad ending for both Blanche and Stella.
ReplyDeleteThe film greatly differs from how I perceived how it would be after reading the play. Aside from the exact use of dialogue, the plays use of color lighting (black/white) provided eccentric details of the environment and distinguished the characters personalities. Throughout reading the play, I found most of the dialogue to be monotone. It seemed as though all the characters talked in a peaceful conversation. However, after watching the movie, I see that with every conversation there is always a use of body language to provoke the type of situation occurring. In many scenes of the movie, violence or abuse are utilized in portrayed the feelings of the character. Whenever there is no violence used through the movie, the scenes contain either an atmosphere of awkwardness or of intensity between two or more characters.
For example, whenever Blanche and Stanley are about to meet, the music and sense of fear in Blanche’s wide eyes provide the intensity of danger approaching. Likewise, after Stanley beats up Stella, the next day when Blanche and Stella are talking with each other in the bedroom, when Stanley is heard approaching them, they clutch at each other and stay quiet with fear instilled in them. But what I found as the most provoking was the supposed rape scene. Beginning with the awkward conversation with Blanche and the “believed to be drunk” Stanley, things began to look worse when he began to yell and attack her. The scene provides a vivid interpretation that I could not perceive in the playbook. But what really surprised me was when Stanley smiles and tries to keep Blanche inside the apartment. At that movement, with the sinister music, Stanley’s creepy smile, and fear in Blanches eyes, could not tell if he was about to rape her or would seemingly kill her by first toying with her like in any other typical horror film. The differences between the book and the movie are apparent. The interpretation of play into a movie provided visual sensation and vivid descriptions of what culture is like in the mid twentieth century
I agree that the movie gives the audience more closure, at least it did for me. It shows Stella's strength, courage, and perseverance in leaving Stanley. Although Tennessee Williams did not picture an ending like this, I think it is an adequate and justified ending to a rather chaotic movie/play. The movie gives viewers what they wanted throughout the entire movie, the same can not be said for the script.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the ending in the book strikes really close to so many true storys that happen today. Although many of us would like the fairy tale movie ending, it just doenst seem to happen that way all to often in the world that we live in. I think the movie ending gives a more satisfying ending to viewers, especially those from 1950. It might be more acceptable today to have such a shoking ending where in Stella stays with Stanley. Although It is tuff to swallow the story that way, that is the way Tennessee Williams intended his story to end. I do not think that we should have departed from his original ending. Even tough the screenplay has such a drastict change in the ending, I do believe that the more settling ending of the screenplay helped the adaptation to last so long. Without the screenplay, I doubt students would be reading this book as they are today.
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ReplyDeleteWhen first watching the movie my initial reaction to the end was a positive one. I too felt that the movie had more closure than was previously given to the audience in the play, however I was discussing the movie vs. the book with other students from a different class and they drew their own conclusions. It was brought up that at the end of the movie Stella runs up the stairs to Eunice's house to get away from Stanley as we have seen many times before both in the play and in the movie. During the big fight scene in which Stanley throws the radio out of the window Stella runs up to Eunice's flat to escape from him then too. Who's to say that she won't mosey her way down there after things calm down again, who's to say that that was Stanley's final straw? Stella, unlike Blanche, is quite passive compared to strong willed sister and she loves Stanley as well as has a child with him. For me, and it seems like for many others as well, the ending wasn't as conclusive as it could have been. Stella may very likely find herself back in Stanley's aggressive arm the next day, as "leaving him" by going upstairs to Eunice's isn't very final or promising for Stella's happiness. As with most play or book adaptations the changes left me a little unnerved. The play and the book ending may not be as different as we thought.
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