"I?ll Be Back!" The Battle continues?On the Waterfront:
Art Reflects Culture
By
Theresa Shetler
"Try to explain on rational grounds the mass
insanity that seized Germany in Hitler?s
day. Explain the logic behind the Cold War arms race, in which both sides
accepted the
policy of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction). What keeps a wealthy nation like
the
United States from housing its homeless population? What keeps the world
from feeding the 30,000 people who die malnourished each day? The experts
have no answer but "forces beyond our control." (Phillip Yancy,
Beyond
Flesh and Blood)
The 1954 Marlon Brando?s movie "On the
Waterfront" was one attempt to
look at "forces beyond our control" and to give an answer of hope. The
plot of "On
the
Waterfront" develops the theme of human greed and lust for power. The scene
in which
Johnny Friendly is busy counting money that has been extorted from the dock
workers
dramatically shows this theme. The camera pans around the room showing all
the players
in this ugly, perverse game, and then moves in for a close-up of Terry, a
dock worker,
who works for the mob.. Terry has just come in from the murder that he helped
commit
and the close up of his face shows the conflict of someone who realizes he is
part of this
evil, ugly game. The game is taking him farther than he ever wanted to go and
the price to
play is way too high. The method acting techniques that Marlon Brando uses to
get in
touch with the emotional turmoil that the character Terry felt and showed,
were ground
breaking and changed acting forever.
The death of Terry?s friend is symbolic of the death of
Terry?s
lifestyle and is the
catalyst for his metamorphosis from being part of the evil money machine of
the
underworld, to doing battle with the monster he was once a part of. Just
as
the man is
brutally pushed off of the top of the building, plunging to his death far
below, Terry is
pushed from the deadness of his apathy into a new life, fighting against the
power hungry
monster that the mob embodies..
Another scene which
portrays Terry?s journey from death to new life
is in the back
seat of his brother?s car. Terry confronts his brother about being
part of
something so
evil that his own brother would use and abuse him and threaten his life. Terry say?s ?I
could a been somebody, I could a been a contender, I?m not a bum!" His
dream
was to be
a prize fighter, but he threw the fight at Madison Square Garden because his
brother told
him too. He stops being a contender. Terry starts to realize that he
is not
a bum and in
an ironic sort of way he becomes a prize fighter of a different kind. He is
called to fight for
a more noble cause, the cause of justice for his people, the dock workers who
are
oppressed by extortion, lust for power and the evil darkness of the
underworld.
Director, Elia Kazan was trying to make a statement about
social
injustice and evil in
America in the 1950?s. He wanted to stir the complacency and apathy of
the
American
people. It seemed that everyone wanted to forget the horror?s of WWII and
create a
fantasy world where everyone was happy and at peace The 50?s culture tried to
paint a
picture of the perfect life, a little white house with a picket fence, June
Cleaver roasting a
chicken in the oven wearing pearls and pumps.. But beneath the surface of the
good life, evil and darkness was growing like a monster looking for it?s next
prey,
spreading it?s tentacles into every facet of life.
As the movie draws to an end, the battle against
evil has been fought,
and Terry has
found redemption for his soul, one last line echoing from the screen. Johnny
Friendly yells
to Terry and the dock workers, "I?ll be back" issuing the battle cry
of evil.
Kazan knows
that evil will be back, there will always need to be an on going battle
against it. Kazan?s
challenge to each of us is, do we remain apathetic and complacent, allowing
ourselves to
be sucked into and absorbed by the monster of evil, greed and lust for power?
Or, do we
become the prize fighter like Terry, courageous enough to embrace change, get
in the ring
and fight. The truth of the movie "On the Waterfront" is still
relevant 47
years later as it
illustrates that we only find redemption for our souls and our society when
we stop being
part of the monster of evil and start to do battle with it.
