There is a distinct moment in Dog Day Afternoon (Lumet, 1975) when the tides turn and you start to feel some hope for Sonny Wortzik. That moment occurs when he invigorates a crowd of onlookers by yelling “Attica! Attica!”. I, along with many people, had no clue what this meant and was confused with its’ obvious and immediate impact in the film. After some research, however, I realized that the moment is symbolic of a larger theme in the film of an individual’s role in the collective to fight against an oppressive system.
“Attica!” refers to the Attica Prison Riots of 1971, when prisoners collaborated to take staff and guards hostage, demanding better conditions, better food, better medical care, and better treatment from guards. It resulted in a clash between prisoners and National Guard, ending 43 lives. Sonny invokes this image to a crowd of onlookers to reframe his crime. Instead of a robbery for personal gain and a few bucks, Sonny wants to be remembered as the man who resisted authority, and fought back against an oppressive system. While his goal is not to protest prison conditions, he is trying to send a message that each individual has a responsibility to the greater collective to stand up and do their part to contradict men like Murphy, men “who kill people like me (Sonny)”.
His speech goes beyond simple uprising against an unjust police force. Sonny also represents the voice of the queer man in the 1970’s, a voice that was widely dejected and cast aside. The robbery itself is an attempt to pay for his husband’s gender reassignment surgery. The entire film is Sonny wanting to live authentically in society, and the police force, the governing body, is what’s holding him back from that. Therefore, “Attica!” further represents his struggle against the confining forces of society.
Leave a Reply