A Streetcar Named Desire Response
Of all of the plays and films that we are studying in this class, A Streetcar Named Desire is the story that I am the most familiar with. We studied it in one of my English classes in high school and watched the movie for it, and I also watched the Dooley Players’ production of it last school year. Even after watching it recently for this class, I don’t really have any strong feelings about it. I don’t feel like it is a play that affects me emotionally as some other plays do, but rather an interesting story with themes worthy of analysis and an iconic example of filmmaking.
One of the most interesting themes I have noticed in William’s story is that of shame, which Blanche embodies. She is one of the more complex characters that I have seen in the plays that I have studied, and after about 4 years of knowing the play, I still don’t know how to judge her actions. She is caught telling lies quite a few times, but I can’t seem to blame her because her lies seem to stem from her insecurities and shame. She wants to live the privileged life that she grew up with so she still acts as though she does, and at this point, her fantasies are the only forces keeping her sane. I also think that her mental health plays a huge part in the lies that she tells, because her anxiety level is going through the roof. She can’t even show her face in bright lighting because she is embarrassed by her appearance and also constantly apologizes for her nerves. She retreats to a fantasy land of beauty and enchantment whenever she is uncomfortable in her situation and even admits to Mitch that she prefers magic to realism. I have never really completely understood her, but the moral grayness of her actions probably parallels the confliction she endures inside her own mind.
Another theme I would like to discuss is the disconnect between male and female in this play. The men and women do not communicate their feelings or desires to each other very well, and conversations often end violently. I found that Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh’s performances as Stanley and Blanche illustrated this disconnect very well. Their acting styles are completely different, even considering that their characters are opposites. Brando’s seems more naturalistic while Leigh’s seems a bit more presentational, and this contrast, with both actors asserting their own style, creates a more interesting distinction between the lead male and female characters.
My favorite design aspects of the movie were the lighting and the sound design. The lighting was extremely important to get right because it was such a huge part of Blanche’s insecurities and the sound design was so important because of the polka music tune cues explicit in the script. My favorite music cue was when the polka tune was brought back during Blanche’s date with Mitch but sounded dreamier and softer like a music box. I appreciated the different versions of the little melody for different moments of the film, especially in that scene because it softened a song that had previously tormented her.
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