On the Waterfront Essay -- Film

Interpersonal relationships are a potent entity that wildly flutter, like a liberated pigeon, through the miserable docks of Elia Kazan’s 1954 film ‘On the Waterfront,’ shaping the moral metamorphosis of protagonist Terry Malloy – from an analysts perspective, the ‘power’ source of the film. Terry’s voyage from an inarticulate and diminished â€Å"bum† to a gallant â€Å"contender,† is the pedestal that the film gyrates around, however, it is palpable that Terry – a man branded with his primitive mores - is not equipped of emancipating himself from the self-preservative cycle of â€Å"D and D† singlehandedly. Therefore, the catalytic, moral facilitation of inspirational outsiders - Edie Doyle and Father Barry – are essential to the rewiring of Terry’s conscience and his propulsion into â€Å"testifying what is right against what is wrong.† However, rapports do not simply remain ‘st rong’ and stable for the entire duration of the film – they fluctuate. Terry shuffles closer to the side of morality each scene, portrayed by the simultaneous deterioration of Terry’s intertwinement with Johnny Friendly and â€Å"the mob† and intensification of his romantic involvement with Edie and confidence in Father Barry. Relationships fuel and glorify Terry’s powerful, audience-enthralling journey to morality. Nestled under the ‘hawkish’ wing of Johnny Friendly, the beginning of the film sees Terry Malloy a daft â€Å"bum,† too preoccupied by â€Å"standing with the right people, just to have a bit of change jingling in his pocket† to deeply contemplate morality. Tainted by a distressing antiquity, Terry Malloy has habituated to a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world of Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest,’ where â€Å"taking it out on their skulls† is the appropriate method of resolution. â€Å"Its eve... ...y. These factors, coupled with the incorporation of the heart-melting cheekbones of ‘Marlon Brando’ at his prime are more likely to have screamed ‘power’ in the eyes of a 1950’s audience, let alone the viewer of today. Also, the fact that ‘On the Waterfront’ mirrors Elia Kazan’s real-life decision to testify to the HUAC magnifies its validity to human nature and overall potency. As he trudges across the docks towards the unfamiliar, suit-clad man looming like utopia in the distance, Terry Malloy is clearly a product of his relationships. His rapport-catalyzed metamorphosis from a follower of Johnny Friendly to a genuine â€Å"contender† is profoundly powerful, however the ending is bleak – with corruption still lingering as the gate slides closed behind the men, engulfing them into another cycle of exploitation as Bernstein’s music reaches a haunting shrill.