Introduction
Paddy Chayefsky wrote the satirical drama play Network under the direction of Lumet Sydney. The imaginary television stream that is the focus of the film is struggling due to its low viewership. After experiencing some personal setbacks, Blanche Dubois, a Tennessee Southern beauty, seeks refuge with her siblings in a run-down New Orleans apartment building in the movie A Street Car Named Desire. The link between these two plays and the key ideas that emerge from the two films will be examined in this article.
Summary of the two Plays
A Streetcar Named Desire
Due to its theme—the gradual moral decline of a southern schoolteacher—”Streetcar” is unmistakably an adult comedy. It is an anti-escapism escape in every respect, but amidst its duration, the spectator never loses interest because of the painful reality and biting writing. There is no unused material in the two hours, five minutes long movie, which could draw some condemnation from the more sententious viewers due to the presentation of the subject of sexual dysfunction subject (Schweer and Schulz 1). In the interest of authenticity, “Streetcar” has never once compromised flavor. It moves the main plot along with tact, nuance, and drama.
Irene Selznick directed the movie, a precise version of the theatrical play. It tells the tale of Blanche Dubois, a worn-out Mississippi schoolteacher terminated from her position due to ethical failings. She takes sanctuary with a nun in the historic French Quarters of New Orleans. Still, neither the sister nor the nun’s husband is aware of her propensity for “conferences with outsiders.” The guest is instantly met with hostility by the husband, a vulgar, youthful Polish-American since her existence disrupts their marital harmony. Then, after making it a point to question her and discover her hidden background, he succeeds in doing so, ruining Blanche’s one chance for bliss with another of Stanley’s gambling pals.
In narrating Blanche Dubois’s sorrow, Vivien Leigh becomes a powerful actor. She possesses some strong pathos sensations, and the ultimate one, in that she is depicted as being led into a mental hospital as the conclusion to her existence of despair, is certainly one of them. Marlon Brando sometimes does a fantastic job of capturing the brutality of the adolescent Pole. Still, frequently his performance could be more consistent in a role where he frequently stumbles over his words. As a regular worker, he was not intended to portray an Oxford dialect, but Brando still goes overboard a little. The other leading actors in the Stage version are Kim and Karl Malden.
Blanche learns that Stella does love Stanley, much to her disgust. Although they have a short engagement and she is expectant, she is physically attracted to Stanley’s strength. One night, Stanley and his friends play games while Blanche and Stella go down for supper (Schweer and Schulz 1). When the two ladies reach home, the males still play cards after becoming drunk. Blanche switches on the music while they get dressed in the bathroom. She disturbing his play infuriates Stanley, who erupts into a frenzy. When Stella yells at him, he bursts into the house and tosses the stereo out of the balcony. The apartment over them serves as a haven for Blanche and Stella.
Network
The Oscar-winning script by Paddy is intriguing due to how seamlessly it changes directions. Beale and the communist “freedom army” are featured in several exaggerated situations. Diana and Max’s moments are silent, tight, and compelling suspense. It can be doubted that Howard Beale could come on the broadcast, but there is no doubt that the notion would be debated as the film depicts. The activity at the network top stage tries to behind reality (Williams 152). The backdoor network content is then gradually pushed into parody by director Sidney Lumet and Chayefsky. Some of the film’s elements have become obsolete, most notably Howard Beale’s initial news setting, a gnarled-pine booth that gives the impression that he is reporting from a jacuzzi. The network planning conferences are one of the timeless components.
It also wonderfully depicts the vibe of some amusement programs where it is cheaper to acquire media attention if one is telepathic than if one possesses valuable data to offer. Beale advances to a set with clairvoyants and rumor opinion writers on rotating pedestals. Most people recall when Howard Beale lost it, could not take it anymore and broke down on television. Beale is presented as an alcoholic who performs such poor work that his employer fires him (Holden). The romance between Diana and Max starkly contrasts this great mockery.
She has an idea for a premier program that would follow the adventures of a team that the Symbionese People’s Army undoubtedly influenced. She bargains with the group’s armed commander in a secret safe room, brushes shoulders with a Patricia Hearst kind, and utilizes an Angela Davis form as a mediator. This information is only persuasive if it serves as an example of the extent she will travel to. Holden’s portrayal of an Edward R. Murrow-trained newscaster who suddenly saw Diana destroying his special news section is far more convincing.
A Streetcar Named Desire Themes
Fantasy’s Inability to Overcome Reality
Blanche Dubois, a sentimental, is the playwright Tennessee Williams’ heroine in A Streetcar Named Desire, even though the production is a masterpiece of fictional art. Blanche articulates Mitch that she deceits because she contests the cards destiny has handed her. She may make reality seem that it could be better than it is by deceiving herself and people. Stanley, a sensible individual with a good grasp of the material world, despises Blanche’s fiction and makes every effort to disprove them (Schweer and Schulz 1). The conflict underlying Blanche and Stanley’s adversarial connection is between perceptions and actuality. It drives the movie’s storyline and intensifies the suspense throughout. Ultimately, Blanche’s efforts to reinvent her life and that of Stella to revive herself and rescue Stella failed.
One of Williams’ main methods to embellish fiction’s inability to defeat truth is examining the boundary separating the outside and the interior. The movie’s setting is the two-room Kowalski bedsitting room and the surrounding street. Williams uses a moveable set that allows viewers to alternately see the outside of the building and its interior to convey the sense that the home is not a private haven (Williams 152). It is not conceivable for the Kowalskis’ apartment to dwell in a world apart from bigger truths.
Dependence on Men
In A Streetcar Named Desire, harsh criticism is leveled against the wartime American institutions and ideologies that constrained women’s lives. Through Blanche and Stella’s dependency on men characters, Williams uncovers and critiques the oppression of the female gender during the transformation from the old to the contemporary South. Stella and Blanche depend on men for their existence and personal identity, and they both think having a boyfriend or husband is the best way females can be content(Williams 152). Blanche knows that Stella could be happier without her fiercely domineering husband, Stanely.
Network Themes
Corruption
There are several ways that each individual in Network might become biased. After losing his wife, Howard’s soul and intellect are tainted by drink and despair. Diana’s corruption persists all through the entire movie as she is perverted by the necessity to dominate. She would do everything to achieve this goal, including arranging and executing the assassination of Beale and hiring terrorist groups to carry out murders while recording them for television. Her corruption illustrates a reality: once we accept that doing something wrong is bad, it will be easier to carry out the following wrong action. Profits have influenced Frank Hackett, now Jensen’s go-to guy in his company. Frank first takes Howard off the broadcast, seemingly acting morally, but subsequently reinstates him after Diana convinces him that Beal’s Madman Program might get record-breaking numbers (Schweer and Schulz 1). His need for acceptance taints his perception of Beale as a guy battling to maintain his composure.
Freedom of Speech
In this movie, Howard Beale’s quest has a terrible ending, but it starts when he says the reality of the situation. Beale’s emotional comments touch at the heart of what’s occurring in the existence of American citizens, even though it should be considered that he is on the point of a psychological and mental collapse. They are enraged and tired of the people in authority controlling them. People are enraged due to Vietnam, espionage, inflation, and the recession. However, violence and unrestrained rage only serve to exacerbate the problem. This is also evident in Beale’s murder, which was carried out by a terrorist group supported by the system and was quite advanced.
The triumph of both “Network” and “Streetcar Named Desire” is understandable, given that performers have the most sway in the Oscars. Outstanding portrayals were given in both movies, perhaps none more so than by Vivien Leigh, who played the female star in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The actions of all the performers in both of the films are noteworthy. Still, to examine how the performers stand out, it is important to understand the background of each film’s storyline so that the personalities may be properly evaluated and the actors’ actions as those characters.
Recent Award-winning that relates to Streetcar Named Desire and Network Film
A recent award film that compares the two films is The Salesman. The salesman movie was written and directed by Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hoseini in 2016 (Schweer and Schulz 1). The story revolves around two couples that play the death of a salesman on stage, a book that was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. While the woman battles post-traumatic stress disorder after being molested, her husband tries to identify the perpetrator. Depending on common themes, Farhadi decided to use Miller’s piece as his narrative inside fiction. The movie, a collaboration involving France and Iran, was filmed in Tehran starting January 2015.
Conclusion
The accomplishment of both “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Network” is understandable given that performers have the most sway in the Awards. Outstanding contributions were given in both movies, perhaps none more so than by Vivien Leigh, who played the female protagonist in “A Streetcar Named Desire”. The Network movie and the Desire streetcar portray high-quality artistry. How they combine all the elements of a society in a single play makes them even more appealing. The actors showed great mastery of their roles in the plays, making each plot outstanding. Both plays’ settings resemble real-world examples and scenarios, making the two movies familiar to their audience.
Works Cited
Schweer, Claus, and Stefanie Schulz. “Williams, Tennessee: A Streetcar Named Desire.” Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL) 2020 pp. 1-2.
Williams, Tennessee. “Two Blanches. A Streetcar Named Desire.” The Voyage of Contemporary Japanese Theatre 2017 pp. 150-56.