Rhetorical Parlor Discussion among literary figures
In
1930’s discussion on the problems facing the society in America, one of the
controversial issues was the major problems that burdened people’s lives. On
the one hand, Orson Welles argues that the current ideals practiced in the
society in the name of leadership ought to be abolished and consequently people
should be able to embrace new ways of doing things. He uses his artistic work
as a means of portraying democratization process. On the other hand, John
Steinbeck seems to address the contemporary problems prevalent among the
individual people such as abject poverty, hunger, floods, famine and others.
His address is individual oriented. Hemingway seems to contend that the
problems that arise in the society emanate from individuals themselves and what
can be done is change the existing structures in order to accommodate
individuals. For instance, he gives the case of America where people
experienced problems and the government practiced structural adjustment
programme of investing resources in areas that would consequently employ the
citizens.
Created,
directed and starring Orson Welles, Citizen Kane is prominent for the numerous
outstanding scenes, narrative and cinematic techniques which helped in
revolutionized film industry. Composed by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz,
filmed by Gregg Toland, Kane is intensely expertise remembrances of Mr.
Bernstein’s inquiry. Kane acquires most of its attention from its wide scope
from typical standards and it’s capability to start new ones. Welles uses movie
as an art form to communicate and demonstrate a story through creativity.
The
construction of ``Citizen Kane'' is rounded, adding more intensity every time
it passes above his life. The movie opens with news reel obituary recording
that brief us on the living and period of Charles Foster Kane. The video
recording alone associates Kane as a media entrepreneur. But as any good
broadsheet, they wish to make inquiries about the man and who he in reality
was. They supply a drawing of Kane's life, and it maintains us focused as the
play skips around in time, piecing together the memories of those who perceived
to have known him.
Inquisitive
about Kane's fading word, the news reel editor allocates Thompson, a reporter,
to uncover what it intended. William
Alland plays Thompson errand in a repetitive role. He questions Kane's intoxicating
mistress, his in poor health old friend, his rich correlate and the other
witnesses, while the film jumps from beginning to end time. For the reason that
the motion picture jumps all through the life of Kane we gradually get the
perception that Kane is deserted, even though he has so numerous acquaintances.
The collection of scenes all over the movie position it to be one of the most important flashback, but
an extraordinary flashback, one which goes forward through a certain period of
time as it does go back into time.
However, as the movie goes all along and his kingdom gets too big it and he
himself falls asunder allowing for conclusion. The ultimate scene that is
finalized with a whiz out of Xanadu allows the audience to depart from this narrative
as we entered with a zoom in on. (Edmond, 1965 p.g 34.).The film had tough
acting by the whole transmits, but in a single scene the Xanadu fireside undermines
Susan and she is systematically finishing a jigsaw.
The
discussion of 1930 of Orson Welles presents a society characterized by despotic
leadership. He engages in a series of productions. He first starts from the
Federal Theatre Project Productions and then establishes his own known as the
mercury production. His deep concern was democratizing the theatre. His plays
are geared towards sensitizing the public on the current issues as well as empowering
them with relevant information through his artistic work. He therefore targets
to get as many audiences as possible. He shares his stand on politics and says
that media has the ability to manipulate popular opinion. He also has problems
in imagining that the people could resist such manipulation. In his famous
‘black shirt’ stage presentation, he portrayed the public as incapable of
resisting propaganda. The play on the war of the worlds, showed his skills in
revealing to the public the ease with which they could be tricked.
Although
Welle hoped to educate the individuals at the same time, it was not highly
effective. He does not manage to portray on stage the un-manipulated audience.
In the case of his plays, he uses the citizens as his unseen audience. He
however portrays the crowd in his work. In Welles case as well as that of
Capra, they are moved by the state of dictatorship and they develop suspicion
of anti-tyranny.
In
the early 1930’s, the fascists regarded the movement as the one that represented
the interests of the failing and the old elites. Conservative leaders during
the time of their artistic works used to exist. There were so many problems
that used to face the citizens. Most critics however regard the Citizen Kane as
the greatest movie ever made. Welle showed his innovative capacity in the way
his films were presented. Carringer says that the primary objective of Orson
was to explore new ways of working with the cinematic medium. (Carrigher, 1975,
p.g 32). He portrays the downfall of a powerful figure in the film citizen
cane.
John
Steinbeck work revolved around the common problems that faced the people such
as the problems of marginal workers and what he referred to as the dust bowl
refugees. Between 1936 and 1939, Steinbeck produced three pieces of work, of
mice and men, the grapes of the wrath and in dubious battle. The three dealt
with the suffering and the struggle of the dispossessed and homeless. There was
a vast discontent among the people. Millions of hungry and homeless persons roamed
over the land, looking for a place to settle. Men’s spirits were low and a
general sense of despair was clinging on all people. A high rate of
unemployment was also evident. Drought and famine was evident on an
unprecedented measure raising the general feeling of misery and anxiety of
collapse of the economy.
He
deals with the plight of the underprivileged and the oppressed. Social justice was highly demanded at the
time in order to flee the people from the prevailing problems. Contrary to the
works of Orson Welles, he seems to deal much with the biological science rather
than the social philosophy. Extreme critics termed his work as a caller for a
social uprising. Later critics went ahead and termed him heartless and amoral.
He at sometimes laments the misdeeds of his critics. He asserts that they are
more concerned with bringing charges to him instead of making observations.
From his point of view, you have to understand the man as an animal before you
understand him as a man.
Steinbeck’s
work uses a non-judgmental approach in the study of the man. This was a result
of the influence of Ed Rickets. Their main tenet was that the economic
competition was only a small case that lied under the bracket of biological
competition. The works of John Steinbeck in the three novels tend to show the
interrelationship between the fundamental factors of biology and economy. He
used an organized mechanism to address his issues. For instance, he first
illuminated brutality in the first work, in dubious battle, published march,
1936. He then turned to the conditions of the migrant population on October of
the same year. He therefore treated his work in a balanced manner. Dealing with
each theme at a time. The themes that he seemed to predominantly explore to a
greater extent seem to dominate in the lives of the people. The work offers a
great insight in to the understanding of individuals (human nature), and the
errors that persist in the actions of the most leading thinkers.
Hemingway’s
discussion also seems to be more individual oriented. He says that the era of
emphasizing materialism saw a gradual increase in different problems. To him,
it is because of the adjustments that the government makes that result to
solving of these problems.
The
works of Hemingway’s, in his novel, The Sun Also Rises; discusses the
disillusionment and the extravagance of the lost generation. Western
civilization in Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land”, (1922), western civilization
needs spiritual renewal. He addresses the problem of depression which had
affected most of the people in the 1930’s in America. Workers lost their jobs
as the factories shut down, banks and businesses failed; farmers lost their
farms as they could not be able to pay their debts as well as the transport of
the produce to the market, harvest or sell their produce.
Many
farmers at that time had to relocate in search of reliable jobs. Just as John
Steinbeck says in the book, the grapes of wrath, at the optimum of the
depression, a good percentage of the population were out of work. Most of the individuals at the time saw the
challenges as a pay of the sins that they had committed such as excessive
materialism and reckless living. The depression however threatened the world.
Contrary to the past, the people started to support a more active role for the
government as compared to the previous periods that people had emphasized on
the creation of wealth in the 1920’s.
The government resources would consequently create employment with the
resources it incurred in sectors such as infrastructure and others.
The issues addressed by the artists in these contexts
seem to be taking shape of the events that happen in the immediate society. All
the three artists seem to be interested in the events that shape peoples live.
It is expected that some of the issues will be beneficial to them while others
can be adjusted in order to favor the survival of the citizens.
For instance, the use of the film to portray the real
picture of the society by Orson Wille is highly effective. He believes that the
use of the moving picture will create a lot of impression especially to the
issues that he deems needs to be addressed in order to help the people stay a
comfortable life. The use of the film, which entails moving picture, could be
portraying dynamism or changes that the society needs to make.
The society faces numerous problems that need to be
solved by the government according to Wille. There is the problem of
dictatorship as well as other problems related to poor leadership in the
society. His fellow artists also seem to be taking the same direction but have
differing arguments. For instance, John Steinbeck says that you can understand
a human being by first understanding him from the perspective of an animal. He
however posits the idea that the fact that the society faces a lot of problems
is not an issue to be taken for granted. He continues and says that the
individuals are facing a lot of challenges such as economic and biological
challenges. From his point of view, the economic challenges cannot supersede
the biological challenges. To him it is the prevailing biological challenges
that normally override the economic challenges. That is, the economic
challenges are normally determined by the biological challenges.
John Steinbeck produced three books in the period between
the early 1930’s and late 1930’s. In these works, each one of them gives an
organized work of the challenges that they undergo. In his discussion, he
presents the grievances of the people in a logical manner. He outlines problems
of houselessness, hunger, unemployment, and other problems. He seems to be more
individual oriented since he addresses the issues that touch on individual
people as compared to Welle who discusses on general issues such as leadership.
Works Cited
Claude‐Edmond Magny. The Age
of the American Novel: The Film Aesthetic of Fiction
Between,
1965.
The Two Wars.
Translated by Eleanor Hochman. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1972. pp.239
Edward Murray. The
Cinematic Imagination: Writers and the Motion Pictures. New York:
Frederick
Ungar, 1972. pp 330
Dictators, Democracy,
and American Public Culture Envisioning the Totalitarian Enemy, 1920s-
1950s
by Benjamin L. Alpers Copyright (c) 2002 by the University of North Carolina
Press. All rights reserved.
Carringer, Robert L.
"Citizen Kane." Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 9, No. 2,
Special
Issue:
Film IV: Eight Study Guides (Apr., 1975), pp. 32-49
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