Bonnie and Clyde

This is the third time I watched Bonnie and Clyde. Like the first time and the second time, I am still extremely interested in the gender dialectic between Bonnie and Clyde. The power dynamic of their relationship still intrigues me. It seems that in their relationship, they never had a stable master-slave dialectic, that none of the two people is the perpetual dominant side. And I would like to analyze their interaction chronologically, as I think the switching of the dominant side really illustrate their relationship development.

1. Bonnie, starting from the beginning of the movie, has always been the same character. She knew leaving with Clyde would enable her to leave her boring life, and she never gave the second thought about returning to her previous life. As Clyde told her, she deserves way more than being a waitress, and also promised her that he would make her someone more than who she was. What he was trying to do can be seen as to assign her place in the symbolic order, just as what the name of the Father, in Lacanian film theory, always “name” the subjects in the symbolic order.
2. One interesting detail before Bonnie officially agreed to leave with Clyde is that when she asks Clyde if he really has a gun, he pulls out his gun and then flaunt it to her. That scene, in my interpretation, has sexual implication, that it is a symbol of phallus, as Clyde wants to show her his masculinity. Also, the scene prior to pulling out the gun was implied to be sexual, as we can tell by the fact that they were drinking Coca Cola, and the way Bonnie looks at Clyde.
3. In the forest, Clyde keeps saying that he is not her “loverboy”. What he was saying is more than just because he does not want to engage in sexual behaviors, but because he couldn’t. This suggests a turning point of their relationship, in which before that time Clyde was worshipped by Bonnie. But as Bonnie got to know that he is not as “perfect” and masculine as she thought, the power dynamic seems to shift.
4. Following that, in the diner, Clyde also made her to change her hairstyle, saying that he doesn’t like her with that hair. Making her to change her hair is his way of announcing his ownership in their relationship. This plot reminds me of how Scottie tries to change Judy’s appearance in Vertigo. Both of these actions assert their power over the other person in the relationship.
5. Later in the film, we see several scenes that Clyde was not able to sexually engage with her. All of these suggest that in terms of the sexuality, Clyde has been the “weak side”. To me, it seems surprising that the director would portray the male protagonist, an archetypal hero, as weak and not masculine, especially before 1970s. However, doing this definitely adds more subjectivity for the characters, as well as dramatizing the story. Moreover, the flawed male protagonist also goes with the idea of a film that has mix of emotions and feelings. Similar to the clip of the Graduatewe watched in class, Bonnie and Clyde’s story now contains more than just a tragic hero’s journey.
6. At the almost ending, when Bonnie’s poetry about their story was published on the newspaper, Clyde appraised Bonnie, saying that “you told my story, you made me somebody they are gonna remember”. As he himself said it, this echoes with what he told her at the beginning, that he would make her to become someone more than who she was. He finally admits, that she was the one who assigns him his place in the world and the symbolic order. And it is exactly because Clyde has finally being “approved” to be in the world, he could then engage sexually with Bonnie. As Bonnie said, “you done just perfect”, he replied “I really did”. He was then a true man.

To conclude in a more general way, it is also really interesting that the movie actually focused on the sexuality theme. The true story in the history of Bonnie and Clyde was definitely more than just a love story. It was more likely to be remembered as a heroic road trip that defies the laws and the institutions. The director could have simply documented their story as a factual documentary. But the director chose to tell their story in terms of the development of their relationship. Doing so not only dramatizes (and romanticizes) the tragic and heroic aspect of their story, it also can be interpreted as the director is implying more. One of my interpretation for the movie is that Clyde can be seen as the symbol of the United States, or maybe the US film industry. The fact that Clyde at the beginning did not have the proper masculinity can be interpreted as the bleak future and the current turmoil that were happening in US. And then this entire story of Clyde finally becoming a “man” can be seen as the director’s way to convey the message for the future destiny of both US and US film industry.

About the tragedy and their destiny of ending They always knew their ending, but they still choose to walk to the very end of the road.

The ending scene editing was cuts of their faces, in order to show their emotions

The beginning of their road trip was already the beginning of their end. (See the notes)

Also, some questions that were not explained by the film:

1. Why Buck
2. Why the side plot with the lady and Eugene? —There is actually the true story to this.

Background

History

They travel the central US with their Gand during the Great Depression.

Though known today for their dozen-or-so bank robberies, the duo most often preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations.” Even during their lifetimes, their depiction in the press was at considerable odds with the hardscrabble reality of their life on the road, especially for Bonnie Parker. While she was present at one hundred or more felonies during the two years she was Barrow's companion, she was not the cigar-smoking, machine gun-wielding killer depicted in the newspapers, newsreels, and pulp detective magazines of the day. Parker wrote of her loneliness, her impatience with life in provincial Dallas, and her love of talking pictures. Barrow convinced another inmate to use an axe to chop off two of Barrow's toes to avoid hard labor in the fields; he would walk with a limp for the rest of his life as a result.‘ According to John Neal Phillips, Barrow's goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks, but to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses he suffered while serving time. most historians believe Parker joined Barrow because she was in love. She remained his loyal companion as they carried out their crime spree and awaited the violent deaths they viewed as inevitable. W. D. Jones had been a friend of the Barrow family since childhood. Only 16 years old on Christmas Eve 1932, he persuaded Barrow to let him join the pair and leave Dallas with them that night. The Barrow Gang did not hesitate to shoot anyone, lawman or civilian, who got in their way. Historian Knight writes: "For the first time, Bonnie was seen as a killer, actually pulling the trigger—just like Clyde. Whatever chance she had for clemency had just been reduced." The Dallas Journal ran a cartoon on its editorial page showing the Texas electric chair, empty, but with a sign on it saying '"Reserved" and "Clyde and Bonnie".71b0145c48db484a8d3a501bdff8d7f1https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/B%26CElecChairEditCartoon1934.jpg He studied the gang's movements and found they swung in a circle skirting the edges of five midwestern states, exploiting the "state line" rule that prevented officers from one jurisdiction from pursuing a fugitive into another. Barrow was a master of that pre-FBI rule but consistent in his movements, so the experienced Hamer charted his path and predicted where he would go. The gang's itinerary centered on family visits, and they were due to see Methvin's family in Louisiana. Barrow was killed instantly by Oakley's initial head shot, but Hinton reported hearing Parker scream as she realized Barrow was dead before the shooting at her fully began. "As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you." The ambush of Barrow and Parker proved to be the beginning of the end of the "public enemy era" of the 1930s

Production

Directed by Arthur Penn Starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway

Class Notes:

The contrast between Bonnie and Blanche: is Blanche’s character overacting

The motivation of the crime was not because of their evilness The contrast between the black and white documentary and the color frames of Bonnie. Imagining the past with full vivid colors Creating perspectives: using soundtracks ——but create a distance between the audience and the story Fidelity of the true story

important scenes:

1. Finally when Bonnie reads their poem: you told my story
2. When Clyde first showed her his gun
3. In the diner