The American cinema of the 1970s entered a "masterpiece period" that has not yet been surpassed, an era of classics such as "Clockwork Orange", "French Drug Trafficking Network", "The Godfather", "Chinatown", "Taxi Driver", "Annie Hall", and "Star Wars", "Jaws" and other works that opened a new era.
The United States during that time was also turbulent, and major events such as turbulent times, scandals (Watergate), and soaring population brought a steady stream of inspiration to filmmakers — they had ideas and opinions about this era that needed to be conveyed to the world through film.
But today we want to focus on the late 60s that paved the way for this "hundred flowers blooming", which was an era in which Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated one after another, the United States increased troops in Vietnam, and all kinds of political murders broke out at any time, and it was also an era when American astronauts roamed the earth's orbit and then landed on the moon - the ensuing accidents and the phenomenon of the government spending huge sums of money to create a world power made this generation gradually disappointed and even despaired of the US government, they regarded politics as a politician's trick, and the country as a playground for those in power. They are Jack Kerouac's famous "Beat Generation."
At the same time, various civil rights movements have emerged – women's liberation movements, black rights movements, anti-Vietnam War marches, anti-gay discrimination marches... In 1969, the "Stonewall Incident" shocked the world – a massive face-to-face clash between gays and police officers. In the same year, an X-rated movie "Midnight Cowboy" won the Oscar for Best Picture that year - the only one in film history, so far.
In fact, the original English name of this movie is directly translated as "Cowboy in the Middle of the Night", and some regions use this translated name. "Cowboy" symbolizes a change in the American spirit, so that understanding will more directly touch the heart of the film—the demise of an era, the disillusionment of an illusion.
Next, starting from the metaphor of flashback shots, the changes of film characters, and the symbolism of plot promotion, we will analyze in detail this classic work that is still shocking to look back today.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" > metaphor for flashback shots: continuous flashback shots play 4 key roles in the promotion of the plot</h1>
The extensive use of short flashbacks is a major feature of the movie "Midnight Cowboy". When the protagonist faces unexpected events, when he sleeps and dreams, and when he falls into thinking, he can't help but think about what he has experienced in the past. In Joe's recollections, two women often appear: one is the lover who is crazy at the end, and the other is the grandmother who has done a lot of inexplicable things to herself. And Dustin Hoffman's partner will also appear in the protagonist's dreams from time to time - playing a particularly conspicuous bystander. While these flashback shots constitute the entire film, they also make it difficult for the audience to watch the film, just like the plot sequence of "Dream First and Reality" in "Mulholland Road", which makes people have to watch repeatedly to find the key information that connects the entire film.
By stringing together flashback after flashback, it can be found that the protagonist is entrusted to his grandmother at a very young age. And the grandmother's wanton touch caused Joe to have an inexplicable dependence and infatuation with the old woman (about this, some film critics believe that it is the reason why Joe can't face the young and beautiful woman in the back). In addition to the nude, enema and other bizarre images, the young Joe spends all day with the TV set is also a crucial message - this is not only a symbol of loneliness, but also the only external source for Joe to build his first impression of the world.
In today's developed information, people know that the media and television will consciously or unconsciously build an invisible and untouchable information cocoon, and will affect a person's judgment and thinking mode all the time. From this detail, it can also be inferred that the main reason why the protagonist at the beginning of the movie inexplicably runs to New York with passion - New York on TV has always been so fascinating and fascinating.
Soon after the beginning of the movie, the male number two deceived the protagonist very badly, and in the end, he could not even pay the rent, and everything was seized by the hotelier. After going around, the two meet again, and the protagonist dreams back to the past when sleeping in the dilapidated house of male number two, and the crowd of onlookers actually saw the figure of male number two. Such a plot setting can be interpreted by Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams", which is a subconscious projection of the protagonist's desire to know and be involved in his unbearable past. However, the male number two in the dream looks sinister, indicating that at this moment Joe has not let down his guard and suspicion of him. "Casually" and easily brought into his own memorable dreams by a stranger, the loneliness of the male protagonist can be seen from this - "loneliness" is also his behavioral motivation throughout the film (his entire life).
Joe ran ecstatically to New York, talking to the gorgeous-looking ladies on the street again and again with the same words:
"Do you know how the Statue of Liberty goes?"
However, after being mocked again by passer-by A, he was taken into his high-end apartment by passer-by B, and later learned that this was a high-class prostitute - he changed from a cowherd to a guest, not only did not get anything but also poured in 20 DOLLARs. After this frustrated experience, Joe's dreams constantly retrace his past with his crazy girlfriend, and the unforgettable past reappears little by little in the dream, until at the end of the movie, he clearly realizes that he is not "charming", but just a poor person who longs to get warmth with his body and find a sense of existence in a short relationship.
In the movie, whenever Joe encounters something unpleasant or unthinkable, it seems that the "dream" will give him all the answers, and also carry most of his spiritual sustenance.
While this "dream-chasing journey" in New York shattered Joe's American dream, he gradually learned to face his true self and the shadow of his childhood in the process of constantly subconsciously retracing the past in his dreams. Those fragmented dreams are actually just like the protagonist's original scattered soul fragments in all directions, just like Voldemort in Harry Potter, unloading his soul into eight pieces and packing them into different Horcruxes.
In fact, in reality, everyone has their own people, things or things that carry unknown past and memories that are unwilling to mention, and those are like "Horcruxes" - complete everyone's life and soul. In the movie "Midnight Cowboy", the appearance of each dream means that Joe's soul is once again becoming complete, until finally he takes off his fancy and pompous denim suit, changes into a normal and decent t-shirt, and naturally hugs his already breathless good friend on the bus to Florida.
The above is the role of the flashback composed of "dreams" in the movie "Midnight Cowboy".
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" > change in the characters of the film: behind the "one life and one death" is a shattered reality and a residual hope</h1>
The male protagonist of Midnight Cowboy is played by the father of the sexy goddess Angelina Jolie, while the male number two is Dustin Hoffman, who rose to fame with "The Graduate". The way the characters appear in this film is also a bolder attempt at the time - not to explain the past of the characters, and to tell all the stories along the timeline. Male No. 1's past audience can obtain key information from fragmentary dreams, while Male No. 2's former audience only has a few words for the audience to speculate.
But in the plot narrative of the whole movie, whether it is the time they appear in New York or the way they survive, even the final ending is a foreshadowing of the two fates of the same class.
Male No. 1's jeans almost accounted for more than 95 costume props, while Male No. 2's suit shoes only appeared when he first cheated joe. In this sense, the protagonist did not completely abandon the illusory "New York Cowboy Dream" until the end of the movie, while the male number two could not survive in this bustling city early.
In the movie, did Joe's language and behavior after being deceived affect the "cheating career" of the second male? On this point, the film does not have any hints and explanations, but from the timeline, it is true that the life of the second male has become more and more difficult since then. Go out and steal ingredients to cook for Joe, give Joe advice, and fantasize about the good life of the two in the future... It became the whole content of the life of the second man.
Joe's clothes have gradually become dull from the beginning of the sparkle, which not only fits the protagonist's unsuccessful career in form, but also hints at his disappointment in New York and gradually becomes sober and self-aware.
In the movie, both male protagonists have cliff-like changes in health, one from health to near death (and finally really dead), and the other from being at ease to inexplicable. This arrangement is not only necessary for the advancement of the film plot, but also reflects the ideological changes of the two from the side.
The original male number two is like a marginal person living in New York, living his precarious life by pit abduction but also enjoying it. But Joe's appearance made him warm, but also ignited a vision and hope for the future. But everyone knows that rats belong only to the sewers, and the world under the sun never belongs to him—which is the fundamental reason why this character did not see the sunlight of Florida until his death.
The protagonist Joe has always maintained a high degree of confidence in his charm and sexual ability, but he can't do it when he is faced with a business that is difficult to come to the door and is a big beauty. There are arguments that the male protagonist at this time has become gay, but in fact, in addition to this perspective, there are two ways of understanding: one is that the confidence he has always had in his heart is only based on the old woman, which can be found out from the grandmother in the flashback and the girlfriend who has a very bad ending; there is also a point that at this time he has wavered and doubted his pursuit all along, which is reflected in the movie plot as a period of his interest in the anagram game. Far greater than the interest in the beauty in front of you.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" > symbol of plot promotion: 2 clever narrative techniques that make the whole movie laugh and cry</h1>
After stringing together the plot of the entire movie and combing through it, you will find that many contrasts are extremely ironic. Joe is tricked in the bustling streets and beaten up in high-class places, but succeeds in getting a business at a party where marginalized people gather – which in itself defines and implies the social nature of Joe's character. There are two sides to New York, joe does not belong to the sun, only worthy of the shadow.
There is also the contrast of male number two, when doing bad things, he does not live well but enjoys himself, but when his life seems to be gradually on the right track, the whole person has become more warm, and the fatal disease is found at the first time. And in the movie, the male number two's "gatekeeper skill" is also revealed - polishing shoes. In just a few minutes, the stool was filled with a line of people waiting in line. Why doesn't he make a living from this? From the few memories, it can be seen that his father worked as a shoemaker all his life, and finally seems to have died from the negative effects of this profession.
Avoiding childhood was the main reason why he opportunistically did not live on stable business operations. This is also the most fundamental reason why he and Joe feel sorry for each other - they are all the way, they all have broken souls, and they also need warm companionship.
The image of a high-class prostitute is commonly used in Hollywood movies, but the protagonist is unknown
The two most talked about reversals of the entire film are the high-class prostitute at the beginning and the religious guy at the end of the film, one who takes most of joe's money in his pocket and the other who gets beaten up for his own money.
To say that such a plot reversal is "expected" is due to the street and attire of high-class prostitutes, as well as the performance of walking dogs and walking dogs, and the character in the film contains almost all the characteristics of high-class prostitutes of that era, and even the makeup on her face is very obvious. But unfortunately, the protagonist did not recognize it, which is also the director's interpretation of how this cowboy from Texas to New York "has never seen the world" from another perspective.
The timing of the appearance of the last believer gang is also very coincidental, it just so happens that the protagonist had a bad memory of the believer guy not long ago, and it just so happens that his friend needs a lot of money to treat diseases and buy tickets at this time. In the face of the stranger's caution and the warmth of the taste, this time Joe finally knew what he really wanted and put it into action.
It is implied that it was an era when faith could not save
It's all about it all — the glamorous streets and dilapidated demolition buildings, the never-before-seen Statue of Liberty becoming a provocative code word, the psychedelic hippie parties, the outspoken old women in TV interviews... The director uses a camera that follows The Cowboy to show the audience the real America of that era and how unbearable and chaotic new York was.
The Oscars have always been a bellwether for the American reality, and this can be supported by the best films in the previous Oscars. The most obvious is "Forrest Gump", which beat "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Pulp Fiction" that year, and "Parasite", which rushed out of Asia to the top of the Oscars this year.
The reason why the movie "Midnight Cowboy" was rated X that year had little to do with the plot of the movie itself, but more about the theme of its performance and the social significance revealed. But just like "Clockwork Orange", which was successfully released after changing to R rated, many times only these seemingly "dirty and messy" plots have the most explicit truth.