On the Waterfront Analysis: Themes and Film Techniques

General Vision and Viewpoint

Terry Malloy attempts to change the violence and exploitation that has corrupted life on the waterfront.

Cultural Context of the Waterfront

The world of the text encompasses all the elements that make the environment inhabited by the characters what it is. The time and place where a story is set serve as the most influential factors.

On the Waterfront depicts the gritty world of the docks and, briefly, the sphere of politics, including the trial and the character Mr. Upstairs.

Key Narrative Moments

• Opening Scene: Terry struggles with his involvement in Joey’s death.
• Conflict: Terry initially tries to gun down Friendly but is eventually convinced to testify against him in court.
• Resolution: Terry faces social isolation and is ostracized by members of his community. He publicly disavows Friendly’s organization on the pier.

Social Codes and Justice

The community subscribes to a strict code of silence. Terry is asked to break this code to put an end to Friendly’s reign over the waterfront. His decision to publicly disavow his involvement with the corrupted union is a pivotal turning point.

The waterfront operates by its own internal codes and sense of justice. Terry realizes that if he is to regain his dignity in this world, he must stand up to Friendly on the waterfront in front of the workers, even though he is initially shunned.

Literary Genre and Narrative Techniques

This section examines the ways the author expresses the story through narrative, visual, aural, and performative elements.

Genre and Narrative Elements

• Genre Category: Film (incorporating elements of tragedy, realism, and historical drama).
• Narration and Structure: A linear narrative voiced through a third-person cinematic lens.
• Dialogue and Sound: Includes critical statements, songs, poetic recitations, and a specific tone of voice that defines the characters.
• Characterization: Focuses on how the characters develop and change throughout their moral journey.
• Humor: Examines the type of humor used and how it affects the overall tone of the film.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The use of language, conflict, and visual symbols to deepen the narrative.

Visual and Aural Film Techniques

The film utilizes specific mise-en-scène and filmmaking techniques to convey its message:

• Realism: The New York docks' mise-en-scène, featuring the haggard faces of dockworkers and a bleak environment.
• Space: The use of enclosed versus open spaces; fences often symbolize blocks in human relationships.
• Camera Angles: High and low angles emphasize entrapment. The camera points down during the "shape-up" scramble but points up during the martyrdom scene.
• Composition: Laundry hanging on lines forms diagonals that intrude on human space, alongside narrow passages and alleyways with blinding lights.
• Lighting: Diffused lighting emphasizes moral confusion. Director Elia Kazan used smoke from trash fires, mist, and fog to enhance the atmosphere.
• Acting: The realism of Marlon Brando's "Method" acting style, utilizing affective emotion and body language for inarticulate characters.
• Perspective: Terry’s habit of looking away from people highlights his desire to be a loner. The POV becomes subjective after a truck nearly hits Terry and Edie; by the end, the camera shifts from a social perspective to Terry's personal, cloudy, and blurry perspective.

Symbolism and Christian Imagery

• Costume: Joey’s jacket is developed as a symbol of heroism and selflessness.
• The White Glove: Edie's white glove in the park brings the couple together, replacing the boxing gloves Terry once wore, symbolizing the spiritual over the physical.
• Christian Symbols: Father Barry’s sermon features the shadow of a cross. Terry wears a jacket previously worn by martyrs, bleeds from the head after his beating, and carries a longshoreman’s hook like a cross, leading the "flock" back to work.