StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Conversation and the 1970s America - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
In the paper “The Conversation and the 1970s America” the author analyzes the Conversation, a movie production by Francis Coppola Ford. It is a psychological thriller which stars Gene Hackman, and supported by John Cazale, Harrison Ford, and Cindy Williams…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.4% of users find it useful
The Conversation and the 1970s America
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Conversation and the 1970s America"

The Conversation and the 1970s America The conversation is a movie production by Francis Coppola Ford. It is a psychological thriller which stars Gene Hackman, and supported by John Cazale, Harrison Ford, and Cindy Williams. Gene Hackman plays the role of Harry Caul, a business man in the surveillance industry. He is the main protagonist in this movie. Other role includes that of Harrison Ford, who acts as Martin Stett. He hires Caul to intercept important information from Cindy Williams who plays the role of Ann, and Fredrick Forest who plays the role of Mark. This movie has won two major awards, that isthe 1974 Palm d’Or award, and a selection for preservation by the national film registry in the category of culture, aesthetic and historical significance. The main thematic connotation in this movie is participation vs. surveillance, and reality vs. perception. These were the main themes that characterized the political environment in 1974 between President Nixon’s party the Republican, and his opponents, the democrats.This movie was produced in 1974, at a time when President Richard Nixon was facing political pressure and criticisms due to his role in wiretapping conversations and political activities of his main opponents, the democrats. This is in relation to his re-election. It is also during this period that the American corporate industry was growing in power, and influence (Salinger, 17). For instance, Lewis Powell, an influential corporate lawyer earned an appointment as a judge to the US Supreme Court due to his role in shaping the various legislations in congress.The American corporates were able to influence government policies and the enactment of various legislations.This paper therefore denotes that the movie conversation portrays the thematic connotations that characterized the political and corporate environment of the periods of 1974. In this movie, Harry Caul has the ability of recording any private conversation between two or more people, and anywhere they are. However, one of surveillance work resulted into the murder of three individuals. This creates a sense of guilt and regret over the work he did. This guilt is also brought about by his strict religious believes in Catholicism (Welsh, Gene and Rodney, 33). On this note, the consequences of his surveillance work that led to the murder of these three individuals greatly affected another contract he got from Martin Stett. This is because of the perceptions that Caul had, in regard to his work, and the use of the information from him. To him, the intention of Martin Stett was to kill the two couples, that is Ann and Mark. On this basis, Caul refused to hand over the buggled information to Martin Stett. However, the perceptions of Caul were wrong, since the intention of Martin Stett was to use the information for purposes of protecting his boss, the Director. A role played by Robert Duvall. His lack of judgment led to the murder of Robert Duvall. This scene directly relates to the political events of the 1974. During this period, the political environment was filled with information emanating from the Watergate scandal. During this scandal, President Nixon was found with tapes that had recordings of private conversation of various people. The FBI were able to prove that the president had a complex recording system that was able to effectively record any conversation involving two or more individuals, anywhere they are. It is this type of technology that Harry Caul used in recording and blogging into the private conversations of individuals.In fact, the producer of the movie denotes that the film used the same types of surveillance technology and wiretapping equipment’s that the Nixon administration used during the scandal. However, Coppola is quick to point that this is coincidental since the script of the movie was written in the 1960s, before the disclosure of the Watergate scandal. The blogging took place at the political offices of the democrats situated at their Watergate offices (Welsh, Gene and Rodney, 33). During this scandal, the attorney general John Mitchell was initially opposed to the recordings of the president’s opponents. This is because the action was illegal, and morally wrong. This conviction of John Mitchell is highly similar to that of Harry Caul. In Harrys opinion, spying on people contravenes his religious believes, because it is possible to use the information gathered wrong reasons. According to the views of John Mitchell, the bugging of private conversations was morally wrong, and illegal. Nevertheless, he accepted to participate in the scandal, this is after a lighter proposal was made in regard to wiretapping the private conversations on the president’s opponents. However, despite their convictions, the two still engaged in the vice. Harry Caul agreed to spy on Ann and Mark, while John Mitchell agreed to spy on the president’s opponents.The movie also denotes that it is always difficult for people to produce objects that they collects through illegal means, or as against their moral convictions and believes. Take for instance Harry Caul, he refused to give the information he collected from the private conversations of Mark and Ann. This is because he believed that the director will use the information for wrong purposes (Welsh, Gene and Rodney, 37). However, this was a misjudgment on his part. This is because, in the end, the director died because he was unable to access the information under the possession of Harry Caul. In the case of the Watergate scandal, President Nixon refused to give out the various tapes under his possession. This is because the existence of the tapes would prove his guilt, leading to an impeachment and an end to his political career. However, he was forced to surrender the tapes by the United States Supreme Court. In the case of Harry Caul, unknown people broke into his room, and stole the tapes (The Conversation). These scenes confirm my allegations that a person holding information obtained through illegal means will always refuse to release them. This is because he fears the consequences of releasing such kind of information. Finally, the rise of the American corporate world is depicted in this movie through the actions of the director.During the 1970s, there was a shift in the American corporate identity (The Conversation). Businesses were not commercial identities, but managed and controlled by individuals. Businesses brands were personalized and the corporate leaders managed to influence an individual’s way of life. This aspect is better portrayed by the character of the director. We are not told the identity of this person, and he remains anonymous. This is mostly because of his powerful role in the society. He uses his aide Martin Stett to conduct his affairs, and the two couples Anne and Mark are also afraid of him. The director uses manipulations to have his way. This is a major character trait of corporations operating in America during the 1970s. For instance, Lewis Powell, an influential corporate lawyer, in his letter to the congress, asserted that enacting laws that regulate the corporate industry was an attack to the notion of free enterprise and capitalism (Welsh, Gene and Rodney, 41). It is prudent to denote that this was a period of cold war, pitting USA against the Soviet Union. This was an ideological battle between capitalism and communalism. America supported capitalism, and this was an indirect form of manipulation. Works Cited: Salinger, Lawrence M..Encyclopedia of white-collar & corporate crime. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2005. Print. The Conversation.Dir. Francis Coppola.Perf. Harry Caul. The Coppola Company, 1974. DVD. Welsh, James Michael, Gene D. Phillips, and Rodney Hill.The Francis Ford Coppola encyclopedia. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Conversation and the 1970s America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1474985-the-conversation-and-the-1970s-america
(The Conversation and the 1970s America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1474985-the-conversation-and-the-1970s-america.
“The Conversation and the 1970s America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1474985-the-conversation-and-the-1970s-america.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Conversation and the 1970s America

African Islamic movement in the United States

uslim slaves-involuntary settlers, who had been the urban-ruling elite in West Africa - comprised at least 15% of the slave populace in North america in the 18th and 19th centuries.... Some of these West African Muslim slaves brought the first mainstream Islamic beliefs and practices to america by keeping Islamic names, writing in Arabic, fasting during the month of Ramadan, praying five times a day, wearing Muslim clothing, and writing and reciting the Qur'an (McCloud, 1995)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Amazon Rainforest, Explanations for Erosion in Amazon

Alarming accounts of hazards often evoke the commonness of human concern about deterioration.... Yet a growing body of studies suggests differences in peoples… From water pollution in Boulder, Colorado, to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the causes of environmental decline tend to be perceived differently....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Speech Recognition Technology

The late 1960s through the 1970s saw the second-generation technology; the late 1970s through 1980s were for the third generation and so forth.... In its succeeding campaigns for its flagship phone, Apple would come to highlight this technology as a selling point in order to further grab a sizable competitive margin....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Malcolm X, an American Muslim Minister, and Human Rights Activist

He was one of the most influential public figures in america in the early 1960s.... alcolm X spoke about his concerns on the chief obstacles to racial equality in america, such as the uncompromising control which the white slave owners exerted, the need for a violent revolution on the part of the African Americans as opposed to their calm acceptance of the situation and their intention to “love these folks no matter how much they hate me” (X 122)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Mexican Americans Coexistence Story

This essay discusses their migration from Mexico to america before the twentieth century to this day, their struggles in america, their language, their relationship with Americans and their modern-day activities and religion.... Mexico is to the south of the United States of america, a Spanish colony that was often referred at as the New Spain.... War broke out between the two states and by the time it ended, Mexico lost 890,000 miles of land to america (McWilliams, 1990)....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Effectiveness of Environmental Policies in the United States

This paper will be critically analyzing the environmental policies in the US, the history of the policies, the various legislations governing them and the agencies reinforcing the policies.... The paper will analyze the environmental issues in the US and the shortcomings of the policies put in place....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

The Great Depression and the American Film Industry

This paper "The Great Depression and the American Film Industry - The Hollywood Blacklist and the Hollywood Ten" focuses on the fact that the Great Depression was a major global economic downturn in the early 1930s.... The duration of the Great Depression varied from one nation to the next.... nbsp;… For many nations, it kicked off in 1930 and lasted through the late 1930s or mid-1940....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study

American Films in the 1970s

… The paper "American Films in the 1970s" is a perfect example of an assignment on history.... Butan overview of the films reveals that modern films lack the inner content and “the 1990s, the 1970s are widely considered to have been a Golden Age of American film”, The paper "American Films in the 1970s" is a perfect example of an assignment on history.... Butan overview of the films reveals that modern films lack the inner content and “the 1990s, the 1970s are widely considered to have been a Golden Age of American film” (Best Films of the 1970s)....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us