From the very first lines Charlie speaks: "You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets," it is clear that Mean Streets is going to be a movie replete with religious imagery and allusions. There are multiple instances of this within the film (Charlie burning his hand on the fire, Charlie in the church, etc.), and the ending sequence in particular shows heavy influence from religion. After being shot at by Mikey, we see Charlie's car run over and burst a fire hydrant, resulting in water being sprayed all over Charlie, Johnny Boy, and Teresa (who is very much a Mary Magdalene figure in and of herself). This alludes to one of the most important christian events in Baptism, the concept of pouring water over oneself to be cleansed of sins, something Johnny very much desires. This "baptism" of sorts then represents Charlie's salvation, but importantly, it only comes at the death (or at least heavy wounding) of Johnny Boy, who represents a sort of Christ-like figure; he dies, and in doing so redeems Charlie of his sins, much as Jesus does to mankind within Christianity. Charlie, throughout the entire movie, has been seeking redemption through trying to save Johnny; much Like Judas in the gospel. In this way, the two character of Charlie and Johnny Boy very much allude to Judas and Jesus, respectively.
This is not the only religious imagery within the last scene, however; after Charlie exits the totaled car, we see his hand, covered in blood, in a way that very much references stigmata, the wounds of Christ on the cross. He also raises his hands to the heaven, seeking redemption, resurrection; from his old life, from the life of the streets.
The scene in which Michael catches up with Charlie and causes the ensuing accident is ripe with religious symbols and context. Charlie's right hand draping over the windshield of the car is striking in that it evokes a passage in the Bible in which the thumb of the right hand receives the sacrificial blood when a whole person is ritually cleansed. It can also be alluding to the blood from Christ’s hands as he was nailed to the cross. Theresa also has blood on he forehead, reminiscent of that of Christ when he was made to wear a crown of thorns. This theme of cleansing is further supported by the damaged fire hydrant, which continuously spray atop the car through the windshield as if to baptize it’s passengers. All three emerge from the vehicle covered in blood but living, the sacrifice of blood and water cleanses and redeems them.
Mean Streets main themes are redemption and religion. They are portrayed in the film through the placement of the camera angles and shot composition. A shot that represents this is when Charlie is putting his hand in the fire in the kitchen. The flame is in the foreground, Charlie in the background, but the shot is low angled. It reveals to us how he feels about himself , feeling as if he deserves punishment and inflicts it on himself. This fire also represents the pain and suffering he wants to inflict on himself, but ties into Charlie’s extremely religious side by representing hell. Charlie is afraid of hell because of how religious he is. It tells us that Charlie is aware of the consequences of his sins but feels its redemption for the things he done such as banging his friend’s, Johnny Boy, sister Teresa. One of the last shots in the film is a handheld shot of Charlie on his knees grasping his injured arm. The instability of the camera represents how rattled and messed up Charlie is after being shot at. The fact that he is on his knees is like he is surrendering to god and repenting his sins. Charlie tried extremely hard to redeem himself, but failed in the end. This film seems to be mocking religion in a way from these shots stated above because of Charlie’s fate it seems to imply that one can not escape damnation in religion because of our sins and that redemption isn’t truly obtainable.
I will be focusing on the last seen when Charlie, Teresa and Johnny are driving to escape from Tony. Tony eventually pulls up near them and has Charlie, Johnny and Teresa shot. The non diegetic sound that is played before the shooting starts grows louder and louder as the car eventually spins out of control. The scene ends with Johnny bleeding out as he hangs from the car window. This scene vividly demonstrates how all of the characters’ lives, due to being tangled up with each other, spin out of control just like the car. When the car hits the fire hydrant and wall, the music stops abruptly with the car. Up until this point, the music is continually increasing in intensity. This abrupt end to the movement of the car and the non diegetic sound exemplifies the end of the three lives. The diegetic sound (slow italian music) of a party going on which is hinted to by the parallel editing is a reflection of how the fast paced lifestyles that these three characters were involved in simply goes on regardless of their inability to keep up with it. Also, Charlie is frequently seen causing himself physical pain when burning his hand above fire. I interpreted this as his method of redemption. Charlie clearly understands that what he does in his world will have repercussions and the burning is an attempt to rid himself of the guilt that plagues his conscience. It could also be argued that Charlie burns his hands for Johnny Boy’s sins as well, seeing as Johnny takes no responsibility for his actions.
The last five minutes of Mean Streets kind of ties together the entire meaning of redemption and religion. At the start of the scene, Charlie and Johnny Boy are arguing about what they’re going to do with Johnny as they try to escape to Brooklyn. Charlie prays to God, telling him that he’s trying to make up for everything he’s done, with Teresa and Johnny laughing at him for praying. Soon after Charlie prays, Tony pulls up next to them and has a man shoot at them before they rapidly drive away. After Tony has driven away, Charlie drives the car into a fire hydrant, which sends water spraying up into the air, baptizing them. Baptizing is a very common occurrence in the Bible, because it washes one’s sins from them and lets them live a new life under God. In a way Johnny, Charlie and Teresa are being baptized (forgiven) for whatever sins they had committed in the past, and are allowed to atone for what they did in the past. The contrast between how much pain Charlie, Johnny and Teresa are in compared to the shots of the rest of the cast going on about their daily life, living in their sin is startling because while Charlie, Johnny, and Teresa were just ‘baptized’ in a way, they are the unhappy ones in the outcome.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSo I also choose to analyze the last scene of Mean Streets. Mean Streets as a whole retains a theme that echoes the question that inquires: how does one lead a good and moral life if the universe seems to be pushing against you the opposite way? This is the case for one heck of a hell-raiser, Charlie, who manages to be in constant combat with his Catholic conscience. Reminiscent of the preceding is the imagery scene at the conclusion of the detrimental car crash that is spilling over with biblical allusions, and themes of redemption. Firstly, the symbol of the exploded fire hydrant serves to reference the covenant of baptism in the Catholic faith, and how one is cleanses and accepted into God's life after such. Furthermore, the spraying water alludes to the theme of redemption in that is a visual metaphor for the fountain of youth which, as legend has it, is supposed to allow people a second chance, a do-over, if you will, at any point in your life. Charlie's hand is also severely injured in the car crash where before he would burn it on the stove. This seems to say that life is cyclic and whether or not calamity is self-induced, it is inevitable.
Redemption and religion are very evident and important themes in Mean Streets by Martin Scorsese. These themes are portrayed cinematically, particularly through the use of camera placement and shot composition and costumes and props. The use of camera placement and shot composition convey the themes of redemption and religion. One shot that makes this clear is the shot of Charlie putting his hand in the fire when he enters a kitchen. It is a low angled shot with him in the background and the fire in the foreground. This represents how he feels better about himself when he punishes himself; it also represents the power of condemnation (the fire). Charlie is very religious, but also does many bad things, like sleeping with his friend’s (Johnny Boy) sister (Teresa). Religion is very condemning, so he feels he must punish himself. One of the last shots in the film, with Charlie on his knees holding his hurt arm, is shot handheld which makes it very unstable. This represents how shaken up Charlie is after being shot at, and him being on his knees looks like a surrender God. He wanted to redeem himself by taking things into his own hands, but cannot. This seems to imply that one cannot redeem oneself on his own. His arm is also bloody representing a symbol of Christ from the bible in one of the last scenes.
Redemption and religion are very evident and important themes in Mean Streets by Martin Scorsese. These themes are portrayed cinematically, particularly through the use of camera placement and shot composition and costumes and props. The use of camera placement and shot composition convey the themes of redemption and religion. One shot that makes this clear is the shot of Charlie putting his hand in the fire when he enters a kitchen. It is a low angled shot with him in the background and the fire in the foreground. This represents how he feels better about himself when he punishes himself; it also represents the power of condemnation (the fire). Charlie is very religious, but also does many bad things, like sleeping with his friend’s (Johnny Boy) sister (Teresa). Religion is very condemning, so he feels he must punish himself. One of the last shots in the film, with Charlie on his knees holding his hurt arm, is shot handheld which makes it very unstable. This represents how shaken up Charlie is after being shot at, and him being on his knees looks like a surrender God. He wanted to redeem himself by taking things into his own hands, but cannot. This seems to imply that one cannot redeem oneself on his own. His arm is also bloody representing a symbol of Christ from the bible in one of the last scenes.
In Mean Streets, produced in 1973 and directed by Martin Scorsese, themes of redemption and religion come up over and over again throughout the film. As Roger Ebert says, “‘Mean Streets’ is not primarily Bout punk gangsters at all, but about living in a state of sin.” In the scene where Johnny Boy and Charlie go to Tony’s bar, he walks in with his arms around two girls, framed by the brightly red lit doorway as he zips up his pants. This immediately portrays him as the character that Charlie is always wary of but looking out for. The scene starts with a voice over, a message to God about penance, by Charlie, who is a catholic. He feels the need to do his penance for what his actions (by taking care of Johnny Boy, an act that is good and honest, even though he never appreciates Charlie’s help) while still living in sin by being a part of and interacting with the Italian mafia in his city. This is portrayed by the red tint used in the scene, the color of sex, blood and guilt, only to be further exaggerated by the slow motion shot of Charlie downing his drink as Johnny Boy walks over. He cannot compensate his wrongdoings merely by watching out for his friend. The non-diegetic music also plays a role in signifying the fast and action-filled life the two men live in, upbeat and fun. As Johnny Boy walks over to Charlie, we can tell he doesn’t care about the repercussions of his actions which are brought out through a variation of slow motion as well (a Scorsese trademark); he is all about his booze and women, having no real sense of time or money.
In Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets there are often themes of redemption and religion throughout the film. No other scene in the film shows this more than the final five minutes of the film where Charlie and Johnny Boy franticly try to escape escape the city. Redemption can be defined as: the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. Through Scorsese’s use of sound in the scene it can be shown that Charlie and the others receive their final redemption. As the chase picks up and the car crashes the loud fast paced music cuts off symbolizing the final conclusion of the sin Johnny and Charlie have committed throughout the film. Also taking into account that the wild anthem playing represents the wild lifestyle of the two men up to this point, it can be seen that with the crash they have paid for the lifestyle and now they are even with the world around them. After the redemption at the end of the film religious symbolism is used to depict the morality of Charlie who’s bleeding hands represent that of Jesus. This is a great conclusion to the movie because of the added symbolism to the end of the characters Charlie and Johnny.
From the very first lines Charlie speaks: "You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets," it is clear that Mean Streets is going to be a movie replete with religious imagery and allusions. There are multiple instances of this within the film (Charlie burning his hand on the fire, Charlie in the church, etc.), and the ending sequence in particular shows heavy influence from religion. After being shot at by Mikey, we see Charlie's car run over and burst a fire hydrant, resulting in water being sprayed all over Charlie, Johnny Boy, and Teresa (who is very much a Mary Magdalene figure in and of herself). This alludes to one of the most important christian events in Baptism, the concept of pouring water over oneself to be cleansed of sins, something Johnny very much desires. This "baptism" of sorts then represents Charlie's salvation, but importantly, it only comes at the death (or at least heavy wounding) of Johnny Boy, who represents a sort of Christ-like figure; he dies, and in doing so redeems Charlie of his sins, much as Jesus does to mankind within Christianity. Charlie, throughout the entire movie, has been seeking redemption through trying to save Johnny; much Like Judas in the gospel. In this way, the two character of Charlie and Johnny Boy very much allude to Judas and Jesus, respectively.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the only religious imagery within the last scene, however; after Charlie exits the totaled car, we see his hand, covered in blood, in a way that very much references stigmata, the wounds of Christ on the cross. He also raises his hands to the heaven, seeking redemption, resurrection; from his old life, from the life of the streets.
The scene in which Michael catches up with Charlie and causes the ensuing accident is ripe with religious symbols and context. Charlie's right hand draping over the windshield of the car is striking in that it evokes a passage in the Bible in which the thumb of the right hand receives the sacrificial blood when a whole person is ritually cleansed. It can also be alluding to the blood from Christ’s hands as he was nailed to the cross. Theresa also has blood on he forehead, reminiscent of that of Christ when he was made to wear a crown of thorns. This theme of cleansing is further supported by the damaged fire hydrant, which continuously spray atop the car through the windshield as if to baptize it’s passengers. All three emerge from the vehicle covered in blood but living, the sacrifice of blood and water cleanses and redeems them.
ReplyDeleteMean Streets main themes are redemption and religion. They are portrayed in the film through the placement of the camera angles and shot composition. A shot that represents this is when Charlie is putting his hand in the fire in the kitchen. The flame is in the foreground, Charlie in the background, but the shot is low angled. It reveals to us how he feels about himself , feeling as if he deserves punishment and inflicts it on himself. This fire also represents the pain and suffering he wants to inflict on himself, but ties into Charlie’s extremely religious side by representing hell. Charlie is afraid of hell because of how religious he is. It tells us that Charlie is aware of the consequences of his sins but feels its redemption for the things he done such as banging his friend’s, Johnny Boy, sister Teresa. One of the last shots in the film is a handheld shot of Charlie on his knees grasping his injured arm. The instability of the camera represents how rattled and messed up Charlie is after being shot at. The fact that he is on his knees is like he is surrendering to god and repenting his sins. Charlie tried extremely hard to redeem himself, but failed in the end. This film seems to be mocking religion in a way from these shots stated above because of Charlie’s fate it seems to imply that one can not escape damnation in religion because of our sins and that redemption isn’t truly obtainable.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI will be focusing on the last seen when Charlie, Teresa and Johnny are driving to escape from Tony. Tony eventually pulls up near them and has Charlie, Johnny and Teresa shot. The non diegetic sound that is played before the shooting starts grows louder and louder as the car eventually spins out of control. The scene ends with Johnny bleeding out as he hangs from the car window. This scene vividly demonstrates how all of the characters’ lives, due to being tangled up with each other, spin out of control just like the car. When the car hits the fire hydrant and wall, the music stops abruptly with the car. Up until this point, the music is continually increasing in intensity. This abrupt end to the movement of the car and the non diegetic sound exemplifies the end of the three lives. The diegetic sound (slow italian music) of a party going on which is hinted to by the parallel editing is a reflection of how the fast paced lifestyles that these three characters were involved in simply goes on regardless of their inability to keep up with it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Charlie is frequently seen causing himself physical pain when burning his hand above fire. I interpreted this as his method of redemption. Charlie clearly understands that what he does in his world will have repercussions and the burning is an attempt to rid himself of the guilt that plagues his conscience. It could also be argued that Charlie burns his hands for Johnny Boy’s sins as well, seeing as Johnny takes no responsibility for his actions.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMichael* not Tony
Deletealso Scene* not Seen. jesus
DeleteThe last five minutes of Mean Streets kind of ties together the entire meaning of redemption and religion. At the start of the scene, Charlie and Johnny Boy are arguing about what they’re going to do with Johnny as they try to escape to Brooklyn. Charlie prays to God, telling him that he’s trying to make up for everything he’s done, with Teresa and Johnny laughing at him for praying. Soon after Charlie prays, Tony pulls up next to them and has a man shoot at them before they rapidly drive away. After Tony has driven away, Charlie drives the car into a fire hydrant, which sends water spraying up into the air, baptizing them. Baptizing is a very common occurrence in the Bible, because it washes one’s sins from them and lets them live a new life under God. In a way Johnny, Charlie and Teresa are being baptized (forgiven) for whatever sins they had committed in the past, and are allowed to atone for what they did in the past. The contrast between how much pain Charlie, Johnny and Teresa are in compared to the shots of the rest of the cast going on about their daily life, living in their sin is startling because while Charlie, Johnny, and Teresa were just ‘baptized’ in a way, they are the unhappy ones in the outcome.
ReplyDeleteActually, that should be the unhappy ones in the end.
DeleteSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSo I also choose to analyze the last scene of Mean Streets. Mean Streets as a whole retains a theme that echoes the question that inquires: how does one lead a good and moral life if the universe seems to be pushing against you the opposite way? This is the case for one heck of a hell-raiser, Charlie, who manages to be in constant combat with his Catholic conscience. Reminiscent of the preceding is the imagery scene at the conclusion of the detrimental car crash that is spilling over with biblical allusions, and themes of redemption. Firstly, the symbol of the exploded fire hydrant serves to reference the covenant of baptism in the Catholic faith, and how one is cleanses and accepted into God's life after such. Furthermore, the spraying water alludes to the theme of redemption in that is a visual metaphor for the fountain of youth which, as legend has it, is supposed to allow people a second chance, a do-over, if you will, at any point in your life. Charlie's hand is also severely injured in the car crash where before he would burn it on the stove. This seems to say that life is cyclic and whether or not calamity is self-induced, it is inevitable.
ReplyDeleteRedemption and religion are very evident and important themes in Mean Streets by Martin Scorsese. These themes are portrayed cinematically, particularly through the use of camera placement and shot composition and costumes and props. The use of camera placement and shot composition convey the themes of redemption and religion. One shot that makes this clear is the shot of Charlie putting his hand in the fire when he enters a kitchen. It is a low angled shot with him in the background and the fire in the foreground. This represents how he feels better about himself when he punishes himself; it also represents the power of condemnation (the fire). Charlie is very religious, but also does many bad things, like sleeping with his friend’s (Johnny Boy) sister (Teresa). Religion is very condemning, so he feels he must punish himself. One of the last shots in the film, with Charlie on his knees holding his hurt arm, is shot handheld which makes it very unstable. This represents how shaken up Charlie is after being shot at, and him being on his knees looks like a surrender God. He wanted to redeem himself by taking things into his own hands, but cannot. This seems to imply that one cannot redeem oneself on his own. His arm is also bloody representing a symbol of Christ from the bible in one of the last scenes.
ReplyDeleteRedemption and religion are very evident and important themes in Mean Streets by Martin Scorsese. These themes are portrayed cinematically, particularly through the use of camera placement and shot composition and costumes and props. The use of camera placement and shot composition convey the themes of redemption and religion. One shot that makes this clear is the shot of Charlie putting his hand in the fire when he enters a kitchen. It is a low angled shot with him in the background and the fire in the foreground. This represents how he feels better about himself when he punishes himself; it also represents the power of condemnation (the fire). Charlie is very religious, but also does many bad things, like sleeping with his friend’s (Johnny Boy) sister (Teresa). Religion is very condemning, so he feels he must punish himself. One of the last shots in the film, with Charlie on his knees holding his hurt arm, is shot handheld which makes it very unstable. This represents how shaken up Charlie is after being shot at, and him being on his knees looks like a surrender God. He wanted to redeem himself by taking things into his own hands, but cannot. This seems to imply that one cannot redeem oneself on his own. His arm is also bloody representing a symbol of Christ from the bible in one of the last scenes.
ReplyDeleteIn Mean Streets, produced in 1973 and directed by Martin Scorsese, themes of redemption and religion come up over and over again throughout the film. As Roger Ebert says, “‘Mean Streets’ is not primarily Bout punk gangsters at all, but about living in a state of sin.” In the scene where Johnny Boy and Charlie go to Tony’s bar, he walks in with his arms around two girls, framed by the brightly red lit doorway as he zips up his pants. This immediately portrays him as the character that Charlie is always wary of but looking out for. The scene starts with a voice over, a message to God about penance, by Charlie, who is a catholic. He feels the need to do his penance for what his actions (by taking care of Johnny Boy, an act that is good and honest, even though he never appreciates Charlie’s help) while still living in sin by being a part of and interacting with the Italian mafia in his city. This is portrayed by the red tint used in the scene, the color of sex, blood and guilt, only to be further exaggerated by the slow motion shot of Charlie downing his drink as Johnny Boy walks over. He cannot compensate his wrongdoings merely by watching out for his friend. The non-diegetic music also plays a role in signifying the fast and action-filled life the two men live in, upbeat and fun. As Johnny Boy walks over to Charlie, we can tell he doesn’t care about the repercussions of his actions which are brought out through a variation of slow motion as well (a Scorsese trademark); he is all about his booze and women, having no real sense of time or money.
ReplyDeleteIn Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets there are often themes of redemption and religion throughout the film. No other scene in the film shows this more than the final five minutes of the film where Charlie and Johnny Boy franticly try to escape escape the city. Redemption can be defined as: the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. Through Scorsese’s use of sound in the scene it can be shown that Charlie and the others receive their final redemption. As the chase picks up and the car crashes the loud fast paced music cuts off symbolizing the final conclusion of the sin Johnny and Charlie have committed throughout the film. Also taking into account that the wild anthem playing represents the wild lifestyle of the two men up to this point, it can be seen that with the crash they have paid for the lifestyle and now they are even with the world around them. After the redemption at the end of the film religious symbolism is used to depict the morality of Charlie who’s bleeding hands represent that of Jesus. This is a great conclusion to the movie because of the added symbolism to the end of the characters Charlie and Johnny.
ReplyDelete