Raging Bull Essay Example For Students

Raging Bull Essay In the opening scene of Raging Bull, Scorsese establishes the themesthat control the rest of the film. Although it looks like a long take thatlacks editing, the scene is visibly employing a formalistic quality becauseof the abstractness. I think that throughout the film, the fight sceneshave formalist tendencies while the scenes on the domestic front leantoward realism. In this first scene, Jake is a depicted shadow boxing in asmoky boxing ring, seemingly inspired by his mental and physicalpreparation. Physically, he is preparing for the boxing match he will becompeting in; mentally Jake is preparing for the battles he will face inhis relationships with those around him. Through the use of mise-en-scenewe are introduced to the dominant themes. The scene opens with a long shotof Jake, who is illuminated by top lighting. By using top lighting,Scorsese seemingly isolates Jake from the rest of the scene, commenting onJakes isolation from those around him. Further commenting on this idea isthe idea that the people in the background outside the ring are barelyvisible, developing Jakes sense of autonomy and individualism. As we watchJake gracefully dance around the ring through the ropes, we get the sensethat he is caged in. Another aspect of the mise-en-scene, Jakes leopardprint robe, gives Jake an animalistic quality, signifying that he needs tobe caged in the boxing ring. The fact that Jake is on the left side of thescreen notes his weak mental position. Lastly, the non-digetic soundtrackis classical music, further commenting on the melancholy preparation forbattle. Observing this mise-en-scene, we are already familiar with theleading themes of the film without the need for a single word of dialogue. Even after these childish rages and stupid attempts at proving his manhood, I still did not buy into the whole suppress homosexual theory. That was until the first pool scene. Jake appears at the city pool, walks up to the concession stand and orders a Coke. He sits down and begins to grill Joey about a blonde bombshell named Vicky while he sips his Coke through a straw. Up to this point the scene seems innocent enough right, or does it? He and Joey are just checking out the babes at the pool like every straight man does right? Wait, throw it in reverse for a moment, Jake and Joey are sitting at a table, thats harmless. Jake begins to ask Joey about the beautiful blonde poolside, also harmless. Jake sips his Coke through a straw. Hold on stop the music, a straw, a straw, no self-respecting straight man sips his coke through a straw. Drink it from the bottle yes, but drink it from a straw never. No real man more or less a boxer the epitome of manliness drinks through a straw. This sma ll scene on its own completely changed my perception of how LaMotta is portrayed. The Next scene further deepens my suspicions of Jakes true sexuality. After grooming himself before a mirror, Jake and Joey leave allegedly to go out for business. Irma thoroughly protests and confronts her homosexual suspicions head on. Screaming at the top of her lungs Irma begins to lay into them with no mercy. Im not gonna be here when you get back, you fuckin bunch of guineas, youre always hangin out together. Why dont you fuckin stop? Youre not goin on business. Youre gonna suck each other off, right? Suckem, Suckem baby, she screams. Jealously she sticks he head out when the reach the street again infuriated by the sexual dimensions of their relationship: You fuckin queer, faggot, she screams Go stick it up your ass. This is the first point in the movie someone directly questions Jakes sexuality. Weather she meant it as an insult or as a statement of fact is unknown. However, it puts the question of Jakes sexual orientation to the forefront of the movie. For the next few scene s, the sex question is left to simmer on the back burner, until the shot before the Janero fight in the Copacabana Night Club. Jake is lured over to Salvys table to speak to Tommy. Tommy Como asks about betting on LaMotta in the coming fight. Jake assures him that he should bet it all. He then goes into sexually confused rant with Salvy. Jake:. everthing, because im gonna open his hole like this. Please excuse my French. Im gonna make him suffer. Im gonna make his mother wish she never had him make him into dog meat.. Hes a nice, a nice kid. Hes a pretty kid too. I dont know, I gotta problem if I should fuck him or fight him. (Laughter erupts)Tommy: (laughing) Fuck him or fight him. Salvy: If youre really in love with that fucker, just watch out. Jake: By who?Salvy: Janero. Jake: You mean, you want me to get him to fuck you?Salvy: Me?Jake: Yhea. Salvy: No, I dont want him to fuck me. Jake: I could do that easily. Salvy: How ya gonna do that?Jake: Because Ill get yuz both in a ring, Ill give you both a fuckin beatin ya both can fuck each other. Salvy: Ah, Ill Get all full of blood. Jake: Your used to that. The sick sadomasochistic conversation Jake has with Salvy further proves LaMotta is nothing but a twisted animal, and further questioning his already uncertain sexuality. Goals And Dreams EssayTitle card reads: Dade county Stockade Florida 1957. Jake is wrestled into his jail like a bull being lead to slaughter. Resembling a caged wild animal he slams his fists, head and his arms into a sold cinder-block wall. By this point in the movie you no longer see Robert DeNero but a pathetic unbridled fat fuck has been boxer slamming his fists into the wall as if trying to pick a fight with his own inner demons. Reduced to nothing, loosing everything, and ultimately beaten down LaMotta sobs like a little girl: Why? Why? Why? Whyd you do it? Youre so stupid Im not an animal. Why do you treat me like this? Im not so bad. The once proud beast of a man the Bronx Bull has been broken down to nothing but a pathetic little girl. The movie Ends just as it began. A beer-bellied Jake babbles his chopped up gibberish of great authors in a run down backstage dressing room. With a cigar sticking out his mouth he begins to recite the famous I coulda been a contender scene from On the Waterfront (1954) a piece which closely parallels his own boxing career. Without emotion he carefully recites the words line by line, while staring down his troubles in the mirror. The words seem to express some type of regret towards his prior actions, experiences, and self-destructive habits that plagued his entire life. He seems to finally realize and come to grips with all the foolish mistakes he made throughout his life.Scorsese cameos himself as a stagehand announcing that Jake has five minutes till stage. He clips his tie, and begins to warm up with shadowboxing as he did before all of his matches. He grunts Go get em, champ. All you are left with is a shot of a solitary empty mirror.The final title honors Jakes new found salvation and understanding: once I was blind and now I can see. Raging Bull is the most brutal and painful portrait of a man I have ever seen. You almost feel sorry for this animal of a wife beater whose sexual inadequacy and paralyzing jealousy drive him past the point of insanity. Jake LaMotta prided himself for not being knocked down in the ring. Even when being crucified by Sugar Ray Robinson you wonder why wont this fool just save himself and go down. By the end of the film you begin to get a sense of what was really driving him in the ring. Was it his animal instinct or his immovable pride? No, he was so deeply wounded inside that it hurt far too much to ever let the physical pain stop even for just a second.Words/ Pages : 1,900 / 24