Parenti Paper
Jacob Marks
Dr. Williams
CRTW 2
10 November 2011
The Portrayal Of The Working Class
The film, On The Waterfront, portrays the labor unions and the working class in a rather unflattering light. It portrays the working class as uneducated, uncivilized, undesirable, and immoral and also portrays the working class as subservient to the upper class. The stereotypical portrayal of the working class in On The Waterfront conforms to and overturns the stereotypical portrayals of the working class found in Michael Parenti’s essay, “Class and Virtue”.
In Parenti’s essay, “Class and Virtue”, Parenti, states that, “The entertainment media present working people not only as unlettered and uncouth but also as less desirable and less moral than other people” (Parenti 406). Parenti also states that “…virtue is more likely to be ascribed to those characters whose speech and appearance are soundly middle- or upper- middle class” (Parenti 406). Parenti presents the story of Treasure Island as an example of this. Parenti cites how “The squire and his associates dress in fine clothes, speak in educated diction, and drink brandy” (Parenti 407) and then contrasts them to the appearance of Long John Silver and his companions who “…dress slovenly, speak in guttural accents, and drink rum” (Parenti 407). The differences between these two groups in appearance, speech, and even choice of drink, manipulate the viewer into rooting for the squire and his men.
Parenti also discusses the class stereotypes found in the show The A-Team, which is about a group of ex-soldiers that use their skills to help out an individual or group, by analyzing the characters that make up the team in his essay. The leaders of the team are upper class males that are well educated and do all, if not most, of the planning and thinking and, “The lower ranking members of the team, who do none of the thinking nor the leading, are working class palookas” (Parenti 407). This is but an example of how the working class is
Dr. Williams
CRTW 2
10 November 2011
The Portrayal Of The Working Class
The film, On The Waterfront, portrays the labor unions and the working class in a rather unflattering light. It portrays the working class as uneducated, uncivilized, undesirable, and immoral and also portrays the working class as subservient to the upper class. The stereotypical portrayal of the working class in On The Waterfront conforms to and overturns the stereotypical portrayals of the working class found in Michael Parenti’s essay, “Class and Virtue”.
In Parenti’s essay, “Class and Virtue”, Parenti, states that, “The entertainment media present working people not only as unlettered and uncouth but also as less desirable and less moral than other people” (Parenti 406). Parenti also states that “…virtue is more likely to be ascribed to those characters whose speech and appearance are soundly middle- or upper- middle class” (Parenti 406). Parenti presents the story of Treasure Island as an example of this. Parenti cites how “The squire and his associates dress in fine clothes, speak in educated diction, and drink brandy” (Parenti 407) and then contrasts them to the appearance of Long John Silver and his companions who “…dress slovenly, speak in guttural accents, and drink rum” (Parenti 407). The differences between these two groups in appearance, speech, and even choice of drink, manipulate the viewer into rooting for the squire and his men.
Parenti also discusses the class stereotypes found in the show The A-Team, which is about a group of ex-soldiers that use their skills to help out an individual or group, by analyzing the characters that make up the team in his essay. The leaders of the team are upper class males that are well educated and do all, if not most, of the planning and thinking and, “The lower ranking members of the team, who do none of the thinking nor the leading, are working class palookas” (Parenti 407). This is but an example of how the working class is