Similarities Between Strictly Bedroom Australia And The Great Gatsby

Establishing Baz Luhrmann’s acclaimed Red Curtain trilogy, Strictly Ballroom explores the notion that “a life lived in fear is a life half lived,” through his effective use of characterisation, setting, symbolism and cinematography. The coming of age piece follows two ballroom dancers through their battle against conventionality, during the height of the rigorous 1980’s Australian dance culture. Furthermore, an emphasis on exaggeration is portrayed within the film to exemplify the notion of regret, which directs viewers into an animated like perception of theatre, as urged by Luhrmann.

Have you ever had a best friend? Someone that was always there for you? Do you truly know how they felt about you? The Great Gatsby is about a young man named Jay Gatsby, a motivated bootlegger pursuing a grandeurous life that ends with a tragedy caused by betrayal. Of Mice and Men tells a story about two men who travel ranch to ranch together. They stumble upon a ranch that in the long run is the end of the road for them. The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men both portray two different stories in different time periods, yet both stories have strong resemblance. Both F.Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck exemplify through their characters that friendships are not always perceived the same between two individuals.

In “Strictly Ballroom” the beginning scenes of the film Baz established the conventional, elegant atmosphere of the ballroom dancing world. Using a combination of techniques such as graceful music, the

Strictly Ballroom represents belonging using a variety of techniques to distinguish between the world of artifice and the more realistic world. The image of the artificial world, shown as the ballroom world, is glitzy and colourful. Luhrmann has presented this world as having power, whereas the character of Fran, shown in plain clothes and reading

Jordan’s composure and self-sufficiency express her determined “absence of all desire” and she controls her sexuality and emotions well and will not give way to impulse (Fitzgerald 10). She is sexually attractive to Nick, but morally suspect and achieves sexual freedom by means of lying (Štrba 44-45).

How the film techniques used by Baz Luhrman to influence the portrayal and development of characters in the film Strictly Ballroom?

In “A Century of Cinema”, Susan Sontag explains how cinema was cherished by those who enjoyed what cinema offered. Cinema was unlike anything else, it was entertainment that had the audience feeling apart of the film. However, as the years went by, the special feeling regarding cinema went away as those who admired cinema wanted to help expand the experience.

An abrupt death of Myrtle caused by the traumatizing car accident, and the sudden crash of the Wall Street are both endings of glorious and magnificent times. Is this a simply coincidence? Or is it Fitzgerald’s intention to link The Great Gatsby with the time period? The devastating incident of the car crash was the ending of The Great Gatsby and the crash of Wall Street brought the shimmering and wondrous Roaring Twenties to the end. There are strong connections between the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ and the Roaring Twenties. America in the 1920s experienced various sudden and extreme changes in people’s lives in both economic and culture wise. The end of WWI introduced America to the urban society, causing a boost in economy, resulting affluence

Clare Boothe Luce once said, “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable when you’re miserable.” Wealth is the American dream, a goal many strive for, but what are they willing to do for it and at what costs? In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the film Chicago directed by Rob Marshall, their yearning for wealth leads many to make demoralizing decisions in order to succeed. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in the novel, is a wealthy man who lives in a mansion on the rich side of the city. Gatsby was in love with a woman named Daisy who ,while he was at war, left him for a wealthy man. Hence the reason why Daisy became Gatsby’s American dream and so he worked his way up the social classes to win her back. In the film Chicago, Roxie, a married woman, had an affair with a man who had “connections” with those in the dancing/singing industry. He lied and, consequently, she ended up shooting him. In prison, Roxie’s case became the story of the century and aided her ‘fame’. Although these works demonstrate that the American dream is achievable, based on the character's success, after closer analysis it is clear that the American dream is only achievable through corruption.

Social class defined is a broad group in society having common economic, cultural, or political status. Social classes are a common theme in both modern and classic novels. The theme of social classes is clearly depicted throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.The social classes are distinguished in The Great Gatsby as old money, new money, and no money. Those that belong to a family from old money live on the lavish East Egg, while those that recently became wealthy live on the West egg. Similarly in Wuthering Heights, the wealth of a family is determined by where they live: Thrushcross Grange the superior property or Wuthering Heights. The protagonist in both novels struggle to overcome the barriers that accompany their social class in order to be with their beloveds.

Midnight in Paris and The Great Gatsby were films were the main characters are living in the past. Gil wants to live in the 1920’s were the golden age was important and Gatsby was to go back five years and finish off where him and Daisy could spend there life together in louisville.

The 2013 movie adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby” certainly steps out of the cozy boundaries of the novella of less than two hundred pages by F. Scott Fitzegerald with its gaudy attitude and fast-paced scenes that at the same time is quite picturesque and full of details reproduced to match the prose that has been written. Some lovers of the classic might be horrified at the big top-esque film that Baz Luhrmann has made it into, for this director is no stranger to flashiness and taking risks, as shown in his past films “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet”; and the same desire in the both of them is still present in his installment of “Gatsby”: the want to capture the contemporary audience, even if it

Romance, love, and destiny. Connections are formed like bridges built of various things; love, trust, money, fate. Some bridges are stronger than others and some bridges connect people who perhaps shouldn’t be connected. The movie “The Great Gatsby” better expresses the romantic relationships and connections between characters. Between Tom and Daisy, whose relationship may have more to do with survival than love, with Myrtle and Tom, the bridge between them connecting two souls searching for something more in life. And then there are bridges like the one between Jordan and Nick, filled with lies and a bridge not often travelled, and if you’re lucky you come across a bridge like Gatsby and Daisy's, which is made of love but filled with obstacles. These bridges play a key part in the story and the movie most definitely does a better job at expressing these connections between characters.

“The Great Gatsby” movie is based on a well-known book by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, a well-known author that wrote American fiction. Maurer wrote that F. Scott Fitzgerald was known for his imagistic and wonderful composition. He could analyze the inclination of his era during a politically complex time of American History (Maurer, 2016). There have been a number of reincarnations of “The Great Gatsby” in cinematography. Baz Lurhmann, a popular director of all times recreated the movie and took the story to a whole new level. Baz Lurhmann has adapted the story and fit his visual style of production similar to other recognisable Lurhmann films such as Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet but he manages to preserve the core story.

Buz Luhrmann’s intention in making movies is to provide and entertaining, extravagantly beautiful film, and he succeded in the making of these two films.