Analysis of Escape from New York

Escape from New York

Escape from New York is an American fiction film that was written and directed by John Carpenter. The movie categorizes the United States, particularly the City of New York, as crime zone that has a high number of prisoners and gangs. The film is set in the future at around 1997 and demonstrates how the United States has turned to a jungle land characterized by criminal activities. America has, therefore, converted the Manhattan highland into the country’s largest security prison (Fernandes et al. 129). The author particularly wrote the film to react to the Westgate scandal which affected the lives of many people.

Songs in the Film

Conversely, the two Bruce Springsteen’s songs, Meeting across the River and Jungleland, are set from the late evening into the night and the characters experience difficult situation without meaningful opportunities and options. For instance, in Meeting across the River, the narrator is crossing the river in the night. Although not clearly stated, Springsteen refers to an individual crossing from Hudson to New Jersey possibly to attend to drug deals. Finally, the author uses the lyric and musical prelude in the Meeting across the River to develop the Jungleland. Springsteen tells the tale of love characterized by a gang of violence.

The Somber Mood

Springsteen begins the song, Meeting across the River, in a low and muted trumpet with instances of soft, spare piano. However, the author increases the notation in the middle of the song. The narrator demonstrates that the deal may become dangerous, but involves Eddie in almost all the steps (Kaye and Brewer 23). Notably, the author wants to look innocent at the end regardless of the outcome of the deal (Fernandes et al. 131). The somber lyric as well indicates that the narrator and his friend were not born criminal. However, the life of desperation forces them to indulge in evil activities. For instance, he is promising a better tradeoff and the end of the deal to lure his girlfriend. The song ends at the verge of their main activity and the narrators leaves people in suspense. Nevertheless, Bruce demonstrates a sign of helplessness as Eddie voices fades towards the end of the song. He cannot afford the money to make it across the river. Similarly, Escape from New York narrates the dark end as President of United States is hijacked in the Air Force One while traveling for a peace summit between Russia, China, and United States. Due to intense oppression in the city of New York, the domestic terrorists pose as stewardship and hijack the plane (Fernandes et al. 131).

Interrelation of Songs and Film

The songs and the film interrelate in a number of elements. For example, the movie adopts soundtrack from different verses of the songs. For instance, during the filming session, Carpenter used the notation of the songs to represent the somber mood. Furthermore, the director incorporates additional 15 tracks which he purely adopts from Meeting across the River and Jungleland. In most of the songs, the director expanded the liner notes of the dialog from the film (Fernandes et al. 133). Carpenter has used the classical format to prove to the artists that he can make a good film using the horror genre. The film regenerates old memories regarding the relationship between the Snake and Hauk, thus resulting in deep friendship (Kaye and Brewer 23). Furthermore, the Carpenter explains the restriction in the West Coast land and the discomfort of people due to the emission of World War II nerve gas.

Hope and Despair

Springsteen leaves the listeners in the shades of hope, because he does not indicate the outcome of the deal. Furthermore, the author does not show if Eddie finds his way across the river without casualties. Springsteen creates a tale in the context of the contemporary society by showing the two men without prospects trying to reach the cities. Furthermore, he lets the listeners to indulge in imagination by trying to complete the journey on their own. Therefore, the contributors with some hopes for the future can fill the blanks by predicting the outcome of the trip. In the Jungleland, the author begins the song with sense of desperate hope, but eventually shifts to aspects of despair and defeat. Springsteen introduces the two protagonists, the barefoot girl and the rat, who meets while on their automobiles. The two ride together in the night without saying a word, thus, putting them in great danger.

The Significance of Meeting across the River

Meeting across the River is a song that artists rarely play, but its fans love it. The verses of the song serve as an inspiration to a group of actors and authors in the mix of short stories. Some people argue that it consists of the evocative melodies and lyrics which can communicate the intended themes in different plays such as Escape from New York (Fernandes et al. 136). However, Springsteen ends the song abruptly leaving the listeners in suspense. For instance, the audience is unable to guess whether Eddie made it to the river and the consequences of his actions. Similar to the crime story of Escape from New York, Meeting across the River discusses criminal activities such engaging in drug deals (Kaye and Brewer 23). Conversely, the movie shot most of the scenes at night to demonstrate the criminal activities and the actions of terrorists to revenge against the danger. The photographer is perfect in most of the scenes and straightly links the images to the theme (Kaye and Brewer 41). For instance, Dean Cundey combines some deep, electric blues and rain swept surfaces with well-organized cold orange composition from the flickering street fires.

Works Cited

Fernandes, Nuno, Ugur Lel, and Darius P. Miller. “Escape from New York: The Market Impact of Loosening Disclosure Requirements.” Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 95, no. 2, 2010, pp. 129-147.

Kaye, Jessica, and Richard Brewer. Meeting across the River. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2008.