Streetcar Named Desire

Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play that revolves around Blanche, a southern spinster who cannot adapt to the changes occurring in the South.  I read the play in an Intro to Theater class here at TCU, and I really enjoyed Streetcar.  The relationships between characters and events that occur create an excellent storyline that ultimately leads the reader capitvated and astonished by the ending.  I have also seen the movie, and I think they do an excellent job of showcasing the strengths of the play.  The play really concentrates on discussing the adaptation of the old South to the new South and pokes fun at the "blue-collar man."  Blanche centers her life around creating a perfect world, with courting and mystery.  When she loses Bella Reuve, she almost loses a part of herself.  She then goes on basically become a prostitute at "the tarantula" as she calls it, and loses her teaching job because she has sex with a 17 year old boy.  She never really recovered from the death of her lover, when she discovered he was gay and he then committed suicide.  Stanley, on the other hand, represents the new South, which Williams protrays as brutish and demanding.  Stanley is a dominant character who is selfish, strong, and powerful.  He uses the "Napoleonic code" to tell his wife and Blanche's sister, Stella, that what is hers is his.  However, that does not necessarily work the other way around, showcasing the new South is still a patriarchial society where the man is in charge and the wife is submissive.  Stanley, the new South, ultimately crushes Blanche, the old south, through what Blanche calls "deliberate creulty."  Stanley ruins Blanche's relationship with a man she may marry and eventually rapes Blanche.  The rape can be seen as the new South raping the old South of its qualities and traditions, in order to make it disappear, which happens to Blanche in the end when she is sent to a mental institution.  Stella is the bridge between the old and new.  She understands Blanche's need for tradition and old customs, but has experienced the new South.  She eventually chooses old over new, because unlike Blanche, she is able to adapt in order to survive.

When converting a play into a movie, some things are lost, but the movie uses a few techniques to keep the Gothic feel alive.  Though the movie is black and white, the shadowing of the setting and characters creates an eerie, dark feel.  In addition, the setting looks old and tattered, which is similar to the old Southern Gothic plantation.  Since there are no stage directions, the characters must act out the directions, which is done successfully be all the characters.  Overall, I really enjoyed Streetcar Named Desire.