Devil in a Blue Dress Rhetorical Analysis Novel vs. Film...

Devil in a Blue Dress: Novel vs. Film The hardboiled mystery novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley was first published in 1990 and was acknowledged by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, as one of his many favorite novelists (Easy Writer). Taking place in post-war Los Angeles, the story is narrated by an African American laborer, Easy Rawlins, who is transformed into an L.A. detective after being pulled in to the affairs of local townspeople. The successful novel continued onto screen adaptation in 1995 and was directed by Carl Franklin and starred Denzel Washington, who also financed and produced the film (Easy Writer). From a well-liked hardboiled detective novel to a contemporary film, viewers and readers are restricted from†¦show more content†¦In addition to the differences seen through Easy’s point of view, there are also several differences in how the author and director utilize certain effects to obtain a dark tone. The screen adaptation paid homage to the dark tone perceived in the novel through lighting and a voiceover narration from Easy. Several scenes in the movie appear to have darker lighting than others. This effect allows viewers to feel the mysterious and secretive mood that is intended. In the scene where Easy visits John’s nightclub the lighting in the movie portrays the room as very dark and musty. The room itself is very enclosed and secretive since the owner, John, was into the speakeasy business before Prohibition was repealed. The nightclub itself is for the black community and has a very low-key reputation. To show the secretive, mysterious reputation of the nightclub, Franklin shoots the scene with little to no lighting (Devil in a Blue Dress Movie 1995). Throughout the film the audience is led through Easy’s point of view, which is heard through his voiceover narration. According to a movie review by Edwin Jahiel, â€Å"Washingtons voice is rather too sweet, lacks the tough staccato†¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ . Again, we see actors blocking take effect as Washington attempts to live up to his typical role as the â€Å"good guy†. The movie takes a much different approach towards Easy’s character, which results in a smooth, legato narration. His short, flowingShow MoreRelatedAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 Pagesindividual s inner feelings emphasis on the imagination over reason and intuition over facts urbanization versus nostalgia for nature burden of the Puritan past Genre/Style: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · literary tale character sketch slave narratives, political novels poetry transcendentalism Effect: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · helps instill proper gender behavior for men and women fuels the abolitionist movement allow people to re-imagine the American past Historical Context: ï‚ · ï‚ · expansion of magazines, newspapers, andRead MoreMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 PagesFILM LANGUAGE FILM LANGUAGE A Semiotics of the Cinema Christian Metz Translated by Michael Taylor The University of Chicago Press Published by arrangement with Oxford University Press, Inc. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637  © 1974 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. English translation. Originally published 1974 Note on Translation  © 1991 by the University of Chicago University of Chicago Press edition 1991 Printed in the United States of America 09 08 07 6Read MoreLanguage of Advertising20371 Words   |  82 Pages INTRODUCTION This graduation paper is devoted to the investigation of peculiarities of advertising language. However, the number of works devoted to the analysis of advertising language, is rather significant, though we witness advertising English is developing very fast. The reason is that advertising is very popular nowadays and a lot of people want to know about advertising language. An advertising practitionerRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagestheory focuses attention on the human issues in organization ‘There is nothing so practical as a good theory’ How Roethlisberger developed a ‘practical’ organization theory Column 1: The core contributing social sciences Column 2: The techniques for analysis Column 3: The neo-modernist perspective Column 4: Contributions to business and management Four combinations of science, scientific technique and the neo-modernist approach reach different parts of the organization Level 1: Developing the organization