Post Modernist Director Jim Jarmusch Essay

Jim Jarmusch is one of the prominent post- innovationalist coachs whose works produced a profound impression on the reference and frequently evoked kind of controversial emotions. His bourgeons argon rattling original and convey the authentic message of the designer, but the theater managing director often chooses such(prenominal) means of conveying his ideas that his works ar digd in different route by different pot. In fact, some great deal enjoy his records and believe they ar genius, while, on the new(prenominal) hand, at that place be people who do non re totallyy encounter his works and argon real critical in relation to his works.At the analogous time, it should be said that his pick outs be destined non just for specialists but similarly for the mass audience, though the directors ideas may be not always clear for ordinary viewers. Nevertheless, the artistic value of his works is genuinely much undeniable. As a rule, his films argon stylisticall y and artistically luxuriant. The director skillfully applies different stylistic devices which help oneself him convey his message to the audience. Among films created by Jim Jarmusch, it is doable to single out his film D avouch by impartiality, which depicts the cataclysm of primary(prenominal) characters who suck to pass through serious challenges in the hunt down of the film.At the same time, this film is a perfect sample of post-modernist films, where main characters confront severe reality of the modern world and where it is really serious to distinguish betwixt good and evil, right and wrong. In his film the indite shows that in the epoch of high technologies, there be still a lot of problems which tinge the manner of ordinary people and pay back the life very difficult and even tragic. On analyzing the film Down by Law by Jim Jarmusch, it is necessary to start with the call of the film because it gives discernwork forcet into the contents and message of th e film.In fact, the title of the film is quite symbolic, though it is practically directly indicates to the overwhelming power of fairness and its impact on an individual. The title of the film clearly conveys the message that the right can affect the life of people dramatically and, what is even more substantial, the law is not always right or good. Basically, it is possible to estimate that Jim Jarmusch attempts to moralize and crumble the traffichip betwixt an individual and the law.Judging from the title, the director stands on the prove that the law can oppress an individual, it can deprive a someone of freedom and punish severely. In this respect, the events depicted in the film argon quite logical and basically support first ideas that the title of the film evoke. To put it more precisely, the main characters, three inmates, Zack, Jack and Bob, are cellmates and the director attempts to show that all of them are innocent and were wrongfully accused of crimes they hav e never committed.Nevertheless, all of them are sentenced and, therefore, punished by the active levelheaded schema which executes the law established in the society. In such a way, the author uses the title to prepare the audience to the perception of the film and fitted interpretation of his main message and ideas. It gives insight concerning the problem raised in the film, but, at the same time, the title also creates certain emotional recite or mood which prepares the audience to perception of the film in the way the director finds the most suitable.To put it more precisely, the title has quite a shun connotation of the law. Traditionally, the law is associated with justice. The modern society lounge well-nighs used to see law as the basis of the hearty life, since laws regulate relations in the midst of people and support the existing well-disposed order and sociable stability. The violation of law naturally leads to the punishment of an individual through which t he individual is sibylline to be corrected and change his lifestyle and behavior.In early(a) words, the law is viewed as a turncock of the adaptation of the behavior of an individual to socially appropriate and acceptable norms. In such a context, the law is viewed as a positive concept since it maintains justice and social stability that are highly appreciated in the modern society. However, the title of the film suggests an option view on the law. Implicitly, Down by Law tends to win over the audience that the law is the punishment above all and its power is used to get people down, while there is belittled indication to any strain of justice in the title of the film.On the contrary, such a title quite an produces an impression that the law is not utterly just, if not to arrange unjust. In actuality, the title of the film refers probably to one of the major themes of the film the serviceman relationship amongst a man and the law. Remarkably, the author attempts to s how that the law is really oppressive that may be seen from the title of the film. However, such a conclusion is logical and the title is only a tool with the help of which the director conveys this idea.In actuality, the entire film shows that the law, as a tool of serviceman justice, is often blind. Jim Jarmusch shows that the law is not a synonym of justice. In stark contrast, the law is shown as a powerful tool which has little in common with the concept of justice (Jilesen, 236). Even thought the concept of justice is not clearly specialized by the director in the film, it is very difficult to get rid of impression that the law is wrong, at least in relation to the main characters, who got their sentences for crimes they had never committed.In actuality, the director manages to show that the concept of law, as a symbol of justice, is very conventional and it seems as if he wants to convince the audience that people should not solely rely on the law and the justice system at large, because there still remains the risk of errors and innocent people can go to prison house. At the same time, Jim Jarmusch pays a lot of attention to social relations between people. In fact, it is even possible to estimate that the director attempts to stress the significance of interpersonal relationships, which can outweigh even the relationship between a man and the law.Unlike the relationship of a man and the law, the relationship between people is not conventional. In stark contrast, they are very personal and people can learn more about each(prenominal) some other through parley and, in such a context, decisions of the juridical system made on the basis of law are absolutely irrelevant to people. What is meant here is the fact that the main characters of the film, the three cellmates, could grok each other as criminals. Formally, all of them were accused and sentenced to different terms.Therefore, they could naturally grok each other as criminals because the la w defined them as criminals. At the beginning of the film, the director actually shows that such stereotyping on the basis of decisions of the discriminative system can affect the perception of people. In such a situation, it seems to be quite natural that Zack and Jack soon come to blows because they grasp each other as criminals and, in actuality, their conflict is, to a noteworthy extent, provoked by stereotyping and biased attitudes of Zack and Jack to each other.In fact, it is the biases and stereotypes oblige on them by the law lead them to the conflict. However, the director of the film plain does not really believe that the law and the existing judicial system is worth trusting. Jim Jarmusch lays emphasis on the importance of interpersonal relationships which actually define the life of people and their perception of each other (Jilesen, 218).In other words, the director puts human relationships consistently higher than any conventional norms or regulations imposed on pe ople by laws, traditions, tc. In fact, it is through the interpersonal relationship between people their nature and character is revealed. In this respect, it should be said that from the point of view of the law all the three inmates are criminals, but through their interpersonal relationships, they reveal the fact that they are not as bad as they seem to be judging from their sentences and crimes they are accused of. On the other hand, the director avoids labeling his main characters as any positive or negative.He wants to show that his characters are real people, they are alive, they have their own feelings, emotions, ideals. Briefly speaking, they are humans and, therefore, they are imperfect. At any rate, Jim Jarmusch does not idealize his characters and shows that they have both positive and negative qualities. At the same time, he shows that the world, society get used to perceive people in such a way, i. e. through the antagonism between good and bad. In this respect, the u se of shameful and white colorise in the film is very symbolic.Traditionally, good and bad is associated with white and black color respectively. Jim Jarmusch has shot the film in black and white intentionally in order to convey his message to the audience. In fact, it is possible to view his film as a kind of mirror where the traditional perception of the modern world is reflected. To put it more precisely, people get used to perceive each other either positively or negatively, people are either good or bad. Hence, the choice of colorise in the film is very original and unusual for the late 1980s, when there were quite a few films shot in black and white.The director attempted to convince the audience that people get used to perceive this world only in two colors (Hertzberg, 175). Therefore, the use of black and white was quite logical since the film just shows people the world in the colors people get used to perceive the world in. In such a way, the director also warns people about the danger of the going away of other colors since, on perceiving the life through the antagonism of black and white, bad and good, wrong and right, people forget about intermediary states and other colors and concepts.In such a context, when black and white dominates in the film, it is the complexity of interpersonal relationships of the main characters that makes the film really colorful and bright. And again it is possible to speak about a profound attention of the author to interpersonal relations between people which are extremely important to each individual. Moreover, it is relationships with other people that make human life resolute and brings in certain sense. However, the director creates quite an unusual relationship between the main characters.For instance, Zack and Jack do not speak to each other after the conflict which occurs at the beginning of the film. Nevertheless, it does not prevent them from the mental institution of good relationships and it is even possible to speak about a grotesque but strong friendship between these two not very berateative men (Hertzberg, 153). Their friendship grows stronger as they come through all the hardships after the escape from the prison. In such a way, the author shows that human relations are very complicated and it is very difficult to understand what actually makes people help each other and become friends.At first glance, Zack and Jack have no chances to become friends, at least at the beginning of the film, but by the end of the film they cannot be viewed otherwise but friends, even though they do not talk to each other. Consequently, there should something else in humans that makes them feel confident in each other and become friends. In this respect, it is possible to speak about strong post-modernist trends that can be easily traced in the film, especially through the relationship between Zack and Jack.What is meant here is the fact that Jim Jarmusch actually challenges the existing so cial norms and purely materialistic view on human life. Obviously, he rejects the success of the law as a synonym of justice. Moreover, he even rejects traditional views on human relations and denies the rigid materialism of the conservative or traditional artists. His characters friendship cannot be rationally explained by a scientific theory or logic. Traditionally, normal or positive interpersonal relationships are established through verbal communication, but Zack and Jack have none.Instead, it is rather a kind of spiritual unity or spiritual communication between the main characters. In fact, their friendship is, to a certain extent, just about mystical. At any rate, it is irrational and does not meet any scientific approach that is very typical for post-modernist art at large and films in particular. In this respect, it should be said that, being a post-modernist director, Jim Jarmusch is very doubting about science as well as about existing stereotypes, social norms, and t he law (Suarez, 186).Instead, he argues that people are spiritually rich and it is impossible to explain logically and rationally all their actions and behavior. They can make errors and they can suffer from errors of other people or the existing social or justice system, but still they remain people. Basically, it seems as if the director cannot fully understand human beings, this is why he shows that some of their actions are defined by their internal inclinations or spiritual world.At the same time, the entire film may be viewed as a post-modernist balk against the existing social norms, stereotypes and biases, which limit humans by boundaries of social and legal conventions, norms and regulations. In such a context, the thriving escape of the main characters from the prison is very symbolic because, in such a way, they escaped from the social biases and stereotypes, they freed themselves not only literally as they got freedom to move wherever they wanted, but they also got mo ral and spiritual freedom.They escape from the prison of social stereotypes and unjust laws. Moreover, after the escape, Bob even found his love and became keen that implies that only freeing themselves people can become really happy. Thus, pickings into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that Jim Jarmusch is a successful post-modernist director, who attempted to convey his original ideas and his unique vision of the world and men through his works, among which it is possible to single out Down by Law.In this work, the author perfectly illustrated the imperfectness of the contemporary world and humans. He lays emphasis on the erroneous nature of the existing laws, stereotypes and traditional views of people which heavily rely on materialism, rationalism and logic. Instead, he appeals to human nature, to human spirituality and he underlines that people should strive for their own freedom from their own biases and stereotypes. People, according to Jim Jarmusch sh ould be really free as are his characters.