Odessa Steps Scene in “Battleship Potemkin” Film

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Scenes Analysis
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

A part of a larger movie called Battleship Potemkin and directed by Sergei Eisenstein, the scene under analysis displays the fear and anguish of the people, who happened to be the target of the Cossacks, who march through the crowd of people and slaughter them in a most cruel and detached manner.

The scene shocks with its simplicity and graphic violence, yet it seems to have a nearly mesmerizing value due to the powerful message that it conveys. Although the scene is rather homogenous and defining the element that contributes the most to the overall impression is quite complicated, it is the point, at which the buggy with a bay in it starts rolling down the stairs that the symbolism in the movie reaches its pinnacle of expressivity.

Scenes Analysis

The scene, in which the buggy with a small child in it rolls down the stars with no one whatsoever to save the infant can be viewed as one of the most intense parts of the movie as it is packed with symbols and hidden innuendoes. Particularly, the metaphor of the infant and the buggy representing the nation can be seen quite clearly in the specified part of the movie (International School History, 2014).

One might argue that other scenes, such as the one, in which a young boy is wounded and held in his mother’s arms, are nonetheless powerful and, therefore, manage to get the necessary message across more successfully. However, the scenes such as the one mentioned above can be deemed as far too obvious, with the symbolic elements being too on-the-nose; as a result, their dramatic value drops greatly (Silverblatt, 2014).

In contrast to the scene with a wounded boy, the one, in which the buggy rolls down the stairs, can be considered packed with hidden innuendoes. On the one hand, the meaning of the scene is rather basic and is supposed to signify the dread of the situation. A child is left on its own, and the buggy rolls down the stairs, therefore, increasing the chances of injuring the child, yet no one cares to help the baby and save its life.

However, a closer look on the subject matter will reveal that the buggy with a baby in it may symbolize the future of the state, which is being trampled on. The baby, in its turn, can be viewed as the symbol for the people of the state, who are abandoned entirely and have little to no control over the situation. Therefore, they are forced to follow the social and behavioral patterns that are foisted onto them by the people, who happened to be at the helm and took full advantage of the situation by destroying the lives of millions of citizens.

Conclusion

Being one of the most influential movies of the era, Battleship Potemkin in general and the famous steps scene in particular can be considered a prime example of a movie message being delivered in a very efficient manner.

Although the film in question is silent, it still manages to render the tragedy of the era by incorporating a series of vivid and memorable images that provide the audience with a lot of food for thoughts. Although the scene in question can be considered less graphic compared to other elements of the movie, it still shocks the viewer into paying attention and renders the tragedy of the event perfectly.

Reference List

Silverblatt, Art (2014). Media literacy: Keys to interpreting media messages (4th ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger.

International School History. (2014). Eisenstein – Odessa steps sequence. Web.

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Odessa Steps Scene in “Battleship Potemkin” Film

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