Category: Fences

This film is a unique and exact representation of flawed-inner-city patriarchy where the main characters emotionally and physically express the intended message of the scriptwriter. The film demonstrates the experiences of Black-American culture by emphasizing the dialect and using the actors to represent the desired ethnic group. The setting of the film is well-demonstrated by the old buildings, communal lifestyle, the dressing code, the automobiles used, and the street matches. All these are aimed at giving the audience a pictorial representation of several decades ago in an all-black American community. The relationship of the main actors is set to directly define the family relationship between the actors with a unique resemblance between Troy and his two sons. The actors use vigor and emotions in the dialogues and the vocal intonation gives a vivid illustration of the mood in each scene. The actors conduct dialogues in a natural, soulful, and profane manner as intended by the director and scriptwriter. Furthermore, in each stance, the director incorporates relevant music to supplement and give the film life, vigor, and cinematographic experience.

The setting is well defined in the scenes where the majority of events occur in the cramped patch of backyard. The appearance of buildings trees and other objects gives a clear indication that the play was not staged. The setting demonstrates that the family is not rich and the neighborhood consists of people who are just living below average lifestyles. This is further supplemented by the unique and interactive use of cinematography. The cinematography gives it a lively appearance, crystal clear flow and helps the audience in creating a real mental picture of the incidences as they occur.

The costume used reflects the attire worn in the middle of the 20th century. Less color in the clothes, use of simple and less stylish clothes, dresses, the baseball jersey, the garbage collectors’ apron, and all the others costumes give an actual representation of the intended message. The use of appropriate costumes has been used to further denote timeframe, profession, race, and other significant themes. The music used is majorly Jazz which is a representation of Black-American culture in the mid-19th century. Additionally, some effects are randomly used and help in developing the cinematographic experience intended by the director. The scenes and the sound are in great synchrony and the sound is highly audible with no echoes or other errors.

The director does a good job of displaying the patriarchy of the main character and how the title of the film depicts the intended themes. Emotional and physical vigor intended by the director gives the film power and this is seen by how each actor plays their role with passion and in a naturalistic manner. The director does a good job of expressing the themes of race, men and masculinity, dreams, hopes, plans, betrayal, dissatisfaction, duty, and family. However, the director incorporates all the themes in equal measure making it difficult for the audience to clearly understand the main theme that is being emphasized. Additionally, the focus is on the olden days’ events (20th century) making it difficult for the audience to relate the scenes with the modern world.

The film is well lit making it appear like all the scenes utilize natural light. Front lighting and backlighting are well balanced in such a way that there are no shadows to distract or obscure the view of the audience. Extreme brightness has been truncated to allow the film to have an olden appearance. I believe that the film was well produced and each scene demonstrated the power and emotional prowess that allows the audience to get the desired mental and emotional experience.

Presented Period

After going through the film Fences and the play by the same name, it is evident that the authors present various events that describe American society in the 1950s. As a sanitation worker, Troy Maxson missed an opportunity to become a baseball player because of their age (Fences). These issues echo the predicaments African Americans appear to face during this period. Racism discourages most people from being courageous since their plights appear to be predetermined. Troy applies this understanding to prevent Cory from pursuing similar dreams.

Current Events

August Wilson examined several events that occurred place in the United States around the mid-20th century to develop his story. For instance, cases of racial discrimination were common in the country, while African Americans were against the malpractice. Nonetheless, the pursuit of the American dream proved problematic for the majority of African Americans. These issues are evident in the lives of Cory and Troy. Those who wanted to become professional players, such as John Gibson, encountered various barriers. Additionally, the psyche prior to the Vietnam War also influenced people’s goals in the society (Abbas 12). Despite such issues, African Americans supported the bonds of their families and remained resolute in pursuing their goals.

Wilson’s Personal Life

Wilson was born and grew up in Hill District, Pittsburg. His mother used to work as a cleaner to meet the demands of her six children. The family members would struggle to have decent lives, a common issue most African Americans faced in their respective communities (Hadi 227). The story of Troy, who he presents as a sanitation worker, echoes his experiences with menial jobs at a tender age. Troy’s decision not to support his son to become a baseball player echoes the intentions of Wilson’s mother to make him a lawyer.

Understanding Wilson’s Works

After his move to pursue a career as a writer, Wilson decides to rely on his experiences to expose the challenges African Americans encounter in the 1950s. He identified how the majority of them were unable to achieve their goals (Wilson 28). He also remained committed to his family, a theme that would feature prominently in most of his works, including Fences. Just like Wilson, African Americans appear to receive additional incentives for remaining committed to transforming their lives.

References

Abbas, Mohsen K. “Larger than life: Mythicizing the Life and Death of August Wilson’s Fences’ Hero.” Journal of Scientific Research in Arts Language & Literature, vol. 1, no. 1 (2021), pp. 1-25.

Hadi, Inam H. “Sublimation and the New Culture in August Wilson’s Fences.” International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, vol. 11, no. 1, 2020, pp. 221-235.

Washington, Denzel, director. Fences. Paramount Pictures, 2016.

Wilson, August. Fences: A Play by August Wilson. New York: Plume, 1986.

Introduction

For such a creative assignment, I chose to work with Fences. I decided to concentrate on the film, directed by Denzel Washington, and sometimes refer to the play, written by August Wilson, to diversify the work and make it more credible. Fences tell us a story about Troy, a man with a complicated personality, and his family: his wife Rose, son Cory, and brother Gabriel. The man’s relationships and his family are challenging, and it is shown in different scenes properly. However, in the film Fences, directed by Denzel Washington, the scene after Troy’s fight with Cory does not show the full spectrum of the main character’s emotions, and the blurred background distracts viewers. Furthermore, the film lacks scenes with Rose and a detailed description of her personality, experiences, and emotions.

Although the movie evokes empathy in viewers and translates the deep feelings of the characters, at some moments, it lacks showing the full spectrum of the emotions the person may experience at that moment. For instance, there was a scene where Troy was rude to Cory and provoked him into a fight. The son could not beat his father and gave up. The man became arrogant and aggressive and started beating the boy. After that, Cory went away; this is the scene that will be discussed. Troy was out of his mind and started talking to himself: he challenged death to come and face him (Washington, 2016). This scene is essential in the film and aims to show how much the main character suffers, how ambivalent his emotions are, and what exactly happens in his head. However, it does not evoke much empathy; it feels like it lacks profound replicas and expressions about Troy’s pain, the scene is not built properly, and viewers cannot identify themselves with him and his emotions.

The Fences Film and Play

In general, the film and the play show Troy as a narcissistic, arrogant, and highly traumatized person who has a war in his head with himself and cannot find peace. The moment when the main character provokes Cory and tells him to get out of the house shows how he truly feels about his son. Throughout the plot, the father constantly emphasizes the son’s inferiority and flaws and tries to push Cory away, suppressing any manifestation of closeness between them. He did so to oppress any talents in the boy so he not to achieve success because Troy was highly insecure and could not bear his son’s achievements. At the beginning of the mentioned scene, he translates his contempt for the boy, and the expression of his emotions is appropriately shown. Thus, the beginning of the set makes viewers profoundly understand what exact thoughts and feelings Troy has.

However, the end of the scene could be much better. Although the moment when the man was talking to himself and asking death to take him lasted approximately one minute, he said only several replicas. The primary way how people translate their emotions is through non-verbal communication. However, the words are not the least important, and the scene lacks them. It feels like it could be more profound, the character could show more pain, suffering, and even madness, but the scene breaks off. In addition to that, the background is blurred during Troy’s speech and at the moment of his derealization. It seems that the director aimed to show how the man perceived reality then: the world was vague and unstable for him. However, it felt unnecessary and irrelevant and interrupted concentration on Troy.

The main problem with the scene was that it left the viewer uninformed and unexplained about what was going on in Troy’s head. It was not sufficient, and it felt like it did not satisfy the emotional hunger of the people who were watching this. Furthermore, the actor did not show his full emotions in that scene, and it feels like he concealed something deep down in himself. The music that was playing during his monologue was not discordant enough. It has to evoke fear, anxiety, confusion, and empathy and make the watcher feel the pain, suffering, and madness the man is in.

To make this episode of the film better, firstly, I would remove the blurred background to not distract the viewer from the main character and his expression and make them concentrate on Troy. Secondly, I would add the other discordant music that will guide the watcher through the full spectrum of Troy’s madness, narcissism, fear, doubt, and suffering. Music is essential to evoking emotions and setting the right mood in people. Then, I would make the actor add more emotions to his expressions; he has to feel this madness, forget who he truly is, merge with his character, go through this suffering, and show the viewer what he feels. Furthermore, I would add more replicas to his monologue, more drastic and disconnected phrases that are chaotically thrown from the man’s mouth. It would also be a great idea to add screaming or loud moaning about exaggerating the scene’s tension. All these corrections would make the viewer set a profound connection with the character and feel his madness and suffering in full.

Talking the film and the play in general, it lacks scenes with Rose. This character is gripping and deserves more attention than she is given. The woman has spent her whole life with Troy, the man with a highly complicated personality. She managed to deal with him and build a family. Despite Troy cheating on her, she accepted his daughter and became her mother. She was an extremely kind, wise, and warm-hearted woman who sometimes cared about others more than about herself. Her decisions and actions deserved much more attention and should have been shown more throughout the film and the play. It would be gripping to understand what drives her, what intentions she has, what feelings she experiences, and much more.

Additionally, it would be good to show how exactly she makes decisions. For instance, integrating scenes where she does something and the voiceover narrates her thoughts or the scenes where she sits and talks to herself, having profound monologues, and drawing conclusions would complement Fences. Furthermore, almost all the settings are taken in the backyard or kitchen, which bores the watcher. I would diversify it and add new locations, such as the one where Troy works, where he spends time with his lover, or where Cory lives his life and spends time beside the house.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in the film Fences, which was directed by Denzel Washington, the scene where Troy has a monologue after the fight with Cory is not filmed and composed appropriately. It lacks proper discordant music, expression of the main character’s madness and suffering, and replicas that would translate into his current state. Furthermore, the blurred background in the scene distracted the viewer from concentrating on Troy and was irrelevant. Additionally, the whole film’s and play’s plot lacks scenes with Rose, her emotions, and thoughts, and it is not always clear what drives her, why she made such conclusions, and what she actually feels. Moreover, it would be good to add some new locations to the plot to diversify it.

Work Cited

Washington, Denzel. Fences. Paramount Pictures, 2016.

In his play Fences, the playwright August Wilson presents audiences with a family at the cusp between complete segregation and the civil rights movement, and between demoralization and stability. The family of garbage worker Troy Maxson is attempting to advance from the hopeless poverty of his childhood and Rose’s confused family relationships. This family is trying to make their way in a world still largely set against African Americans (Wilson, The Ground on Which I Stand).

They are trying to create a stable family, in the face of a history of deliberate destruction of the families of enslaved people. They do not always succeed, although, by play’s end, there is a promise for success in the next generation. One continuing symbol of their efforts to achieve some measure of status in their community is the fence that Troy intends to build at the start of the play. The fence can affirm Troy’s ownership and the stability of the family.

The fence is a barrier against the intrusion and oppression of racism and serves to exclude the rebellious son, as well. The fence appears in the gospel song that Rose sings to herself, as a symbol of the spiritual protection that she seeks and hopes to acquire. Fences, both in the title, and in the dialogue of the play, serve to retain respectability and what passes for normality in a heavily segregated society, and to keep out the forces that threaten that respectability – the oppression of racism, lust, filial disrespect, and other evils.

Alan Nadel, in his essay entitled “Boundaries, Logistics, and Identity: The Property of Metaphor in Fences and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” points out that the notion of a fence is tied up with, “the idea of property” and “giving propriety” (Nadel).¹ As Nadel reminds the reader, in the Western world, there is a long tradition that building a fence around something confers ownership (Nadel 86).

Troy is perhaps trying to build a fence, weekend by weekend, at Rose’s urging, to assert his ownership over his home and family that he, and especially Rose, value so dearly. We know that Rose cherishes her family because Rose expresses her ambition that, “I never wanted any half nothing in my family” (Wilson, Fences Act 2, Scene 1). She wants to keep this wholeness, this propriety, and to accomplish this, she has striven to be, “everything a wife could be” (Wilson, Fences Act 2, Scene 1).

As Bono puts it, “Rose wants to hold onto you” (Wilson, Fences Act 2, Scene 1). Thus, the fence demarcates the property that Troy has acquired (albeit with the help of his brother Gabriel’s disability payment) and the family that Rose has created with Troy (Wilson, Fences Act 2, Scene 5).²

This fence is also intended in some way to keep at bay the intrusion of the racism that he deplores at his job. Nadel asserts that this fence is part of Troy’s “struggle to internalize the Mason-Dixon line (Nadel 89)”. Outside the fence, Troy chafes at being assigned the less desirable jobs solely based on his race (although he does not have a driver’s license) (Wilson, Fences Act 1, Scene 4). He protests how unfair it is that he could not play baseball in the white leagues, saying, “If you could play, they ought to have let you play” (Wilson, Fences Act 1, Scene 1).

Inside the fence, however, he can be the breadwinner, husband, and father. He even has authority inside the fence, including to kick his (in his opinion) disrespectful son and belongings out, saying, “They’ll be on the other side of that fence” (Wilson, Fences Act 2, Scene 5). For Troy, the fence is a way of “reclaiming ground” in the same way that Wilson himself hopes that African American theatre will reclaim the ground lost in centuries of oppression (Kushner).

Fences have a religious and spiritual symbolism in the play Fences, for example, as expressed by Rose. Wilson has Rose sing a gospel song to herself, providing what the playwright, as quoted by Murphy, calls, “an emotional reference for the information” (Murphy). The hymn asks,

“Jesus be a fence all around me every day.

Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way”. (Wilson, Fences Act 1, scene 2)

She sings this after she and Troy have shared what is presumably a steamy Friday night together. Troy, after a trying week, has declared, “I’m gonna drink just enough so I can handle it” (Wilson, Fences Act 1, Scene 1). He has also announced that he will be “still stroking” Rose come Monday morning (Wilson, Fences Act 1, Scene 1). Rose’s hymn pleads for protection against sin and temptation so that it may seem an odd choice after all this enthusiastic marital activity.

However, as David Arnold asserts, “Wilson often uses music to signify the presence of something numinous or spiritual” (Arnold 200). As a committed Christian, Rose could be concerned that her love for her husband could distract her from loving God. Additionally, perhaps the very happiness that she feels right then seems to require supernatural protection from external threats. Rose’s defensive impulse could be a foreshadowing of the destructive intrusion of extramarital lust and adultery into her marriage.

There is a rich heritage of symbolism associated with fences, walls, and gates that Wilson is tapping in the title and the body of the play. They play many roles. As Bono says, “Some people build fences to keep people out…and other people build fences to keep people in” (Wilson, Fences Act 2, Scene 1).

The fence in this play is a symbol of Troy’s manhood as a husband and father in a racist nation, an effort to keep their family and property together, and a symbolic appeal to God to keep out sin and evils. How successful these efforts are depends on how Lyons, Cory, and Raynell all manage in the new era that follows Troy and Rose’s lifetime.

Works Cited

Arnold, David L. G. “Seven Guitars: August Wilson’s Economy of Blues.” Elkins, Marilyn. August Wilson:A Casebook. Florence: Routledge, 2013. 199. Web.

Judaism 101. Halakhah: Jewish Law. 2014. Web.

Kushner, Tony. “Author Notes.” Program. Costa Mesa: South Coast Repertory Company, 2010. Web.

Murphy, Brenda. “A Review: Understanding August Wilson by Mary Bogumil.” MELUS 26.1 (2001): 256-258. Web.

Nadel, Alan. “Boundaries, logisitics, and identity: The property of metaphor in “Fences” and “Joe Turner’s come and gone”.” Nadel, Alan. May Alll Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson. Ed. Alan Nadel. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1993. 86. Web.

Wilson, August. “Fences.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th. New York: Pearson, 2013. 1833-1883. Print.

The Ground on Which I Stand. New York: The Theatre Communications Group, 2001. Web.

Footnotes

• 1-This scholar may also be referring the notion often expressed regarding the Talmud, that the Talmud is a fence around the law of the Torah, preventing people from breaking one of the laws by mistake (Judaism 101). What is inside the fence of the law is protected both from people straying, and from people attacking it.
• 2-Wilson has expressed his feelings about the sacrifices that African Americans like the character Gabriel made in wartime as follows: “We left our blood in France and Korea and the Philippines and Vietnam, and our only reward has been the deprivation of possibility and the denial of our moral personality.” (Wilson, The Ground on Which I Stand)