Tennessee Williams' 1955 play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" explores the avant-garde realities into which facades seem to dissipate. Through his iconoclasm of the patriarchal normalities of 1950s society, William embellishes characters as catalysts of taboos that reveal isolation, sexuality, and femininity. Although Richard Brooks' adaptation of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" bears obvious similarities to Williams' work, the clandestine discussions prevalent in the original are sidestepped in a manner intended to appeal to 1950s film audiences. By converting motifs to appear more socially acceptable, Brooks's depiction of the work restores the experimental ideas that Williams's detailed and lyrical description brought forward to conservative viewers, greatly altering the core values of each other . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From Act 1 through Act 3, the location of Williams' play is never moved; Maggie and Brick's bedroom is continually shown off despite the abundance of characters. As a common convention in plays, this typically allows the setting to become a catalyst for a theme or motif that the playwright has depicted. The backdrop to Williams' work is not only the most personal room in a house, but also the most intimate, and it is this quality that consistently emits a feeling of isolation; of lies. Brick is initially unable to truly talk to his wife about the disappearance of his best friend, Skipper, instead letting Maggie have a one-sided conversation that "never materializes". However, Brooks' film forgoes this and instead uses multiple exterior and interior locations to fit the film's conventions. Instead of starting in the bedroom, Brooks' adaptation depicts Brick attempting to jump over hurdles, an event only alluded to in the play, immediately dispelling the complexity of confinement that Williams was implying. Although she admits that they "occupy the same cage," Maggie's confession to Brick is perceived as less harsh than when revealed in the play, in which the ubiquitous "cage" setting makes the joke difficult to stomach. While grand, the Mississippi Delta Plantation house allows for less emotional solitude, instead letting each different room have a different emotional conclusion. With Brick and Big Daddy reconciling in the basement, Brooks' detachment from isolation aligns the film with the protocols of 1950s society, eliminating lying as a major theme. However, Brick also makes do with Maggie in their bedroom; an ending that draws no parallels to the original work. Completely forgoing a traditional resolution, Williams uses the essence of lies and isolation as much as possible, prolonging their presence until the last line of the film. With Brick remarking that it would be “funny” if Maggie's love were “true,” Williams' embrace of the bedroom further elevates the significance of lies through the exploitation of what should be an honest environment. By making a character still feel isolated in a typically intimate setting, the play eludes conservative audience expectations, instead highlighting communication as a path to lying. By removing this in favor of a "storybook" ending, Brooks' resolution of Brick and Maggie exercising intimacy ignores Williams' true intentions to expose the facades of underlying taboos. Representation of sexuality,femininity and masculinity However, in Brooks' adaptation the presentation of sexuality is also distorted, recalling the progressive movement that Williams exhibited in his work. In the original text, sexual desire is foregrounded in exposition and motivation. Maggie longs for Brick's intimacy and Brick longs for his best friend, Skipper. In the film Big Mamma asks Maggie if she "[makes] Brick happy?" rather than if it made him “happy in bed?” as she does in the play, illustrating the extent to which Brooks' adaptation goes to censor the overt displays of sexual affection highlighted in Williams' play. Exploiting Skipper and Brick's "pure" friendship, Williams alludes to the fact that the couple has homosexual tendencies. Although this cutting-edge revelation provides crucial moments in the comedy, the film completely omits homosexuality, instead focusing on the marital issues between Brick and Maggie. When Brick and Bid Daddy are getting to the crux of their conversation about Skipper, Maggie is asked to detail the truth. Instead of focusing on the friendship between Brick and Skipper; one that could be seen as “uncommon tenderness,” chronicles a difficult marriage, neglecting references to anything other than heterosexuality. However, in William's original work, the scene relies on the discussion of intimacy between Brick and Skipper. Citing Jack Straw and Peter Ochello, both of whom were left out of the film, Brick begins accusing Big Daddy of drawing the same conclusions about him and Skipper as he does about the "couple of dodging sissies." Revealing the bedroom highlighted by the passionate affection of its previous occupants, the motif of homosexuality appears to be absolute and authentic, with Big Daddy expressing genuine acceptance. On the contrary, in the film the absence of such speeches. Relying on marital and parietal difficulties as the primary catalyst for the lie, the film's disdain for unfiltered dialogue about sexuality diminishes the ramifications of Williams' work. Altering the film's message of sexuality is a conscious directorial choice. Brooks' conservative 1950s movie audiences were not as progressive as theater audiences and as a result the social views of the era had to be followed more closely to avoid cinematic alienation. Although sexuality is set aside in favor of traditional qualities, representations of masculinity and femininity also change considerably from each medium. By introducing her character through blunt dialogue delivered "screaming over the roar of the water," Maggie asserts masculine characteristics not seen in women of the time. Respected by feminists for her brash attitude and her relentless devotion to her marriage to Brick, she maintains a power unlike her peers. In contrast to his constant attempts to gain full control is Brick, who maintains a "cold air of detachment". Significantly more submissive and indecisive than his counterpart, his traits could be described as feminine, with a dependency aiding his every judgment. This is not replicated in Brooks' adaptation. Rather than exercising masculinity as she does in the play, Maggie is shown as desperate, as if she is afraid of not being feminine. Her strength is no longer steadfast, she relies more on Brick, who is shown as less submissive, to help fix their marriage. In the film, Brick informs Maggie of the news regarding her father's fate, stripping her of all the power she had in the same scene in the play. Having had the information revoked, Maggie is not depicted as being in front of everyone, but is instead shown trying to reach the male plateau.
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