Baz Luhrmann’s the Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby (2013) film directed by Baz Luhrmann is adapted from the classic 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald that explores the tales of the American Dream the idea that anyone (regardless of race, class, gender or nationality) in America can achieve success and prosperity with hard work and determination. In order to illustrate this fairytale of the American Dream, Baz Luhrmann successfully and beautifully uses a formalistic approach with his entertaining and captivating eye-popping visuals and big-production sets that are grandiose and over-the-top. Set in the roaring 20s, Midwest native Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) moves East to New York in search of the American Dream. Nick moves into a modest home in West Egg compared to his next-door neighbor. Home to the mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), Gatsby purposely lives directly across the bay from the Buchanan's Nick's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her aristocrat husband, Tom (Joel Edgerton) located in East Egg with high hopes of Daisy returning to him. The Great Gatsby reflects themes and ideologies based on the American Dream, social classes and past and future, as Nick witnesses within and without the corruptness of the once mesmerizing world of the wealthy which captures a tale of impossible love, dreams and tragedy.

The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway and told in a non-linear fashion that is disrupted with his flashbacks reminiscing of the past, exemplifying themes of the American Dream, social classes, and past and future. Over time, the American Dream has evolved and divided into two versions the old and the new. The old American Dream holds a vision of building a prosperous life with a family and grand love, while the new American Dream solely pertains to getting rich. With this, Gatsby symbolizes both the old and new American Dream because his story arc resembles a complicated and immoral rags-to-riches tale. Coming from a background of poor farmers from North Dakota, an ambitious Gatsby left home at age 16 in search of something greater than himself.

Along the way, he comes across millionaire Dan Cody, to which he diligently serves to, and travels alongside at sea. Unfortunately, when Dan passes, Gatsby is cheated and inherits none of his wealth, but the memories. The memories did not suffice Gatsby, and so he turned to crime in the bootlegging business in order to attain the wealth he's always dreamt of as a little boy wishing upon the stars. But even with wealth, Gatsby's vision of the American Dream is incomplete without Daisy, and so he risks everything in hopes to win her back. It's why he has a green light at the end of his dock, hoping that she'll notice and come back to him. The haunting green light that is seen throughout the film symbolizes the American Dream, as it represents Gatsby's hope for a future with Daisy and his endless devotion to his dream.

In the beginning and in the end of the film, there is a green light pulsating in the abstract dark. To further signify the importance of this green light, there are numerous shots of where we see Gatsby's back as he attempts to reach out for this mysteriously haunting green light. In one of the ending scenes, we see Gatsby's silhouette with an outstretched hand reaching for the green light across the bay as Nick narrates, Gatsby believed in the green light. The orgastic future that year by year, recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter tomorrow we will run faster Stretch out our arms farther And one fine morning So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly, into the past. Although Gatsby's dream was impossible to attain, Nick finds him admirable for his optimism and perseverance for a better life.

Additionally, throughout the film, there's a glamorization of the excessive parties that is a reminder of the shallowness and vanity of the characters. All the extravagant weekly parties that Gatsby had thrown during the summer were all in hopes of Daisy coming. Baz Luhrmann's extravagant cinematic stylization, music and use of settings & decor helped bring this Age of Decadence to life. The music in The Great Gatsby is influenced in Rap/R&B music as it represents the genre of music that in our own time performs the political and argumentative work on probing race and class based identity. Baz Luhrmann's variety of music from Young and Beautiful, (overall love theme song) A Little Party Never Killed Nobody, (representing euphoria of the 20s) and Love is Blindness (Myrtle's Death) further enhances the story telling, adding commentary on each scene. Going back to the first Gatsby party scene, the shots and angles along with the music gives us an accurate depiction of what the 20s would be like given the accompaniment of blaring jazz and a birds-eye view of New York City that introduces us to how colossal the size of Gatsby's parties were.

Afterwards, the camera quickly pans down to the loads of uninvited people driving into the Gatsby Estate in their cars. Subsequently tailing the back of an automobile, to show the extent of Gatsby's entrance, the view then pulls out to a long shot of Gatsby's enormous Gothic mansion, to which the lush greenery and extravagant water fountain accompany it. Everyone's dressed in their best attire and sequined/shiny flapper gowns and accessories with decadent pearls and headbands. It's the same faces and zero meaning that further illustrates that everything and everyone is a fasade whom holds superficial materialistic importance. Like how at the end of the night when everyone's gone, the mansion is left empty again, leaving Jay, the common man, alienated and isolated.

The endless summer parties and the spent confetti on the ground is a commentary on the cycle that Jay keeps repeating, and visits the ideology of future versus past. Jay is struggling to hold on to his past where 5 years ago, him and Daisy were together. Upon first meeting Daisy, Gatsby intended on having a short fling as he was infatuated with Daisy's social class and wealth, but inevitably, accidentally ended up falling in love. Since day one, Gatsby was not who he claimed to be. Dressed in an officer uniform, Gatsby deceived Daisy to be someone from the same social status, but he was instead poor with no family and at the government's disposal. In attempts to restart his relationship with Daisy, along with the status he's created for himself. Jay is disillusioned believing that he can turn back time. In addition, the Outside versus Insiders ideology is shown through Jay's neglect for his past, as he made up stories and put on a fasade that has essentially led him to be empty.

It did not matter how hard Jay tried to fit in with the wealthy. Based off of the ideology of Democratic versus Hierarchical, the Buchanan's along with the rest of the aristocrats failed to accept him. Within the hierarchy, there is emphasis on the individual and elite class entitled to a larger share of power compared to other common-dwellers. To simply put it, Daisy and Jay could never work because of Daisy's aristocratic perspective of everything being handed to her, born with money and privilege, there are no consequences whatsoever. That's why after she ends up killing Myrtle, she chooses Tom despite all her feelings towards Jay, she cannot afford to lower her standards to what she was raised in. It is also why those classified in the Hierarchy no longer have aspirations of having the American Dream, but instead attempt to maintain their social class.

The four geographical locations in the film West Egg, East Egg, The Valley of Ashes and New York City further denote the Democratic versus Hierarchical. In West Egg, there's Gatsby with emergence of new money, along with the established aristocracy of the 1920s. Right across the bay from Gatsby is East Egg, where the Buchanan's reside possessing social status and power, further symbolizing the old upper class that continues to dominate the rest of America. Then, there is the Valley of the Ashes, home to George and Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, where symbolize the moral decay of American society hidden by the glittering surface of upper-class extravagance. And finally there is New York City simply chaotic, as it's associated with the depraved lies that Nick perceives in the East.

In the end, Gatsby's choice to lead down an immoral path of shortcuts for wealth and materialism over the original vision of the American Dream hard work and integrity ultimately leads him to his death. Similarly to real life, Gatsby's story can easily be seen in today's society as the old American Dream succumbs and the new American Dream prevails. Like in the film, there are corrupted political people and people who make immoral choices based of their despairing desires to achieve the American Dream.

If there is any moral to The Great Gatsby's version of the American Dream, it's that anything short-term will never last, in comparison to the diligent hard-bearing work and integrity of long-lasting riches. And that is why there are so many people who seek out this American Dream and end up either 1) never achieving it initially or 2) fraudulently making their way up to have it all being ripped out from under.

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