Compared to the usual films we find worthy of waiting in lines and spending money on, A Streetcar Named Desire has no "movie magic", a million-dollar budget, or what I usually call as the Hollywood badaboom. In fact, the movie was in black and white, a 1951 film to be exact – something that most of us would spell as B-O-R-I-N-G. To make things sound even "better," it had only one setting and less than five major characters. The worst part is nobody was abducted by aliens!!! Awwwwwww! Yet, this movie definitely goes on top of my A-list precisely because although it lacks the cinematic glitter, A Streetcar Named Desire is better than Hollywood gold.
The story revolves around three individuals – Stella, a woman who abandons her rich, comfortable life in exchange of her husband’s love; Stanley, a street-smart, "all-menace masculinity" brute, who is also emotionally dependent on his wife Stella and Blanche, the fragile, insecure, sex-driven and disturbed woman deeply affected by the series of misfortunes in her life, including her husband’s suicide.
Blanche and Stanley were opposites. Stanley was barumbado while Blanche showed aristocratic elegance and gentleness, even if she lost the family’s ancestral mansion and her job as school teacher. Instead of realizing how much she has lost, Blanche created a world of what she thought was acceptable to society’s standards. She veered away from reality by telling romanticized stories and illusions. Stanley, on the other hand, says everything he wants, straight from the gut. Their irreconcilable differences bring tension in their small house.
Seeing Blanche loosely coordinated with reality, I have learned one thing. You may fool everybody but not yourself. No matter how you cover your weaknesses and desires, you can never force your mind, especially your heart, to deny it. Suffering, pain and weaknesses are part of our lives. It is in trying to overcome, not deny, these things that we take a step higher.
Many of us try to romanticize our realities instead of accepting it and working hard to make it better. As a nation, we often blame others for our miseries and try to rationalize our lack of improvement. We were taught not to see poverty but rather coin it as a lifestyle towards salvation. What we have become as a nation is a product of everything, be it the imperialists, the politicians, the tyrant, the church or even God, but not ourselves.
We should learn more from Blanche and see how everything else went wrong because she chose not to face her trials. She lost her chance to be happy, settle down and have a family.
Stanley, on the other hand, portrays the working class where survival is not an assurance. Although he tried to play it smart, he was also caught in his inability to control his temper and sexual desires.
We too can learn a lot from Stanley. Taming our desires is important if we want to live harmoniously with others. Our freedom in expressing what we believe is right is limited to whether we are stepping on others’ freedom to live peacefully.
There are a lot of things to learn in every chapter of Blanche and Stanley’s life but the most important thing I have realized is desires keep us alive – a fuel to make us go by another day despite the obstacles. But, it is also our desires that can destroy us and drive us crazy.
A Streetcar Named Desire is more than a portrayal of life. For me, it’s life itself. The passion and weaknesses of Tennessee Williams’ characters make them human. This most important factor makes the film so timeless. Though in black and white, A Streetcar Named Desire is a film full of vibrant as well as dark colors of life.