Liberators And The Tramp Intertextual Analysis Essay, Research Paper

Liberators and The Tramp Intertextual AnalysisLiberators, a documentary film produced by Nina Rosenblum and William Miles illustrates theheroic efforts of African-Americans during the second world war. It is about the blacksoldiers fighting a war on two fronts; in Germany against Nazism, and in America againstracism. All this is brought out by archival film footage, narrative voice overs andinterviews with black veterans and Jewish victims of war. By the same token, BarbaraBaynton’s short story, The Tramp deals with a woman’s fight against depr There are manysimilarities and differences between print and non-print texts. The documentary entertainsthe audience through emotional recollections and powerful voice overs, and informs witharchival footage. An example of this is in the exposition when there is a mid shot of theblack soldiers loading ammunition into cannons. This sets out the fact that theAfrican-Americans are just the same as the normal white American male soldier, putting theirlives at risk for the good of the country. Marching s Despite the fact that short storiesare unable to use multimedia techniques (i.e. audio-visual), characterisation anddescriptive language makes up for it. Baynton creates a setting in which everybody conformsto their stereotype; the boundary rider is tough but kind, the woman is easily dominated,and the tramp is a slathering pervert. Through the actions and reactions of the characters,Baynton attacks society’s acceptance of female compliance. Such an example is when thenarrative voice says “It was hem Humanity’s dominance over nature and males’ dominance overfemales is another example of a dual front conflict and links The Tramp strongly withLiberators. Liberators also tries to expel a stereotype; that of Negroes, and likewise to glorify them.

This is done indirectly through a Jewish survivor’s account of his rescue from aconcentration camp by the African-American regiment. The recollection takes place in theconcentration camp where he was rescued (Buchenwald) and he talking to no-one in particular. One of the veterans is standing beside him and the cameraman is standing about two metersaway from the pair giving a medium torso/head shot. The cameramaaAnother example ofstereotyping in the Tramp is in the quote “She was not one to provoke skirmishes, even withthe cow.” The word “skirmish” means a little battle and is normally only used in a militarycontext. By exaggerating a scuffle into a battle, it highlights the contrast inaggressiveness between the woman and the man. The woman will call any little tussle a warand try to avoid it at all costs, whereas the man tries to induce them. Also, the word”provoke” confirms the submissiveness of the woman But the main advantage the film text hasover the print text is the use of juxtapositioning. One such example is when there is ascene of archival footage depicting some Ku Klux Klansmen marching down a street at nightcarrying the American flag, with bonfires burning along the pavement and spectators crammingthe sidewalks. The scene juxtapositioned after it is a medium close up, low camera shot of aNazi soldier with the Nazi flag flying in the background over his left shoulder. Theconnotations of this It can be seen from the two texts that the author/producers had strongideas about social stereotypes. They both had a two parallel conflicts and used them totheir full advantage. Even though the film and the story had different techniques availableto them, they each utilised them effectively and forcefully.