report after watching the movie
The film Bigger Than Life (1956) is a film about a man having a crisis and whose medicine for a rare illness becomes an addiction in the setting of 1950s suburbia. It seems that the pressures of maintaining an image of success and the inability to obtain that image are what drives him to addiction. Write an analysis of how the film presents the 1950s. What are the differences between the image of the “fabulous fifties†advertised with the realities as presented in the film? Consider the following questions when writing your analysis: How does the film present American suburban life with things like family, jobs, and television? Why is the main character Ed not satisfied with his life? What do the pills do that makes Ed feel better and how is this related to the “organization man†complacency of the time?