“I'll tell you one thing, Fred, honey. I'll marry you for your money in a minute. Will you marry me for my money? Holly Golightly (played by the charming Audrey Hepburn) drawls to Paul Varjack (George Peppard) as they joke around in the small kitchen of his tiny brownstone in downtown New York. Given Varjack's affirmative response, she jokes, "I guess it's lucky none of us are rich, huh?" From this and a multitude of other exchanges throughout the film, it is easy to see that one activity consumes and controls the lives of these two lower-class main characters: the pursuit of wealth. Golightly and Varjack each earn their money through similar means: Golightly is a call girl who caters specifically to wealthy upper-class men and Varjack is "kept" by a wealthy upper-class woman. By creating charming and likable characters who are forced to literally turn their bodies into commodities in order to gain capital, the film highlights the negative effects of capitalism on the lower classes. Furthermore, the women presented in the film are undoubtedly much more autonomous than the majority of their contemporaries. So, although disguised as a harmless and playful romantic comedy, Breakfast at Tiffany's is actually a fairly revolutionary film from a Marxist and feminist perspective. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay The film, originally released in 1961, may seem dated today, especially given Golightly's wildly misguided and racist portrayal and from Varjack's owner, Mr. IY Yunioshi, by none other than Mickey Rooney. It is, however, essential to understand how subversive the content was at the time of the film's initial release. In Sam Wasson's novel, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, he notes that, during pre-production, "the censors...attacked the script » (Wasson xvii). Screenwriter George Axelrod managed to evade censorship by subtly suggesting that Golightly is a sex worker. For example, after confronting Varjack about his "boss" leaving $300 on his desk, Golightly empathetically says that she "completely understands" his situation. Yet many viewers perceived the film in a negative light. In a letter to the Hollywood Citizen-News, citizen Irving A. Mandell declared that Breakfast at Tiffany's was "the morally worst [film] of the year" for showing "a prostitute throwing herself at a man kept”, among others. other objections (Wasson 185). In addition to chronicling the lives of sex workers in New York, the film presents several other potentially controversial storylines. The mix of social classes depicted in Breakfast at Tiffany's is, in some ways, unprecedented. Golightly and Varjack interact not only with individuals who rank far above them on the social ladder on a purely transactional basis, but also on an interpersonal level. The party scene that takes place relatively early in the film is a great example of this. Golightly invites Varjack for a drink, but when he knocks on his door, he is greeted by the charismatic OJ Berman, a Hollywood agent who takes credit for Golightly's transformation from a "hillbilly" to an extremely stylish young woman. Berman is clearly upper class; he is later photographed in the film at his home in Los Angeles with his new "executive phone" and remote-controlled bed. "Can you believe thisplace?" he makes offhand remarks to Varjack about Golightly's apartment. "What a dump." Nonetheless, he is still one of Golightly's many well-off friends and acquaintances. Other notable upper-class characters include Attending the party include Jose de Silva Pereira, a Brazilian millionaire, and Rutherford "Rusty" Trawler, who is the "ninth richest man in America under 50," according to Golightly. plus, it's harder to differentiate who belongs to which class The guests become loud and rude, instantly disproving the stereotype that only members of the lower classes behave in such an uncivilized manner. A well-dressed couple argues loudly. an older woman laughs then cries hysterically upon seeing her reflection in the mirror, a drunken woman jumps on men's backs shouting "Yay", and men in expensive suits shout into the kitchen to gobble up. strong alcohol straight from the bottle. Even the alcohol delivery boy, who is clearly a member of the working class, is invited to join in the festivities and dances freely with several women whose elaborate, jewel-toned silk dresses probably cost far more than his monthly income. Later, as the police arrive due to Mr. Yunioshi's inevitable noise complaint, Varjack and a worried Silva Pereira manage to escape together through the bathroom window - a millionaire and hopeful man presidential, the other a broke writer, now united by their mutuality. the friendship with Golightly and the sudden need to escape the party. One could simply consider this scene a fantasy; the film is a work of fiction, after all. Or, we could cite the famous quote from Queen Victoria: “Beware of artists, they mix with all classes of society and are therefore the most dangerous. » But even though Varjack is indeed an artist and seems to fraternize with those above and below him in social class, he is not the only one in this scene to do so. Thus, the more analytical eye views this segment of the film as a subversion of commonly held societal values ​​that effectively separate people of different classes and reinforce the idea that rich people are somehow better than those with lower incomes. The message in this lively and humorous party scene is that people with very different levels of wealth can, in fact, interact with each other and very often do. Another key element in a Marxist interpretation of Breakfast at Tiffany's is the alienation experienced by the two main characters, Golightly and Varjack. Marx's complex theory of alienation can be simply understood as the alienation of individuals from their "species-essence" (in other words, from human nature and the world around them) due to their wage labor and separations caused by class distinctions. Even though class differences are somewhat blurred in the film, as depicted in the example above, there is no doubt that they still exist. And although Golightly and Varjack's form of employment is not explicitly classified as wage labor, it is quite similar, if not worse, because it involves the commodification of their own bodies, rather than simply their labor power. Perhaps also there is some sort of fixed salary involved; according to Golightly, "any gentleman with the slightest class will give a girl $50 for the powder room." Regardless, the sense of alienation that surrounds each character can be seen as a direct result of their work practice. Golightly's alienation is extremely evident: towards the end of thefilm, she audibly admits to this feeling, exclaiming, "I'm not Holly." . I'm not Lula Mae either. I don't know who I am! I'm like a cat here, some nameless bastards. We belong to no one and no one belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other. Here, her sense of isolation from humanity is so great that she must identify with an animal rather than Varjack, or any other human being. The alienation experienced by Varjack is a little less blatant. While Golightly seems to lack the ability to feel love for another person, Varjack boldly admits his love for her several times throughout the film. One might assume that he simply doesn't feel the same levels of alienation as Golightly due to the fact that she's been in the "business" longer than him, but the film itself provides no evidence to support this statement. Instead, Varjack's alienation manifests itself in other, perhaps less noticeable, ways, such as through his disconnection from writing, which was once his passion. The first time Golightly visits his apartment, she notices his typewriter and asks him if he writes every day. He replies that yes, he does, but Golightly cleverly points out that while "it's a nice typewriter...there's no ribbon in it." » The film strikes a chord of hope and anti-capitalism by allowing Golightly and Varjack to dispose of some or all of their alienation. The only way to do that, of course, is to retire from paid work, which is essentially what Varjack does when he tells his Mrs. Failenson – his wealthy lover, played by Patricia Neal – to "find a new writer for the 'help ". He then begins to earn his income by selling the short stories he writes. This means of acquiring wealth is obviously much less dehumanizing than his previous method. It's also key to note that it's only after he quits his salaried job (for all intents and purposes) that Varjack tells Golightly that he loves her. This timeline suggests that he is only able to connect with his true emotions once the once-enveloping feeling of alienation has finally dissipated. From this point of view, it makes sense that Golightly is initially so insensitive to his declaration of love for her: she is incapable of returning these feelings because she is still embroiled in the capitalist nightmare hell from which he has already escaped. Unfortunately for Golightly, getting out of the workforce isn't as easy for her as it is for Varjack. Her brother, Fred, whom she describes as "sweet, vague and painfully slow," is in the U.S. Army and she is still trying to save enough money so he can come live with her. Even after Fred's death makes this struggle obsolete, Golightly still lacks the skills and education to successfully establish herself in a field other than the one she is already involved in. It's not until the film's grand finale that it appears she's finally leaving wage work, or at least sex work, behind, as she chooses Varjack's love over all her wealth. previous suitors. Some feminist analyzes argue that this ultimate couple somehow makes the film antithetical to feminist ideals. In an essay titled "We Belong to No One: Representations of the Feminine in Breakfast at Tiffany's", Margaret Fox argues that although throughout the film Golightly "seems to be a proto-feminist character in her lifestyle [progressive],” the ending makes her less so because she “submitted to Paul’s ownership” (Fox 13). However, this argument is more of an error than a fact. By choosing to form a romantic partnership with Varjack,.