Woody allen's films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Woody allen's films - Essay Example aracters’ problems too easily and therefore, his humor serves a detrimental purpose in draining away the potential value that his films could represent. This is opposed to the view of Nangy Pogel who affectionately refers to Allen as the â€Å"little man† and views his humor as a cartoonic representation of the Director. Girgus sees a more serious purpose behind Allen’s view and is of the view that it serves to deepen the intricacy of the narrative rather than detract from it. In his criticism of Allen’s films, Carney therefore differs from these other two authors in that he views the humor in Allen’s films as an element that detracts from the real value that his films could have. Carney is critical of Woody Allen’s use of humor in the context of the real problems that the characters in his films may face. He points to the example of Hannah’s drug problem in the film Hannah and her sisters. Holly has a serious problem of drug addiction, yet it is never presented as such in the film, although the problem is mentioned in almost every scene in which the character of Hannah appears. Her muddled state and her pleas for money while in a drug induced state are presented in an endearing rather than a frightening manner. She is openly shown taking drugs in only one scene, when she goes on a date with Mickey (played by Allen). Yet the scene that ensues after she takes drugs is full of gaffes and jokes and it ends up with Hannah being cured of her drug problem. This is another aspect that Carney is critical of – the manner in which serious problems are often revealed only at the end and then miraculously cured through the use of humor. In the film Annie Hall, when Annie is almost being induced to try drugs, the character of Alvy tries the drug and sneezes the powder all over the room, thereby dispelling the frightening moment when Annie could have slipped into that dangerous state in a puff of powder humor, and the problem ends right there and the time bomb is