The Apartment Essay, Research Paper
The Apartment
What exactly does the word meaning indicate? The dictionary states meaning as an
implication of a hidden or special significance. In Humanities, the meaning of a film indicates
the content, the perception, of what took place in a film. The main meaning of a film depends of
the interpretation of a person. There could be one meaning or five meanings, but it depends on
the person. The meaning of The Apartment is not a love story, but more of a drama about a man,
C.C. Baxter, on a subconscious quest to become more outspoken and stand-up for himself.
Characters, film techniques, and music all come together to make The Apartment s meaning
come alive.
Characters are very important to a film, without characters, there would not be drama,
action nor dialogue. C.C. Baxter is the main character who, throughout the movie, learns how to
stick up for himself. Mr. Sheldrake and the four executives bribe Baxter into using his
apartment by threatening to fire him. He does not stand up for himself, and lets the executives
push him around. Miss. Kubelick, the love of Baxter s life, helps him realize he is a pushover
and needs to change his life. She helps him on his quest to become a better man, more
outspoken.
Film techniques say a lot about a film. Whether the film is sophisticated, dreary, funny,
romantic or even scary, film techniques help set the mood. In The Apartment, the director chose
to use mostly medium shots and fade-out shots. We can see from the medium close-up shots the
facial expressions of Ba
out shots happen when an important event occurs. For example, when Baxter waits to get into
his apartment, it fades out and goes into a shot of what is happening inside the apartment. From
watching inside the apartment to outside with Baxter, we get a feel that Baxter is not happy with
giving his apartment up. We can see from his body language he wants to say something to the
executives but cannot. The film techniques in The Apartment prove that Baxter is not happy with
being pushed around.
Have you ever seen a movie without sound or music? Maybe that would be exciting in
the early 1900’s, but in 1960 when The Apartment was introduced, people expected to hear
sound and expected to hear music. Music by the 1960’s was a big part in peoples lives, so to
not have music in a movie would be unentertaining. The music in The Apartment ranges from
slow to quick, and soft to loud, depending on the situation. When Baxter is feeling anxious, the
music is loud and quick. When he is feeling pushed around the music is softer and more angry
sounding. When Baxter is pacing around in front of his apartment waiting to get in, the music is
soft, and drawn out, more slow. Music and sound intensify the situation or event in the movie
and even intensifies the emotions shown by the characters.
Even though the characters and the music in The Apartment are crucial to it s meaning,
the film techniques contribute the most. Characters bring drama, and dialogue, music brings
emotions, and film techniques bring the whole movie together.