X Men: A Unique Portrayal of Alcatraz

Looking past the action scenes that are expected in an X men movie, the main thing that jumped out at me throughout the course of this movie is the portrayal of Alcatraz. Although the island plays a lesser role in the movie when compared to other films we have watched, it serves a unique purpose contrary to that of its former role in history: “This site, which once was a famous prison, will now be the source of freedom for all mutants who choose it.” Previously home to the most dangerous criminals in our society, Alcatraz was now the site of a highly sophisticated lab. It is at this lab that a pharmaceutical company used a mutant to create a “cure” for the mutant X-gene.

They chose to create Worthington lab on Alcatraz because it was the safest location they could find. Now, instead of using its location to prevent criminals from escaping, Alcatraz is now perfectly situated to prevent the much-regarded cure of this disease from getting out to the public. Because of its highly potent and supposedly irreversible power, the medicine must be safely kept in the hands of those who created it. Like the prisoners who were formerly kept in cramped cells, if the medicine were to get out, it could pose a great danger to society. For this reason, the limited accessibility of Alcatraz makes it the perfect venue to safeguard this important medicine.

Similar to its past, Alcatraz is again the site of a major battle. Like we saw in The Birdman of Alcatraz, there is an attempted takeover of the island. Magneto and his brotherhood of mutants wish to destroy the lab and the child who helped create the cure for the mutant gene. In viewing their invasion, we are reminded that no matter how impenetrable Alcatraz was considered, it always seems to be the location of major, unanticipated conflicts.

~A.B.

The Friendships make the man: The Birdman of Alcatraz

Although George L. Wellman’s A History of Alcatraz Island 1853-2008, describes Robert Stroud as “a murderer that many considered a psychopath,” Burt Lancaster’s Stroud in The Birdman of Alcatraz is depicted as a down to earth, honest man who actually has a few true friends. His three most prominent friends, as shown in the movie, are his mother, his fellow inmate Feto, and his wife Stella. Stroud has a caring, almost loving relationship with these three people. We observe a different kind of friendship, however, in his interactions with Warden Shoemaker and the main guard; these relationships are based on respect rather than care.

Throughout the movie, Stroud’s face is normally blank apart from when he is interacting with his mother, Stella, or Feto. These three characters seem to bring out a different person. Stroud and his mother have an interesting relationship because it is loving but also fiercely possessive, so much so that this causes a complete break in their relationship when she becomes threatened by Stroud’s relationship with Stella. This second relationship begins as a business partnership, but evolves into what might be interpreted as love. Even though Stroud is a lifer who could never carry on a true relationship with Stella, she stays dedicated to him and his cause all the way to Alcatraz. Feto, on the other hand, while he can be seen as nothing more than the inmate next door, embodies a strong role in Stroud’s life because he acts as the tough friend who is caring but still presents himself as the opposition when needed.

With Warden Shoemaker and the guard*, Stroud has a different relationship. He respects them, even when he doesn’t necessarily agree with them, stays completely civil with them, and does not put up a front around them. When the guard breaks protocol and gives him the crate, Stroud begins to respect him as an individual rather than the figure who guards his cell. This, in turn, encourages the guard to trust him, forming an odd sort of friendship. The Warden and Stroud, however, are quite confrontational, but over the years a bond of respect forms, even though the discords do not diminish. At the end of the movie, Shoemaker trusts him enough as to tell a guard that: “even though he’s been a thorn in [his] side for 35 years… he’s never lied to [him].” In order to admit this about an opponent, Warden Shoemaker has to step over his ego and fear in order to have complete confidence in Stroud’s claim.

So although Robert Stroud, the real man, may be a very disagreeable character, the Stroud portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the movie is painted as a solid, sometimes hotheaded, decent man, because of the friendships in his life. The friendships he has complete his person and make him a likable character in the eyes of the audience.

*(Bull? Hadly? Can’t remember his name.)

~M.S.

Prison: A Place Where the Home is - The Birdman of Alcatraz

A prison (n.) – a place where persons are confined, or restrained personal liberties. People generally associate incarceration and confinement with defiance and corruption. However, in the Birdman of Alcatraz, the prison was used more of a symbol of home and security from the evils of the outside world. Robert Stroud was still even able to grow and live a long life within the cells, by finding a passion for living, finding a wife to marry him, and also maturing into a sensible citizen of the U.S.

Although there are many scenes at the beginning of the movie
that show the dreary life of a prison mate, there are many signs that
suggest that prison is the better life to have. When Stroud takes care of
the first sparrow, he rescues the poor animal from the harsh storm. When
the bird became fully healthy, Stroud set him lose from the walls that kept
him from being a free animal. Although the sparrow, Runty was gone for
quite some time, he came back to the home he knew best. Stroud joked, “Come
back for a little prison security?” In reality, this is the place where the
sparrow was taken care of most and spent the majority of his life. Out of
respect, it’s almost like he came back to die at his “home”. He was able to
pay his last tribute to his “family” and caretaker.

In another scene, Stroud meets with his mother to talk about the great improvements he’s getting in Leavenworth. His mother talks about her distrust for his new wife and she asks him to get rid of her. She finally reveals that she wants to be the only woman in his life, and she expected him to stay in the penitentiary his entire life. Again, it is this reoccurring theme that drives that plot and allows for Stroud to show the growth of a man within a prison.

In one of the last scenes of the movie, Stroud’s wife, Stella Johnson comes to visit Stroud at Alcatraz Island. She confesses that he’s the last bit of reason she has to live. He makes the comparison of himself to Runty, calling himself a “lifer”. By this time in the movie, he has realized that there’s no escaping the prison and he’s going to be there for life. He uses the metaphor of Runty, because he knows that he’s going to eventually die in prison, and Stella should not waste her time waiting
for something that won’t ever happen. She reluctantly agrees to move on, however their love for each other doesn’t die after she leaves.

All in all, this movie is entirely based within prisons, whether it be Leavenworth, Alcatraz, or any other penitentiary. It’s no wonder one of the reoccurring themes ties the main character to always return to the cells. Even though Stroud is sentenced to life in prison, he still manages to thrive by studying birds, finding a wife, and gain the trust of major authority.

~K.G.

The Bird Motif in The Birdman of Alcatraz

The Bird Motif in The Birdman of Alcatraz

There were lots of very interesting things going on in this movie, but one thing that stood out the most was the bird motif. The birds seem to symbolize both freedom as well as the prisoners themselves in the movie.

The opening, which shows the photos of birds held in hands, sets a tragic and foreboding tone for the movie. The photos show a strange mix of fragility, beauty, and brutality. The birds provide the fragile beauty to the photos, but the stark lighting of the photos and the way that big hands overshadows the birds is a little eerie and scary. It’s like as if the hands are holding the birds imprisoned; it seems so easy to just squash the birds. The photos seems to represent the two sides of Stroud—his brutal, cruel side and his tender, softer side.

The relationship between Stroud and his mother is very strange in the movie; it almost borders on being inappropriate. Stroud is extremely attached to his mom—he gets extremely upset by something so small as another inmate touching his mother’s picture or talking about his mom. His mother, on the other hand, is very possessive towards her son; she only wants her son for herself. She wants her son to be imprisoned forever so that she would have him only to herself. Again, you see here that Stroud is like a bird in a cage—his mother, the bird keeper, wants her bird to stay in her cage.

Stroud’s interaction with the friendly guard in Leavenworth is very interesting. Initially, Stroud shuts himself off from everyone and treats people like “animals.” He kills two people without guilt or remorse. He only interacts with people when he absolutely needs to—he only thinks of bargaining with the guard who has been friendly to him for 12 years, and never once thought of befriending him until the guard snapped and told him that he is a human being and wants to be treated like one. This scene is very ironic because on the surface, it seems like Stroud is the one who is objectified and dehumanized as a prisoner, but it also suggests that opposite can be true as well.

Stroud’s relocation to Alcatraz is I think one of the turning points in the movie. Whereas in Leavenworth Stroud is the “bird keeper,” in Alcatraz, “the bird island,” he is the bird. He no longer has his birds anymore, and he and the other prisoners are strictly disciplined according to the rules of Harvey Shoemaker. Stroud meets a fellow inmate from Leavenworth and he is struck by his friend’s dogged loyalty to the prison rules. Harvey trains his inmates like he would train animals; he “rewards” the inmates for good behavior.

~Y.K.

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Most think of hands as just another body part, when in reality they are of grave importance in many aspects of life. The Birdman of Alcatraz clearly exemplifies this within the first minute of the movie. Robert Stroud uses his hands to aid the birds that reside within the prison facilities. Not only does he aid the birds to recover, but he also cares for them and learns about them. In the opening scene, Stroud cups the small bird in a compassionate way, just as a mother would cradle her new darling infant. Robert Stroud committed murders in cold blood and certainly without compassion for his victims, but still he finds a sincere kindness for the birds.

Birds themselves can be looked at as helpless creatures. If they injure themselves they have no hands to aid themselves in the recovery process. Stroud shows his victims no compassion, but injured birds are an entirely different story. Birds have 2 legs and 2 wings; wings do not act as hands and certainly do not aid a bird if their legs are broken. Birds are incapable of committing any atrocious crimes, but still one of the most dangerous criminals is drawn towards these meek creatures.
A murderer, Robert Stroud most definitely needed to use his hands in order to commit the killing for which he was originally convicted. Thus he uses his hands to kill a guard while serving his first sentence at Alcatraz. His hands are filthy, covered with the blood of multiple men. In a less common thought, built a platform in which to hang him for his excessive violence. His mother then lends out a helping hand to her beloved son to stop the execution. Hands either kill or save people, but there seems to be no blatant medium in the film.

The lighting of the cinematography shows the darkness of Stroud’s hands at the beginning of the film, but within his hands is a small bird whose color is even darker. The lighting asphyxiates the bird within Stroud’s collected hands, but in reality he earnestly wants to learn and help the birds, not harm them. The lighting around his mother, who essentially saves Stroud from death, is drastically brighter than the opening scenes. Hands are responsible for many actions committed by prisoners and saviors alike, but it is the way in which they are used that illustrates the character behind the actions.

~C.M.

A Note of Characterization in The Birdman of Alcatraz

Robert Stroud was an essence of many things. He was considered the strangest man alive. He was also considered a genius. He was convicted of a murder in Alaska and was sentence to life in prison. In the movie Birdman of Alcatraz, he keeps birds as pets and finds cures for them when they got sick. He started to have pet birds in Leavenworth Prison and was told he could not have pets at Alcatraz. This starts a trend and he and the other convicts acquire birds, such as canaries, as gifts from the outside. Before long, Stroud has built up a collection of birds and cages. When they got sick, he conjured up experiments and tried to come up with a cure. As the years pass, Stroud becomes an expert on bird diseases. His writings are so impressive that a doctor describes him as a "genius."

Stroud is a paradox of a man living in a time period of violence. On the way to the prison he breaks a window in order for the suffocating prisoners, and this gets him off to a bad start with the warden at the Leavenworth Prison. At the beginning of his sentencing he got upset really easily and attacked a guard for making his mother leave before she could see him. After that he starts to calm down and gets into his studies.
When Stroud worked with the birds, he studied a lot. He taught himself half a dozen languages. He also taught himself a bunch of scientific subjects which helped him cure the birds. People thought he was a genius. Even with all those studies and working with birds, he kept to himself and rehabilitated himself.

He never broke out with the outside world. He never read a newspaper, watched a television, listened to radio, never saw an airplane, and never saw a car. He also became rehabilitated. Still at kept with a keen eye with authority, Stroud nevertheless manages to help stop a prison rebellion in 1946 by throwing out the guns the convicts got their hands on. He then assures the guards that they can now re-enter the premises without fear of being shot. He was never broken, never been beaten, and is known as the defiant man alive.

~J.B.