Essay Outline

Argument: An ideological approach to film theory allows the participating individual to delve into himself/herself. On reading into the subtleties conveyed by Woody Allen in A Midnight in Paris one realizes that by abiding by an ideological film appproach, he/she is rewarded with a richer experience than if he/she took a formalist approach.

Claim: Owen Wilson wishes to escape the only reality he has ever known.

Support: He's writing a book on nostalgia and consistently voices his desire to live in Paris in the 20's.


Claim: Owen Wilson forsakes his relationship with his fiancee relatively easily. Such forces us to question how he agreed to a life commitment to begin with his wife in the first place and makes us question our own relationships. It is a possible reflection on materialistic relationships in society today.

Support: Owen Wilson steals his wife's earrings to give to another woman in hopes that he will sleep with her.


Claim: Woody Allen makees us question Hollywood today and its incredibly constant and formulaic production of film.

Support: Owen Wilson is a discontent Hollywood script writer who yearns for "real literature" relatively often throughout the movie. Most notably, his dialogue with his fiancee in the hotel room when he describes himself as a "Hollywood hack" and complains to be too inept to write a lasting and culturally beneficial novel.

Midnight in Paris

               Although I find it difficult to believe that all critics have been unable to pick up on any underlying themes in Midnight in Paris, I find it more difficult to believe that Woody Allen would make a purely superficial film. Batches of dialogue hint at the subtle philosophy in Midnight in Paris, and after viewing the movie with a critical eye, it is clear that this dialogue and its implications were part of a greater message Woody Allen was trying to convey, a message and allusion overlooked by critics.

               The moment in the movie when Owen Wilson is sitting on the hotel bed with his wife discussing the future of his career, whether he should continue as a “Hollywood hack” or whether he should give “real literature” a shot conveys Woody Allen’s intent the most directly. Owen Wilson is not happy with his very well-paid job as a script-writer because he feels unfulfilled and so he wants to pursue writing a novel while his wife wants him to retain his current job and “do what he does best.” It is during this discussion that Woody Allen is indirectly preaching against the infantile state Hollywood provides for us. Owen Wilson represents a thinking individual, the minority of society, restless with merely accepting a false reality and never having to think. His wife, on the other hand, represents the majority of society who would prefer to engage in “a willing suspension of disbelief” and fall into said infantile state.

               Since Owen Wilson is the protagonist we as an audience continually empathize with, and Rachel McAdams is the superficial and egotistical antagonist of sorts, it is safe to assume that we agree with Owen Wilson, and thus Woody Allen. We agree that although the infantile state available to us is comfortable, it is not fulfilling. In order to be fulfilled, we must be challenged to think for ourselves, especially in regards to cinema. Therefore, we must question all films that come before us, and the illusions they represent.