The Young and the Damned Literary Elements

The Young and the Damned Literary Elements

Director

Luis Buñuel

Leading Actors/Actresses

Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Estela Inda, Miguel Inclán

Genre

Drama

Language

Spanish

Awards

Nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source

Date of Release

1950

Producer

Óscar Dancigers

Setting and Context

Mexico City slum - 1950

Narrator and Point of View

POV is that of Pedro

Tone and Mood

Dramatic and Serious

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Pedro. Antagonist is Jaibo

Major Conflict

Jaibo has killed Julian and doesn't want Pedro to tell anyone.

Climax

Pedro goes to work in order to live better after Julian is killed, but Jaibo steals a knife from work and Pedro is blamed for it and sent away. Jaibo kills Pedro after Pedro tells everyone that it was Jaibo who killed Julian. Jaibo is shot and killed by the police.

Foreshadowing

The pretend bullfighting at the beginning of the film foreshadows that these kids are playing an imaginary game, so they believe, with deathly consequences.

Understatement

It is understated that Don Carmelo is devious until we see him trying to touch Meche.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

N/A

Allusions

The film is an allusion to the grave effects of poverty upon a city. How a great city looks big and great on the outside, but it has left behind its people to starve and die.

Paradox

Jaibo is the leader of the gang because he is the toughest. Paradoxically, he only preys on the weakest people in society.

Parallelism

Pedro's mother wears black when she comes to the reform program to see Pedro. This is when she first believes her son is innocent. Her black dress is paralleled at the end of the film when she is searching for her son who has already been killed.

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