Taking place in 1928, Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass is set in oil-rich Kansas, following high school seniors Bud Stamper and Deanie Loomis, who are deeply in love. Bud is a popular kid in school, captain of the football team and son of a local oil baron, while Deanie lives much more of a quaint existence, living with her reserved parents who fears for her daughter's purity when it comes to young boy's sexual intentions. The couple is passionate but reserved, having never gone further than kissing, and while it's unspoken, the two both seem to believe they will get married to each other some day. As graduation day approaches, both Bud and Deanie begin to cave under the pressures of their parents, who have their own expectations of what their respective children should be, effectively tearing this young, loving relationship apart. Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass is a film that openly retorts the idea that the idealistic nature of youth is based in naivety, exhibiting how youth are often unfortunately shaped by societies preconceived notions about what individuals should be. When these young lovers are introduced their relationship is tender, passionate, and respectable, only being interested in making each other happy, even though they clearly have their differences of opinion at times. It's through the intervention of outside influence, mainly Deanie's mother and Bud's father, in which these two young individuals find themselves drifting apart, poisoned by their parents' selfish ideas about what their children should be. These parents are convinced that their tough love is essential to their children's happiness, intent on the idea that they know what is best for their children, an arrogance which in turn leads both Bud and Deanie down a much rockier road of the self discovery. Expectations of the old on the young, though well-intentioned, lead to disaster for Deanie and Bud's relationship, with Splendor in the Grass expressing the true importance of a parent giving their children some space to discover themselves, with an authoritarian presence only serving a restrictive force in the maturation process of a young adult truly discovering their own sense of individualism. How money is perceived to provide happiness is certainly another component of the film, with both Bud and Deanie's parents each overly concerned about their children's financial well-being. From Ace Stamper's insistence that his son pursue a degree at Yale, to Deanie's mother viewing Bud simply as Deanie's way out of their modest life and into that of a rice family, these parent's perspectives unintentionally have a toxic effect of their offspring. When the stock market crash occurs in the film it serves as a symbolic representation of the lack of understanding and control even the parents have over their future, with Splendor in the Grass eradicating the idea that we as human-beings, regardless of age or experience, are ever completely in control of our lives. While there is not question that Splendor in the Grass touches on some critical observations about parenting and the oppressive nature in which societies preconceived notions can have on the youth, Splendor in the Grass does feel a little cartoonish at times, most notably the treatment of Deanie's descent into near-madness after losing Bud, as well as Ace Stamper, Bud's father, being a borderline caricature as the overbearing, wealthy father who knows exactly what is best for his son. While it certainly doesn't spoil the film, I found these two particular aspects of the film overly dramatized and jarring, standing out from the rest of the film which overall feels relatively nuanced in approach. Featuring an ending full of optimism, which exhibits the importance of never focusing on the negative or living a life of regret, Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass is a poignant love story that touches on a lot of importance aspects of the human experience.
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June 2023
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