Raising Arizona Reflection

How does Raising Arizona mix comedy with deeper themes like love and family, and how can you use this in your own films?

    The overall genre of Raising Arizona is comedy, however the major focal point and driving force of the plot are the deeper themes like love and family. The way they mix is that the genre of comedy allows a much greater suspension of disbelief, as the audience are going to be much more accepting of absurd topics and ideas. The external conflict of the film itself is objectively a ridiculous and absurd concept; if it were in any more serious genre, it would be seen as such and the audience would be less inclined to accept it. For instance, the fact that the Arizona's had quintuplets, the fact that, because of that, Ed thought they should kidnap one because "they have too much to handle," or all of the odd criminal activity surrounding H.I. and his friends. This way, a funky story about a couple kidnapping a kid was able to be accepted and the feelings from the deeper themes were able to shine through to the audience. The comedy aspects soften all the darker ideas that many of the topics in the film had, allowing for the mood to be so much more light-hearted and for the positive message to be the one left on the audience. If the movie had taken those darker topics such as kidnapping, recidivism, trying to make a life after having a criminal background, and infertility more seriously, the audience would've been more likely to take away those ideas rather than the positive themes and note that the movie ended with.

    I could use this in my own films by taking advantage of the different effects that certain genres and themes have on the audience to direct their emotions the way that I want. This way, after they watch my film, they leave feeling the way that I want them to. This could be by amplifying specific emotions or using a genre where there is more suspension of disbelief to help the audience accept some absurdity.