Eighteen Woody Allen Films Analyzed

by Sander H. Lee

Five main topics are explored: the desire of many of Woody Allen's characters to ground their lives in traditional ethical values despite realizing such values may no longer be certain; the opposition between his more optimistic and his more pessimistic films; gender issues relating to romantic love, sexual desire and changes in our cultural expectations for both men and women; Allen's contention that American society is descending into barbarism because of its failure to maintain individual moral responsibility; and the use of the techniques of psychoanalysis to understand human behavior.--Publisher description.