A deconstruction of the meanings in the Purple Rose of Cairo, by Woody Allen.

The two scenes extracted from The Purple Rose of Cairo, (Woody Allen, 1985), depict the major themes recurring throughout the entire film. The photography, editing and the sound present in the scenes are used to portray Tom Baxter's illusory film world, and Cecilia's miserable existence during the American depression of the 1930's. These techniques bring home to the viewer the constant shifting between perception and reality in Cecilia's world. The bird's eye view-establishing shot of the …

…by the photography, editing and sound of each scene. The scenes extracted perfectly display Cecilia's role in both of her worlds as does the entire movie. For this reason, we feel her desperation to find happiness and it increases our concern for her. Monk is always the dominant controlling figure in each scene as well as Cecilia's life, while Tom brought her a brief escape to a better place, but ultimately could never be real.