Arthur Penn's classic 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde relays the true story of a gangster couple whose foray into bank heists turns sour and deadly. Although the title characters are clearly criminals who deviate from normative behavior in many ways, Bonnie and Clyde are heroes. The couple is depicted in a way that helps the audience sympathize with them, and therefore root for them throughout the film even as their plans go awry. Bonnie and Clyde share traits in common with the heroes in classical Greek drama.

For example, both Bonnie and Clyde suffer from a great deal of hubris and this tragic flaw causes them to fail at key moments. A hero is not necessarily an unambiguously benevolent character but rather, a multidimensional one. In fact, Bonnie and Clyde do not intend to use violence. Their tragic flaws led them astray from their true goals, the way Oedipus and other classic heroes also fail. Bonnie and Clyde are also depicted as heroes in the way their relationship deepens, because the audience wants them to succeed not just as individuals but as a couple.

Through the characters of Bonnie and Clyde, the filmmakers present and critique the social values of 1930s America. Issues related to anti-trust legislation and monopolies were important at this time, especially as they related to the stock market crash and the Great Depression. It is against this bleak economic and social backdrop that Bonnie and Clyde commit their crimes. The anti-establishment worldview of the title characters also corresponds with 1930s ideologies. Communism and socialism were becoming viable alternatives to capitalism. Although robbing banks is not the hallmark of communism, Bonnie and Clyde do share the ethical viewpoint that would cause them to view banks as faceless, impersonal institutions. Finally, the film Bonnie and Clyde pays homage to the burgeoning business of organized crime that flourished during the early 20th century in America.