The Gold Diggers of 1933

Q1: How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?
The Gold Diggers of 1933 presents a counter-look at the 1930s from what Foner discusses in the chapter. Foner talks mostly about the fix it strategies used by FDR, including both New Deals. In the chapter, Foner never touches on the day-to-day life of Americans at this time. The Gold Diggers of 1933 however shows a more humanized version of the 1930s. Rather than portray the direct poverty that affected most people during the Great Depression, the film shows how city girls are handling the situation. The women have no jobs, starve or steal to eat, and the actresses can't get work because shows keep getting canceled due to financial reasons before they can open.

Q2: What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?
The Gold Diggers of 1933 sought to put the Great Depression out of people's minds. This shows how many "city people" were hoping to avoid the matter by ignoring it. People wanted to preserve the idea that things were still good for as long as they could. What better to distract oneself from a bitter world than to watch a quirky movie about couples falling in love? Different scenes throughout the movie depict people living their lives as if the nation's biggest financial crisis wasn't going on. This is shown when the Carol and Trixy have J. Lawrence and Peabody take them out and also in the fact that Carol and Trixy convince the guys to buy them extravagant gifts.

Q3: What does the film reveal about attitudes towards gender, class, and race?
The film depicts women as desperate, thus willing to do anything to get what they want. This manifests itself in the way J. Lawrence treats Carol and Trixy. He believes that Carol is after his brother's money and couldn't possibly love him. Trixy affirms this belief about women when she marries Peabody. Class was either poor or rich, offering no middle ground. The poor were seen as unrefined and desperate. The rich were most likely old money because most of the new money people lost everything in the stock market crash. Pauly, Brad's girl, is able to fool J. Lawrence into thinking she's from the same high class that he is from. Race isn't portrayed in this film leading me to believe that there were no black influences in the theater business at this time.

Q4: What was the most important scene in the film?
The last scene, with the song about the forgotten man is the most important scene of the film. It acts as kind of a reminder about what lays outside the theater. This number is in stark contrast to the opening number which asserted that money was no issue and don't worry about the Great Depression. The song talks about the man sent to war, comes back from war to work on a farm, and from there (due to the draught/dust bowl) he ends up in bread lines.

My Review: I’ll give this film a 4 out of 5 because I enjoyed the entertainment part of it. Maybe it’s just that this is the first film with sound but I enjoyed the lively and upbeat characters. The musical productions were fun to watch. Overall, this film is anything but your typical Great Depression movie.

The Crowd

Q1: How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?
Foner likes to focus mainly on the negative aspects of the 20s, the movement towards fundamentalist values and drastic differences between the rich and the poor. This ignores the roaring aspect of the 20s, including speakeasies and dance halls. Ultimately though, the 20s were a lead in to the Great Depression. The Crowd shows both sides of the 20s. It shows John and Mary meeting and enjoying the fun aspects of living in the city. Once John and Mary are married, they are shown in meager living situations and later shown to be in what resembled a shack (after John lost his job.)

Q2: What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?
This seems to be a more relaxed time for restrictions on male/female relationships prior to marriage than previous years. Big business seems to be thriving as John works for them. This seems to be one of the first times when someone goes to work just to work and doesn’t enjoy/have passion for what they are doing. A job is just a job, a means to earn money. We also see the rise in corporate culture through company picnics and other group activities.

Q3: What does the film reveal about attitudes towards gender, class, and race?
Mary is shown as a stay at home mom until John loses his job and she is forced to work to support them. It was interesting how involved Mary’s family was in her life. This lead me to believe that she was from a higher class than John and that allowed her family to think it was okay to leave when things got tough.

Q4: What was the most important scene in the film?
The most important scene in The Crowd occurs towards the end when John gets a job dressed as a clown, juggling to attract attention to his sign. The juxtaposition, of this scene to an earlier one in which John makes fun of a man for doing the very same thing, shows John's downfall. He links the earlier juggling man with no drive and labels him pathetic. John at the end falls apart because of his daughter's death. He loses his job and almost loses his wife and son.

My Review: I would rate this at 3 out of 5 because I the pacing of the film was either way too fast or way too slow. I didn’t really respect the John character because of how he handled situations. It is understandable to be altered by the death of your daughter but to not let anyone help you is just idiotic. And as much as he talked about being great one day, John never did anything about actually becoming great. Exampled by the fact that he never received a promotion from the company he worked for out of many years of service.

Heart of Humanity – Forget a Film

Traffic in Souls

Q1: How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?
Foner characterizes this time as the rise in consumer product goods. Freedom was defined by the ability of a person to purchase these goods. Access to goods became a fundamental right. Traffic in Souls shows people exploiting others as a way to gain money, which in turn can be used to purchase goods. The freedom for the exploiters comes at a direct loss of freedom to the exploited, the immigrant women forced into prostitution.

Q2: What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?
Traffic in Souls shows that America is in transition from conservative values to more liberal. Women are working, thus exerting their independence. Immigrants are coming into the country in a steady stream, so many that they have a tendency to get lost in the shuffle.

Q3: What does the film reveal about attitudes towards gender, class, and race?
Traffic in Souls depicts women as disposable and as such allowed them to be forced into prostitution. Immigrants were shown as the victims of this as well because often, no one would care or notice if an immigrant went missing.

Q4: What was the most important scene in the film?
The most important scene in this film is the end when all of the wrong doers are captured and the immigrant women are freed. Also the two sisters are reunited. This is important because it offers hope that things can change and eventually the wrong doers will pay for their crimes.

My Review: I’ll give this film a 4 out of 5 because it showed me a side of the 1900s that I’d never thought about before. I was unaware that something like human trafficking could occur back then.