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.