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Connections to Connections: A Review of film history 1890-1945 - Coggle…

- - - - In this film we see our main character veer from the typical family path and create a new independent life for herself. She starts a business, makes some money, and spends time single. Throughout the film we see sacrifices she makes while the consequences of a modern family creep back in. She is remarried for the purpose of giving her daughter money and status, despite not loving this new husband and having rejected him once before. In one scene, she is punished for doing something for herself and having alone time with a man, as we see her youngest daughter ends up sick and later dies. Further, we end up seeing her daughter having an affair with her new husband. Supposedly a punishment for leaving her first husband. Then, we see her daughter arrested for the murder of the new husband because he refused to marry her. Suddenly the sacrifices Mildred, the main character, has made for her daughter are reduced to punishments and humiliations. By the end of the film, both daughters are either dead or in prison, and Mildred ends up walking away with her first husband, suggesting they end up together in the end. The film allows a woman to be a main character with her own personal wants and desires, but by the end, she is punished for almost every decision she's made in her own interest, and ends up back where she started, sans children. Whether this film is saying that Mildred went too far in attempting to be independent, or is saying that having children will ruin everything, the film does not allow a woman to have what she wants in the end, and brings her right back to the start.
      - A scene in which Mildred chooses not to call the cops on her daughter, despite her betrayal, and makes sacrifices for her once again. Mildred has been stripped of everything she's worked for, and also of the reason she worked so hard in the first place; the love of her daughter.
    - - This documentary tells the story of Alice Guy Blache, the first female film director of the late 19th century. Alice was overlooked as a filmmaker until the 21st century, when her works were rediscovered and the documentary pushed her story to the forefront. The film discusses the common occurrence of women in the industry not only being forgotten, but their work being miscredited to male filmmakers, one of them being her husband at one point. Alice was a bold and innovative filmmaker. She used completely new techniques, one being the close-up shot, and wrote films in multiple genres. The documentary features various filmmakers, actors, directors, and others in the industry admitting they've never heard of Alice. It brings forth a saddening truth that film was reserved for men, as most industries were, and still are. The title of the documentary references an idea Alice valued; actors being natural while performing, rather than being over the top or overly dramatic in the way live theatre or vaudeville would be. The idea of actors acting as regular as they would in every day life was something Alice should certainly be credited for, along with many other innovations in film, and a large catalogue of original ideas and films.
      - Alice Guy's sign hanging above the door in her studio, reminding actors to be natural in their scenes.
    - - This film's two leading female characters are not only treated disrespectfully because they are women, but mostly because they are sex workers. The idea of value and humanity being directly connected to one's gender and choice of career is displayed very obviously on screen. Despite the treatment of these characters, Hui Fei is the one who ultimately saves the day, murdering the main villain. Shanghai Lily is independent and makes decisions in her own interest, even to the end of the film where she chooses to be with her love interest.
    - - In this film, both mothers are single and independent, running their business and raising their children on their own. While there is a moment of romance between Bea and a man she meets, she ultimately decides not to be with him, for the sake of her daughter. While this seems to suggest one's decisions must be made in the interest of her children, it also suggest autonomy and a lack of need for a man to support her. This film represents its women, with the exception of Bea's daughter who falls in love with a man significantly older than her, as independent decision makers subverting the typical idea of a family. In a way, the family itself is built by Bea and Delilah, two friends with no need for a man.
- - - - Imitation of life discusses race in a very outward and honest way. In the film, two of four main characters, Delilah and her daughter Peola, are black, while the other two main characters, Bea and her daughter Jessie, are white. Throughout the film, Peola goes through turmoil about being black but very light skinned, therefore white presenting. Early in the film, when Peola is a young girl, she finds herself pretending to be white while at school. Her mother accidentally reveals her race to her classmates, and she is embarrassed. Further, she reacts poorly to even being described as black by the other young girl Jessie. As a child, she doesn't quite understand the entire situation, but does determine for herself that she does not want to be black, even stating multiple times "I'm not black." We see her mother Delilah attempt to reassure her, but as a young girl, she is set and determined not to live as a black girl, but to have herself accepted by the public as a white girl. Later in the film, when Peola is grown and around the age of 18, she has a further understanding of the social and class connections to her race. Her idea of genuinely being white is replaced with understanding of her black identity, but a strong distain and depression surrounding that fact. As other storylines unfold around Bea and Jessie, as well as Delilah, Peola's main and only storyline is her racial identity. In her young adulthood, her distain starts smaller. She is secluded from a social life, does not attend school, as jessie does, does not have the same close relationship with her mother that Bea and Jessie do, and allows her fears and troubles to tuck her in a corner. As the second half of the film advances, she becomes more and more hateful and distrusting of her mother. A sequence explaining this is when she calls Delilah "mother" and Delilah responds by saying she isn't anyone's "white mother" and "I'm you're mami." Eventually, she is convinced to attend school, but finds herself running away to find a job as a white woman. When Delilah and Bea discover this, they go to find her, and Peola acts as though she's never met Delilah, and not only embarrasses but significantly disrespects her mother. After this, she returns home, only to tell Delilah she's leaving. She asks her mother to never speak to her, never acknowledge her, and if passed on the street, to pretend she doesn't know her. This is the climax of Peola's storyline. It is also the peak of her internalized racism, as well as the depression of her mental state. In the end, Delilah dies of grief. This is a direct result of Peola's turmoil with race, but also of the societal standards and ideals which implemented this in her in the first place. By the end of the film, Peola is found joining the crowd at her mother's funeral, where she then runs up to the coffin and apologizes to her mother. This is her resolution. She determines that her actions were the cause of her mother's death. We don't later see her explicitly accept her racial identity, but we do see her take responsibility for her treatment of her mother. She also returns to school in her mother's name. The film is not subtle with its exploration of race, and rather pushes the storyline to the forefront alongside the separate storyline of Bea and Delilah's business, as well as Jessie's story. Rather than implying the continuation of racist ideals in society, the film comments on them and attempts to deconstruct them.
        
        In the text presented in class, it is discussed how the advertisements created for this film were exclusive to represent Bea, the white main character. This film seems to criticize racism and racial bias in a work setting but somehow manages to be racist when advertising to audiences. Further Delilah, the black main character is used as an advertising gimmick as the "friendly black auntie" character. So the advertising within the film uses Delilah's race to its advantage, but the advertising for the film itself ignores Delilah because of her race.
      - This image is a still from the scene where Peola tells her mother she's leaving, and does not want to be associated with her anymore. The image displays the power dynamic in which Delilah is sitting, below her daughter, and Peola is standing in her decision to leave. The actors also convey the tragedy of the moment through their faces and body language, only adding to the message being written about society, family, and race within this film.
    - - In Shanghai Express, alongside Marlene Dietrich's character, Shanghai Lily, we see Anna May Wong's leading role Hui Fei. Her character is explored in similar ways to Dietrich's but another layer is added to her treatment as a character due to her race. Throughout the film we also see Henry Chang's character revealed as the villain, and his race being part of that association. Hui Fei is regarded in low faith as she is suggested to be a prostitute, as well as Shanghai Lily. She is treated as lower tier, less valuable, and less trustworthy because of her career, but is also treated even lower than Dietrich's character because she is Chinese. Every other main character with the exception of Henry is white. As Hui Fei, Wong's objective is simply to keep her head low as she travels with her associate. The troubles caused by the takeover as well as character to character conflicts only exasperate the distrusting attitudes the character receives. Anna May Wong was the only Chinese actress at the time to make it big in Hollywood. Most of her roles were chosen for her due to the role's race, and alongside being a woman in the industry, her race was another reason for those in the industry to treat her poorly. This role did come with its independency, as well as character quirks having nothing to do with her race, but the fact that her character was Chinese was important to the role, and was yet another type cast for Wong. Despite this, the role still allowed for a Chinese American Woman to lead in a popular film and hold somewhat of a section of the plot. Wong is an extremely important figure in the expansion of representation in Hollywood, and while the role is neither here nor there in terms of whether or not her race played a major role in the plot, the film is extremely important in creating space for Chinese actors to follow suit in Wong's footsteps, even if not for some time.
      - In the film, Wong's character is regarded as a complete equal by Dietrich's character. It allows a sisterhood to develop between the associates because of their treatment as sex workers, but also acknowledges the higher treatment of Shanghai Lily compared to Hui Fei.
    - - In this film, our main character Minnie Hee-Haw is an Indigenous woman pursuing Fatty, a white man from the nearby town. The film depicts Minnie as an independent woman with strong drive, sexual autonomy, and rather than a woman in pursuit of a man to save or complete her, she is a woman in pursuit of a man for her own enjoyment and of her own free will. The film shows her as a strong, almost overwhelmingly determined character. The fact that she is Indigenous is not a joke or a comedic plot point, but rather something that exists rather than drives the plot. While yes, her race does play a role in that her community treats Fatty in a way following their presumed customs, her race does not mean anything in terms of her wants and desires, nor does it add or take away from the comedic elements of the film. It is not necessarily an accurate depiction by any means, but it is not overly used in a negative way. Rather than race playing a large role in the plot, as it does in Imitation of Life, race is an underlying factor within the story and barely gets referenced. This allows for representation to take hold as a natural element of society, rather than as a major point in the story. While both are important forms of representation, this one introduces Indigenous representation without using or abusing it. The most significant plotline regarding race is when Fatty and Minnie share a kiss. Considering the laws and ideals regarding interracial relationships at the time of filming, this certainly comments on those ideals without actually acknowledging them within the film.
      - This image showcases an early interaction between the two main characters, where during their meeting, Minnie invites Fatty back to her village. Race is not a major point of discussion in this scene, and neither is it comedic.
    - - This film follows the main character, a black man, as he visits his white girlfriend's family. It unfolds into a thrilling horror as he finds that all the black people he meets, whether it be family friends of his girlfriend's parents, or the ground workers, are actually black people's bodies with the spirits and minds of white people inside of them. It turns out that this family has some kind of fetish for the look and some areas of skill or beauty that certain black people they've met or heard of have had. The film uses horror and some forms of sci-fi to create an unsettling commentary on systemic racism, fetishization, and entitlement.
      - A scene in which the true personality of a character comes forth and the white possession is overwritten. The character is dressed in very 20th century upper class white wardrobe, accompanied by white people, and is warning the main character to leave. The first real moment we see the main character beginning to question the motives of the people around him.
- - - - Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times comments on the industrialization of typical work and the unfair culture around employment. His character spends the entire film looking for work, not only to replace a job he lost, but to support his love interest. At one point, she is the one taking work while he is the one being supported. The film makes it clear that Chaplin disagrees with the modern workplace and its dangers and biases. In a comedic moment near the start of the film, we see Chaplin's character continuing the movements of tightening nuts while he is doing other tasks. While surface level fairly comedic, the scene questions the idea that a human can be so used to a task that they become no more than the completer of said task. Just a few minutes after this scene we see a new device being tested on Chaplin's character. The idea of the device is to skip a worker's lunch break and have them fed while they work. This is another comedic way of commenting on a fairly brutal lifestyle. The worker can eat to survive, but a break is out of the question. Throughout the film we see the main characters flip-flopping between two lifestyles. One where they are free and happy, and one where they are stable and taken care of. At the end of this film, in contrast to the ending of The Crowd, the two main characters run away together, jobless, without a plan, and without money. This film presents the idea that a non-workplace life is possible, but what is sacrificed is stability and safety even. We aren't exactly sure where the characters are headed by the end of the film, but the assumption is they are finished with looking for work, and would rather fend for themselves. The film entirely rejects the idea that the modern workplace is the only option and instead steers the characters toward an almost fantasy-like ending, which is ambiguous to say the least.
      - An image of the scene where Chaplin becomes stuck in his workplace muscle memory, his humanity being stripped away in place of his work.
    - - This film is a commentary on the idea of the modern workplace. It represents a character dreaming of becoming more than part of a crowd, and gaining respect and individuality. It shows the workplace as mundane, almost liminal, and the main character spends the film attempting to move away from this lifestyle. The ending is tragic in a way, as the main character never truly resolves his conflicts and rather accepts them as reality. Frankly, this character spends so much time dreaming of being more individual that he ends up neglective his family and the parts of life which already bring him joy. The film allows the idea of the workplace to be thoroughly discredited as a fair and rewarding way of life. At the same time, it seems to ask the main character to appreciate what he has even if he dreams for more. The film almost communicates that while the workplace and modern life of the time leave much to be desired, sometimes while in these situations it's best to focus on the parts of life outside of the workplace. It also demonstrates the idea that one would have to choose. You can either move forward in the modern world, making money however you can, or you can have a life outside of work, but sacrifice money and stability. It is a lose-lose situation and in a way, the main character lost. In comparison to Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, this character does not have a happy ending and does not eventually escape the modern workplace.
      - This image shows a scene in the film where our main character begs a crowd of people to be quiet because his sick child is trying to rest. In the scene, this character's personal problems mean nothing to the crowd, and he is drowned out by the mass.
    - - This film shows our main character being replaced as an employee by a younger, stronger man. His job as a hotel doorman is fairly high status. He is regarded highly by his community and those he serves. The people who regard him in low status are those above him, specifically his boss. In the film, he comes to work one day and finds his replacement already at work. He is barely informed of this change, and when he is, it is through a written letter despite his boss being right there in front of him. He is reduced to a decision. The character's value in society and as a human being is directly connected to his job. When he is stripped of his title, he is not only stripped of the service he provides but of his value, his humanity, and his purpose. In some ways, the film also comments on the idea that someone's purpose in life can be their job, the one they do to earn money and stay alive. He feels he is nothing and has no purpose without this job. So not only is a comment on the idea that an employee can mean nothing more than a number, but also the idea that being an employee can be a person's entire purpose. When he is replaced, he is given a new, less visible and demanding job as a the bathroom clerk in the basement. He is ignored at this job, not thanked in the way he was as a doorman, and treated as respectfully as the towel he holds. By the end of the film, someone else is given this job, and when interacting with this man, he is kind, thankful, and acknowledges the man's humanity. The end of this film certainly veers from the feeling of the rest of it, mostly because the original ending was not favourable to the public and the industry, so they slapped a new ending on. Ignoring this ending, we can see how a person's entire livelihood can be dissolved in a matter of minutes. An employee is not a person, but a number and an idea. It is a dangerous thing for a job to give a person purpose and status, and yet the stripping of those is just another day for the boss.
        
        In the class we discussed how the ending of this film, and others we've watched, like The Crowd, was either added on or changed to please the ideals of the industry. For films commenting on the dehumanization of workers, I find it interesting that the filmmakers of these times weren't allowed to be individual in their creations, and still had to appeal to the masses. Stuck in the ways of the industry, while also creating films which deconstruct notions about other industries.
      - This image depicts a scene where the main character has his uniform stripped off by the boss. The main character is sitting on the floor in disbelief of being replaced, and a moment after this shot, we see the boss refuse to help the man up from the floor, as he has no respect for him.
    - - This limited series follows the true story of a group of mothers in a small town discovering the truth behind a number of their children being born ill or disabled. In the end, it is revealed that the industrial factories and construction vehicles have been dragging toxic dust around the town, causing dormant illness in pregnant mothers, and therefore issues in children being born. The show comments on the dangers of industrialization and the workplace as well as the effects these developments have on communities, families, and the children of workers. The series also features an ensemble cast of women taking charge against the industrial establishments surrounding them, connecting it to the theme of gender.
        
        A scene in which one of the fathers working for the construction company stands unknowingly in front of one of many trucks he and other employees have been using to spread toxic dust around the town, infecting his own children.
- - - - This film begins with a group of employees on a ship rebelling against their superiors and the current work conditions. Through the beginning of the film we see the rebellion take shape. One of the first scenes suggesting themes of death is where the employees are lined up by their superiors, a sheet is thrown on top of them, and the intention is to shoot them all. They are completely stripped of humanity and not to mention a voice in the situation. Later, one if the employees dies during a conflict scene. The nearby town as well as all of his friends/the ship's workers gather to mourn his death. This scene humanises the man and gives context as to who is on whose side. During this scene, a man makes some offhand and very offensive comment about the Jews. He is immediately rejected by the entire crowd, further solidifying the idea that there are sides being taken. Later in the film we see the town overrun by a military takeover. There is a scene taking place on a very large staircase where hundreds of people from the town are running away from the soldiers. A significant number of people die in this scene, in very brutal and gory ways. One little boy is trampled by the crowd of people running away. Multiple people are shot and left laying on the steps. We see one woman in multiple shots, not yet knowing her significance, but she is attempting to escape while also protecting the people around her. Suddenly, a shot depicts blood running down her fact, her glasses broken, and her expression aghast in pain. This, along with other deaths taking place during the scene, is a brutal and honest depiction of military violence against innocent civilians. The film makes it clear who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. It depicts death as a consequence of war, the military in general, and earlier in the film, as a consequence of simply wanting better working conditions. In a way, it is commenting on working culture in a similar way to Chaplin's Modern Times, and yet it takes this commentary a step further, involving clear depictions of death, violence, and war.
      - A scene taking place after a mother is injured and her body pushes a stroller with her child inside of it down the stairs past numerous dead bodies. One death leads to another, and a body is added to the collection. Even an infant is not safe, and its life is sacrificed.
    - - While short, this Alice Guy Blache film is written about death in a very obvious way. In the film, a girl's younger sister hears that her sister will die by the time the last leaf falls. Because of this, the girl's logic is to tie leaves back onto trees in order to keep her sister alive. In the end, it turns out the doctor comes back with a cure and her sister survives anyways. The film is quite simple and almost silly in a way, but is also a little tragic. It's really a film about childhood innocence and sisterly love. What I find interesting about this film is that Alice creates a space to talk about death in an almost casual way. The concept of this film could be turned into a feature film. Despite its shortness, the depth of the concepts opens doors for further thought.
      - A scene where the younger sister is found by the doctor while she attempts to save her sister from dying. In her eyes, this is the only way.
    - - In Imitation of Life, Delilah dies as a result of her daughter leaving and causing her immense grief. The reason her daughter left is because of societal ideals convincing her to attempt to live a life as a white girl. In a way, Delilah's death is a result of those societal ideals.
    - - In Mildred Pierce, her youngest daughter dies, supposedly as a consequence of Mildred creating her own path in life and making decisions in her own interest. Later, Monty is shot dead as a consequence of being a lying snake. The youngest daughter's death is met with sorrow, another reason Mildred is forced back into the typical family life and back to her original husband.