Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses

Last week Singin’ in the Rain earned my respect as movie of classic proportions. Its witty, vibrant plot was filled with clever dialogue that kept my smile sharp and attention focused. The movie’s outlandish performances and playful instigation of humorous drama made me feel as if I was watching a comical play. Although I failed to record extensive critique notes (due to the film locking in my focus) I did happen to notice how the style of sound frequently punched the action of the actors. Cosmo Brown’s slapstick scene of exaggerated gyrations and dancing is a primo instance where sound drove the physical action beyond reality. This technique reminds me of cartoons where sets of stairs might as well be keyboards, each advancing step is followed by an attention grabbing chime. I wanted to bring the utilization of such Mickey Mouse scoring to topic because it seemed to be an accurate overall representation of the movie: witty use of drama (over the top sounds) that tells a story with comedic relief.

The movie’s historical representation of 1920’s Hollywood provided interesting ties to actuality. The gap between celebrity and Hollywood reality was shown numerous times through the eyes of Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont. Don’s ‘dignified’ rise to celebrity status demonstrated how society worshiped movie stars as perfect specimens of humanity. The two young females that declared how refined Lamont must be also solidified the false impression of celebrity perfection. Controlled public exposure of these iconic Hollywood figures demonstrated how the producers could manipulate the eye of the public through the intentional propagation of celebrity drama. The public thought Lockwood and Lamont was a superstar couple when in reality their relationship was nothing beyond professional associations. I find it an interesting concept that producers (at this time in Hollywood) would deceive the community through restricted media. Today the phenomenon of false stories concerning celebrities is commonplace but often the product of tabloids not producers.

One of the class’s side conversations discussed how film restoration has helped to preserve pieces of film history. Despite such efforts many films are lost forever due to termination or the degrading effects of time. Donna happened to mention that occasionally films are found that were thought to have been lost to the dark side of the moon. This funneled by imagination to think how cool it would be to find a lost film. Just imagine opening an old trunk and rescuing a piece of film history!? One can only dream…