Chapter Three - Capra's America
Chapter Three
During the Great Depression, Hollywood battled America's harsh realities with a combination of mindless entertainment and revealing satires. Frank Capra, working with screenwriter Robert Riskin, created some of the most compelling comedies about the battle between corporate greed, corrupt politicians and the common man for the soul of America. Their incision of a satirical scalpel into the workings of our country was more telling than any news report. Together, they created some of the most lasting images of an ideal America: capable of justice, able to right all wrongs.
In Meet John Doe, a gullible Gary Cooper is turned into a media puppet and used to bilk hundreds of thousands of dollars from an unsuspecting public. Realizing what's happening, Cooper is brought to the point of suicide just before Barbara Stanwyck talks him down. In Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Jimmy Stewart becomes a senator who discovers political corruption and fights it with the help of an army of newspaper delivery boys.
Cynical handlers and corrupt politicians seem all too familiar today, but in the politically charged '30's; it might have seemed more of a revelation. In Capra's movie-world, it was also possible that there would be salvation, that there was hope for change.
Hollywood has been reporting with vehemence on its journalistic brethren since the dawn of movies. Perhaps the most famous is Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday, a remake of The Front Page; it is a relentless send-up of the insensitive fourth estate, shamelessly selling papers about human suffering.
During the Great Depression, Hollywood battled America's harsh realities with a combination of mindless entertainment and revealing satires. Frank Capra, working with screenwriter Robert Riskin, created some of the most compelling comedies about the battle between corporate greed, corrupt politicians and the common man for the soul of America. Their incision of a satirical scalpel into the workings of our country was more telling than any news report. Together, they created some of the most lasting images of an ideal America: capable of justice, able to right all wrongs.
In Meet John Doe, a gullible Gary Cooper is turned into a media puppet and used to bilk hundreds of thousands of dollars from an unsuspecting public. Realizing what's happening, Cooper is brought to the point of suicide just before Barbara Stanwyck talks him down. In Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Jimmy Stewart becomes a senator who discovers political corruption and fights it with the help of an army of newspaper delivery boys.
Cynical handlers and corrupt politicians seem all too familiar today, but in the politically charged '30's; it might have seemed more of a revelation. In Capra's movie-world, it was also possible that there would be salvation, that there was hope for change.
Hollywood has been reporting with vehemence on its journalistic brethren since the dawn of movies. Perhaps the most famous is Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday, a remake of The Front Page; it is a relentless send-up of the insensitive fourth estate, shamelessly selling papers about human suffering.
posted by Xavier Casto | 03:00
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