We got back the exam grades from last week’s mid term in class tonight. Let me just say that seeing the long faces from all my peers when they received their grades had said it all. I mean this is a film history course, how can someone fuck up their GPA by flunking what is, essentially, an easy class? Yes, I admit that getting that “A” didn’t come to me naturally, but showing up to class and taking notes is.
This week, our professor kicked off class by deciding to reshow the D.W. Griffith short film, “A Corner In Wheat” because, as he said, it has some connotations with today’s failing economy due to oil prices and that whole sub prime housing loan foolishness. My professor is right about the fact that this film does reveal a truth about today’s socio-economic situation: the rich will only get richer and the poor will only end up getting billy clubbed by the police and shot at for their troubles. Oh, what wonderful times that await for us in the certain not to distant future! Mark my words: D.W. Griffith had said it would be like this first!
Today’s class also marked the beginning, (in the syllabus, at least) of the era of the talking motion picture. A technological advance in the industry that also ironically, brought with it the rise of the popularity of the “gangster film” genre. As long time members of my faithful reading several would know, is an film genre that I fucking despise. The correlation between the rise of this two fixtures of the film industry are connected by the fact that movie writers like to write tough sounding, fast paced dialogue for the gangster characters. Some people may think that ’snappy” dialogue such as “You see, someone is gonna kick out your teeth one by one” is all tough sounding and what have you, but to me, it sounds very campy and I just can’t take the threatening gangster character all that seriously for the rest of the film.
Tonight’s film was the 1931 gangster film ”The Public Enemy.” I know, I was going to take the easy way out and crack jokes about Flava Flav, Terminator X, Professor Griff and Chuck D through out this review, but aren’t the careers of the former members of this one time revolutionary rap group already a big joke? I mean, Chuck D had, at one time, “sold out to da man” and was a commentator for Fox News! I suppose this means that his claim about rap music being the black man’s CNN is false. (Ha! God, I kill me!)
Oh, where was I? Oh yes, “the Public Enemy” was a 1931 vehicle for James Cagney and Jean Harlow that also set up the basic story template for all gangster films that came after it:You know, the tough street hood, and his dame witha heart of gold, who works his way up the mafia ladder and once on the top, he loses control and he falls back down. I mean * yawn* what an interesting story arc that just keeps me on the edge of my seat with suspense through out the entire film. Good thing that I brought my copy of the Migthy Book Of Boosh along with me to class tonight, otherwise, I would’ve fallen asleep during the film.
Next week is fall break, but two weeks from now in the syllabus: The production code, 1930’s musicals and “Footlight Parade!”
jareddriskill