The Crowd (1928)

A) How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?

The film, The Crowd, related in many aspects to Chapter 20 of Eric Foner’s book, Give me Liberty. The early twentieth century acted as a time of great economic growth in the United States. As a result, America became a deeply consumer-based society and access to this consumer culture became the ultimate goal for most Americans. As Foner explains, “new leisure activities and a new emphasis on consumption had replaced politics as the focus of public concern” (Foner, 730). Consumerism became the utmost representation of freedom for American citizens. This change in culture is represented throughout the film; big business workers, such as the main character John Sims, are shown rushing out of work at exactly 5 o’clock to participate in the activities for that night. To these men, “work, once seen as a source of pride in craft skill or collective empowerment via trade unions, now came to be valued as a path to individual fulfillment through consumption and entertainment” (Foner, 724). Many men, including John Sims, moved to New York to take part in the new society, convinced that economic success and prosperity would soon follow. However, many of these men soon found out that success was not as easily attained as they had once believed.

B) What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?

Interpreting The Crowd as a primary historical document provides us with a great deal of insight into the lives of Americans at the time. Right from the start, we see the American aspiration of becoming successful. John Sims, like many other ambitious young men at the time, moves to New York in order to pursue his dreams. However, also like many other men at the time, he ends up as a “big fish in a small pond”, one of hundreds of workers at a huge business. Like many other men with their hopes set too high, John faces a series of unexpected disappointments. I think that this shows how the idea of the “American dream” was beginning to become irrelevant for many Americans. However, most of them would not give up the idea that success would someday be theirs. Another huge representation of American culture at the time was the diminishing pride in one’s job as demonstrated by the rush of workers leaving at 5 o’clock on the dot. People were now more concerned with leisure time and working was simply a source for attaining the money to pursue leisurely activities. Another reflection of American culture at this time is the scene where a bus advertisement persuades John to propose to Mary. This shows how easily influenced by advertisement Americans were. Although quite exaggerated in the film, Americans certainly were very driven by consumerism and easily manipulated because of it.

C) What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class, and race?

In the very first scene of The Crowd, a young John Sims and some of his friends are talking about what they want to be when they grow up and an African American boy responds “I detend to be a preacher man! Hallelujah!” I thought this was both sad and reflective of the American attitudes toward race at the time. Whites were seen as the dominant race and were treated as so; being white meant having much greater opportunities in life. This was especially true for American born whites. The African-American boy in this case knows that his options are limited and therefore aspires to be a preacher. The film also shows life from the perspective of working class citizens as very ordinary. It shows the daily struggles of a working class family such as tight budgeting and a house full of furniture and appliances that don’t properly work. The film reveals women as being very sexualized and inferior to men. At the end of the work, a bunch of women are shown waiting for men to pick them up and take them out for the night. Although it was a first date, and they say things like “I oughtn’t to let you kiss me”, Mary and Jane quickly give in to John and Bert’s attempts to kiss them. Once married, Mary immediately becomes a domesticated woman whose sole responsibility is to take care of her husband John. In one scene, Bert is shown promiscuously dancing with two women at his home, one of which starts to dance with John despite the fact that he is married. Another observation that could be made about race in this film is the fact that all of the people seen working in the big businesses and taking part in the nightlife were white. This was very common of the time period as most non-white cultures were forced into low-paying factories with poor working conditions.

D) What was the most important scene in the film? 389

I believe that the most important scene in The Crowd is the first scene in which John is at his new job. I think that scene summarizes many of the themes of the film. The large room with rows and rows of matching desks and men doing the same type of work, shows just how monotonous work could be at a large corporation. It also displays the new methods of work centered on mass production in the way that everyone was hurriedly going through their tasks. John’s utter boredom showed how work no longer brought about a sense of pride or skill in workers, but was now simply a compulsory task carried out in order to make a living. The fact that everyone rushed out of the office at the stroke of 5, emphasized this further. The desire to earn a living in order to afford material goods and leisurely activities is also present in this scene. As John exits the building after work, people are meeting up with one another to go out and have fun. One of John’s coworkers, Bert, even says “night life is my speed”, accentuating that people’s main interests involved leisure.