Uncertainty about Harvey

I am not really sure what this film was about. At first, it seemed like a light-hearted comedy about a wacky uncle that has an imaginary friend. However, the entire film turned wacky by the end. At times, I feel like Elwood used his “friend” Harvey in order help others deal with their life or their feelings. Elwood gives Dr. Chumley an excuse to talk about his life and his feelings, what he would have done differently if he could. Elwood states it himself: “They tell us about the big terrible things they’ve done and the big wonderful things they’ll do. Their hopes, and their regrets, and their loves, and their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. And then I introduce them to Harvey… and he’s bigger and grander than anything they offer me”. Perhaps Harvey is a way for Elwood to relate to and interact with other people. Harvey is a psychological tool. He makes people confront their problems by creating something bigger than they can handle, a person/creature who does not exist.

Harvey is described as being a pooka. In Irish mythology, a pooka is a mischievous creature that can shape shift, but chooses to be seen as a large black horse most of the time. A large black horse is extremely ominous, but a large white bunny is not as threatening. By describing Harvey as a large bunny, Elwood creates an almost comical image that speaks to the innocence of childhood. I doubt that Elwood is trying to hurt others by creating this persona of Harvey. I am not completely sure what Harvey meant to Elwood. He could have been a way that Elwood dealt with his emotions, and then a way in which Elwood could reach out and interact with other people. Elwood does not seem to have any friends, apart from Harvey. He is pleasant to everyone he meets, even inviting complete strangers to his house. He may have a sort of disinhibited reactive attachment disorder, in which he seeks attention from everyone, including strangers, but he does not form strong relationships with his family members.

The main character that I just cannot stand is Myrtle Mae. She cares too much about herself than the happiness of her uncle or her mother. When her mother gets home and describes what happened to her in the hospital, Myrtle is comforting. After all, it sounds to the audience like Mrs. Simmons was practically raped, if not sexually molested. We as the viewers know that’s not what happened, but to Myrtle, it could have been rape.  And when the man who assaulted her mother comes calling, Myrtle is not afraid or even wary. She practically throws herself at him in order to get his attention. Myrtle could care less about what is right for her family, and cares instead about her personal love life. She barely knows Mr. Wilson, but she’s ready to go away with him and marry him. She needs to be loyal to her family and her uncle, who have been supporting her throughout her entire life.

Dull Cecilia

This film did not start out funny, like we were previously warned. I believe this was purposefully created to show the desperation that Cecilia underwent in her life. This desperation made her vulnerable to her made-up lovers. Cecilia has lived a hard life, one without love, friendship, or attention. She chose films to escape her life, to the point of ruining her own life. She cannot do anything right except for go to movies. She cannot even work as a waitress with her sister without obsessing over films. One day, the film becomes real to her and she cannot decide between real life and fake life. She assumes that by choosing Gil Shepherd over Tom Baxter, she is choosing real life over her fake, movie life. However, even her “love” for Gil Shepherd was not real. He liked her because she gave him what he wanted- attention and awe. She fawned over Gil, and that’s what he wanted while being in that small town to save his career. The moment she made Tom Baxter go back into the film was the moment that Gil could finally be through with her. The only choice that Cecilia can make to better her life is to choose between leaving the fantasy world of her films or to fully destroy her life in order to live in her imagination. The films do not help her. She is an extremely weak character that lives internally, instead of fully interacting with the world. She only interacts with the film life, including the film stars such as Gil Shepherd. She can never leave her husband because she is too weak to do so. In the end, I feel like she wouldn’t even leave her husband at all. When she realized Gil wasn’t waiting for her, she went back to the movie theater. She will probably go back to her husband afterward, and get beat again and again. She is a very cyclic character- she leaves the real world for the fantasy world of films, falls in love, leaves her husband, gets heart-broken, and goes back into her fantasy world. She can never leave this cycle because she is not strong enough.

There is a bit of irony in the fact that the film itself was in color, but the film in the film was in black and white. One would think that the film in the movie was dull and not as full of life. However, for Cecilia, this is completely different. The film within the film was full of life for Cecilia, whereas “real life” was dull and flat. She had to escape to the black and white in order to feel anything at all. She feels love in movies, and happiness. In real life, she does not seem as concerned about anything. She does not even seem upset about the fact that her husband hates her or that she has no career or life. She is very resigned about everything in real life. In the movie life, the dullness is rich to her; the fakeness of everything is exciting. She finds fake and dull things exciting.

Birdcage

I absolutely adored this film. The humor was intelligent, not slapstick, and full of fun and lightheartedness. This film dealt with a lot of tough and difficult issues, such as homosexuality, identity crisis, tolerance and acceptance, and politics, by using humor

The main message of the film is to never change yourself for others. When Val asks his father and, consequently his mother Albert, to change themselves, everything goes wrong. Barbara’s parents only start to accept the family when they are being honest about themselves, and when they help them get away from the media. Sen. Keeley dislikes the “fake family” he knows because of how they are acting. He likes “Mrs. Coleman” because he thinks that “she” is a darling wonderful woman. He feels this way because she acts false in order to impress him. Once all the characters become honest with each other, they can finally accept who they are.

I think that it is ironic that the only people who have a problem with the future in-laws are the Keeleys. They dislike Val’s family because they act weird, and because they make assumptions about them. Val’s family knows that the Keeleys hate gays, and drags, but they never act out in dislike towards them. Val’s family has every right to dislike the senator and his family. They express their hatred for gays, well for anyone that is not a right-wing conservative. There was more hatred expressed towards things that they could not change- their sexual orientation. But Armand, Val, and Albert let Sen. Keeley sound like an idiot. However, to Sen. Keeley’s credit, he did not seem as upset by the fact that “Mrs. Coleman” was a man. He was stunned that Armand is Jewish. Those, like gays, who are given the least amount of acceptance from society, are the first people to accept those who are different than them. Armand and Albert try so hard to accept the senator and his wife in order to make Val happy. The Senator could care less about the happiness of his daughter.

This film showed the stupidity of politics at time. Sen. Keeley did not care at all about the death of his friend, but about the fact that he was found with a black, underage prostitute. He did not care about the happiness of his wife or his daughter, but how his election is going. He condemned Val’s family, but hoped that it wouldn’t influence their decision to vote for him.

While filming this movie, filmmaker Rick McKay went to Paris, London, San Francisco, and Atlanta to make a feature length documentary about drag queens. This documentary was used to train Nathan Lane and Robin Williams. I am glad this did this in order to fully grasp the culture of the drag queens, instead of making things up based on the stereotypes that people make of them. This gives the film an aspect of reality. I would hate to watch something filled with stereotypes because then I feel like we are mocking a culture that may be different from ours, but is a culture nonetheless.

Not Oedipus Complex- Just Two People Enjoying Life

This film is not funny in the way that most of the other movies we have seen in class were funny. Sure, there were some situations that could be funny, such as when Maude escapes the cop, but I found them to be a statement of Maude’s character rather than an attempt at situational humor.

Maude’s character is the character that was the most complex in this film. She is so full of life that she can be mistaken for a cute, eccentric old lady in the beginning. However, she is not a perfectly happy character. She alludes to past problems, such as being beaten by thugs for protesting for her rights. She lives for the moment, not forgetting her past. Her very identity is being unique and living- not wasting time on trivial things or getting caught up in all the drama of everyday life. She is influenced by the senses- smell, touch, hearing, seeing, tasting, etc. She has an olfactory machine in order to smell different scents of the “real world” such as snow, not the perfume-like odors.  She acts as a model and hangs paintings of herself in order to connect with sight. She plays piano to hear the music, and makes Harold sing in order to hear his voice. She has the wooden carving that she uses for its tactile properties. She drinks and eats a variety of things that she likes in order to connect with the taste of the world. She is surrounded by these senses in her home in order to feel connected with the world around her, to escape a cage.

Harold’s character is very interesting and tough to decipher. At first, he seemed to “commit suicide” in order to get his mother’s attention. This may be part of his identity- his mother never seems to care about him or ask him about himself. However, I think he just does not have anything that he deems worthy to live for. He does not seem to find happiness in anything at all. When he meets Maude, he finally finds a purpose to life. She lives all the time, each day. He learns to see life from her eyes. He does not have to worry about what his mother thinks or what is proper. He learns how to break out of his cage when he’s around Maude. I think that while growing up in the house with his mother, Harold has to follow certain rules. He tries to break free of these rules by committing acts that his mother does not approve of, unhealthy acts. Maude teaches him how to rebel in life, but how to do so with humor and vivacity.

This is not an Oedipus complex. Harold does not fall in love with Maude because he is attracted to his mother, or his grandmother. He likes her vivacity and sass. He falls in love with her spirit- her willingness to live life the way she wants to. She, likewise, does not fall in love with him at all, I believe. She plans on dying soon and wants to do something special. She likes all of his attentions, sure, but I believe she truly wants to help him, to save him from his depression. She is protesting for the last time by not allowing him to succumb to death, but rather to rejoice in life. This is the last gift she can give to the world, and she chooses to bring joy and happiness to a misguided young man, Harold.

Never Been Thawed of Hypocrisy

My first impression of this film was that it reminded me of Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. These films were extremely close in film styles- they are all "mockumentaries" and they characters are introduced first without there being any plot introduced yet. Even throughout this film, the characters are more important than the plot. There actually is not a lot of plot in this film- everything that happens is not really shown; we only know about it because the characters talk about it in their “bios”.

There was a lot of subtle humor in this film. When they at first show the coffee store, they don’t mention that it is an anti-abortion store. I at first thought the title “No Choice” was a criticism on how Starbucks monopolized the coffee store industry. Society is so obsessed with Starbucks that there really isn’t a nation-wide option apart from it. If you want coffee, then you have “no choice” but to go to Starbucks. Also, there are a lot of subtle images around people’s houses and offices that describe their personality. Shelly’s office contains a lot of sexual jokes, but they are extremely subtle. The audience needs to pay attention in order to catch these jokes because Shelly never talks about them. A lot of this film contains elements in the backgrounds that the viewer might miss because none of the actors bring attention to it.

A main theme in this film was hypocrisy. Shelly seemed to be waiting to have sex with someone special, but she completely forgets her “vow of chastity” the moment she has to opportunity to have sex with Shawn. There are a lot of religious people I know that talk highly about their religious morals and virtues, but they truly don’t follow anything their religion truly says. Shawn says that he is extremely religious and starts a Christian Rock Band because he is so religious and needs to save people from statements. However, he cusses all the time and never seems to be religious at all. He actually has no morals at all- he uses Shelly because he can and picks up women on his religious prayer band tour. The most hypocritical people in the world are religious people because they claim to follow a set of morals given to them by a higher power, but they never do or they do so by break said morals and rules. The history of religion is written in blood- the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, etc. This movie shows this perfectly when it portrays the anti-abortion protestors. They claim that they are so religious and must save the unborn children because the unborn have a right to live and be loved. However, they verbally abuse people that walk by and tell them they are going to hell.

This film claimed to be about frozen food, but this was only a medium to express themes in this film, such as hypocrisy. This medium of frozen food reminds me of shows on television, such as Hoarding: Buried Alive and My Strange Addiction. People seem to collect things for attention. That’s why Shawn has a club for frozen food- he wants attention and he wants people to recognize him as an innovator. The frozen food medium is a front for attention and power. Shawn wants to feel powerful as a man who owns things that others want- his frozen food.

Idiocracy is Idiotic alright

Before this class, I have never heard of this film. I at first was excited by the cast, for I love Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolf. However, this film did not live up to my expectations at all. The humor in this film was too slap-stick and too crude for my taste. The entire film seemed like I was watching the dream of a teenage boy-utterly obsessed with sex, food, and money. And it’s true- everything in the film had a sexual component. A person couldn’t even get a coffee without getting a hand job. Men spoke to each other using sexual motions and everything was obsessed with butts. The ironic thing is that men spoke about having anal sex, but the biggest insult was to call a person a homosexual. I personally like a film that has “smarter” humor, or humor that requires thinking. While watching this film, I felt just like the people portrayed in the future- stupid and obsessed with watching crude things about sex. I did not really find anything in this film humorous at all.

The film’s main point was to criticize society today and the capitalism that it is obsessed with. The clothes that the people in future wore were covered in ads for restaurants and retailers. The corporations were held at a godly level. For example, Costco was humongous, with no end in sight. It was where law school was held, and where everyone had to go. The Brawndo Gatorade Company had the most power and authority in the film. Water was non-existent, apart from in toilets, because the corporation did not want any competition. They even watered things with the Gatorade and feed it to children and animals. These companies were able to control how people lived and the government itself. This is obviously an over-exaggeration of society today, but it still holds true. Today, many people are brainwashed by what society tells them to do. We get sucked into buying athletic drinks because the media says it will boost our performance. And companies today do have a huge influence over the government by using lobbyists and by manipulating people and the media. Power usually follows those who have money, and giant corporations have tons of money to use.

Society also is more concerned about sex and money than it is about the welfare or education of people. Smart people are usually not the popular people in today’s society because they usually aren’t what society upholds. The Kardashians have no talent whatsoever. However, they get paid for acting stupid and being sexy. This is why on television there are shows such as “Sixteen and Pregnant”. People don’t care about those who are sixteen and smart, or actual responsible parents. Society cares about those who act stupid and promiscuous. We see it everywhere, not just on tv. Who are the most popular college girls usually? Those that sleep around or party all the time. Those that actually work for a goal or work to get the best grades usually aren’t the party animals and therefore usually aren’t the most popular. Just like “Not Sure”, people who actually try to use their intelligence to help people or get further in life are ridiculed and treated like shit. This movie proves this, even if it’s humor isn’t the smartest.

M*A*S*H

The film M*A*S*H follows the history of a staff of an army hospital during the Korean War. The men in the group use humor in order to deal with the atrocities of wartime.

Authority is a central theme in this film. Duke Forrest and Hawkeye Pierce both tend to ignore commands and rules that authority figures give them. They enter the camp on a Jeep that they stole and immediately go into the mess hall. The also ignore the instructions not to go into Colonel Blake’s tent and practically push him around to get what they want. The Colonel even says “I know what you fellas are trying to pull, but you’re not going to push me around”. However, that’s exactly what they did-they ignored the rules. They also defy authority by having the Major’s Asian student come work for them by making them drinks and cleaning their clothes. The men taunt authority and actually quote what officers say to them, but while making fun of the officers. The main voice of authority in the film is the PA system, for it is heard everywhere. The men actually use the PA system to get what they want as well.

This film also criticizes the military. The men who are officers get a lot more medical attention than those who are not. There is also an announcement over the PA saying that everyone must remove pictures from their bunks so that they look orderly. They’re in the middle of a war: who the hell cares what their bunks look like? The officers are also a bit spoiled compared to the regular soldiers: they want olives in their martinis and sugar in their coffee. However, everyone needs to make sacrifices.

The men act rudely towards women. They expect that all women will want to have sex with them, no matter their marital status or their authority in the army. This is a gender role that men put upon the women in the army. The men also don’t care about the privacy that women need- they willingly broadcast Hotlips and Frank Burns having sex. Walt Painless also claims that he wants to be faithful to the three girls that he’s engaged to, but why should he worry about being faithful to three women he’s already lead on rudely? The woman that helps Painless is sort of bullied into having sex with him in order to “save him”. Although, some of the women bring such rudeness upon themselves. Hotlips is a bitch practically all the time, and she insults the men. Of course the men will defend each other.

Obviously, this film contains many sexual innuendos and some really apparent sexual puns, such as when the broadcast of Hotlips and Frank Burns having sex was described as “climactic”. Also, the lieutenant, who Duke describes as a “lovely dish”, is called Lieutenant Dish.

Another central theme is the camaraderie between the men. The men really try to keep each other’s spirits up. They plan a fake suicide “party” for him, which mimics the Last Supper of Jesus. They give him what they think he needs at this moment- a way for him to leave his unhappiness. After his fake suicide, the men plan to help Painless out by getting him with a woman. The men also help each other out by protecting their members from the rudeness of others. For example, Trapper John McIntyre does not like it when one doctor tells a young man that he killed a man because he didn’t bring the cardiac needle. Trapper then punches that doctor, putting himself in a position to get arrested.  

Absurdity in Dr. Strangelove

The film Dr. Strangelove is not a generic comedic film. It deals a lot with deep issues, such as nuclear war and death. That being said, it contains a lot of absurd humor and understatement in order to not be too dark.

The humor in this film is carried throughout the film by understatement. No one seems really upset about anything; they just cuss and move on. When the guy realizes that wing plan R was called, he just sat there eating a sandwich. Even the emotional speech given by the pilot isn’t that drastic, just general resignation. Everyone seems to be extremely calm. A prospective nuclear war is on its way, and Capt. Mandrake is listening to music while General Jack Ripper just wants a drink. General Buck Turgidson actually seems to relish the idea of the nuclear attack. He smiles while talking to the President and doesn’t seem that concerned with the end of the world. The President himself isn’t that stressed out either. He calls the Russian leader to tell him about the strike and spends a while talking “small talk” and assures him that it is a “friendly call”. He and the Russian leader, Dmitri, argue about who is sorrier instead of actually panicking about the fact that there is a nuclear attack about to happen. This attitude is shown clearly when the President of the United States says “There’s no use getting hysterical about this!” Of course the Russian leader should get hysterical about the nuclear attack! Doomsday is extremely dangerous and it’s a clear understatement that the President states.

There is also a lot of ridiculousness in this film. The pilots and crew of the strike team get the most absurd things in their survival kits, such as condoms, lipstick, and nylon tights. The President also says something ridiculous when the Russian ambassador comes to the war room and is attacked by General Turgidson: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here.  This is the war room!” It’s a war room. The whole point is to deal with conflict and fighting. Of course men are going to fight in a war room! The air force base’s motto is “Peace is our Profession”. Obviously it isn’t, for the base started the nuclear problem in this film. It is also absurd when the Coronel won’t shot the Coca Cola machine because he doesn’t want to deal with the Coca Cola factory. I’m sure that the fate of the world as he knows it is more important that dealing with the Coca Cola Company. Not to mention the fact that he and his army already shot up most of the base, so what does one more thing matter? The Generals also are upset about allowing the Russians to obtain mine space to save the people from nuclear attacks, but they discuss these plans right in front of the Russian ambassador.

The General who calls this strike is named Jack Ripper. This name is obviously an allusion to the serial killer in the 1880s, known as Jack the Ripper. In history, Jack the Ripper was a man who killed 5 people over the course of a few months.  Buck Turgidson’s name also has a meaning. Turgid means pompous and overblown. He seems extremely puffed-up about his plan and starts to challenge the President of the United States. He is extremely overconfident and acts like the king or supreme ruler. Coronel Bat Guano’s name literally means “bat shit”.

The Gods Must Be Crazy

This film starts off as sounding like a documentary. It talks about the everyday life of an African Bushman. However, as the narrator keeps on talking, it moves to a humorous depiction of the differences between the Bushmen and the people of the “Modern World”. It’s funny because a lot of what he says is true. Human kind has increasedly made life harder by wanting more and more. We make children learn more and more because we want people to make us more iPads and better technology. Humans make life harder by choice. We put people in roles that we create. I really start to wish for a life as easy as the Bushmen’s life because for them, life is all about happiness and not being jealous of others.

This film really is a criticism of the modern world. The Bushmen’s problems are due to the coca-cola bottle that falls out of an airplane or helicopter. The Coca Cola bottle is a typical American symbol because coca-cola is an American company and an American drink. Therefore, it was the developed world that creates problems. The film also criticizes how people in developed countries live. They go to work at a certain time because they are told to, and they work when told to. These people are similar to pack animals that are made to work. The Bushmen are similar to wild animals- they can't survive in a world where they are enclosed or enslaved.

The film The Gods Must Be Crazy is more similar humor-wise to the film Modern Times because it has a lot of slapstick humor. The filming style is similar as well because at times the people and objects move faster than they do normally. This gives a more humorous aspect to the film because the movements of people and objects are very cartoon-ish. It kind of is disconcerting because it looks like the film is a cartoon, where in the beginning it seems like the film is a documentary. It also makes you cringe a lot because you sort of see what will happen based on all the bad luck before. Some examples are when the Bushman drives, or when Mr. Steyn is using the car with no brakes and keeps making a mess of things.

There are a lot of examples of situational humor, such as the fact right when the wilderness vet, Mr. Steyn, is changing, a warthog comes out and chases him until he runs into the new teacher, Ms. Thompson, but then promptly disappears so he looks like a pervert. It happens again when a rhino, the fire preventer of the desert, comes to stamp out the fire. He tries to push Ms. Thompson away from the fire, and she thinks he’s being perverted again because she does not see the rhino.

However, this film deals with a lot of serious issues, such as war, unfair justice systems, kidnapping, stealing, and death. The Bushman is put in jail for something he does not understand. The police and justice system don’t care about the truth, nor care about his health. The children are kidnapped by a killer and used to give him safe passage as hostages.

What is in a Name?

The movie “The Importance of Being Earnest” depicts two men who both use the name “Ernest” in order to get what they want. Mr. Worthing uses it as a pseudonym in order to have fun in the city. Algy Moncrieff uses the name in order to get closer to Cecily and retire in the country. Both men make up people in order to avoid their everyday business. Jack wants to get out of the country and makes up a brother, Ernest/Algy, that he must visit in the city. Algy makes up an invalid Bunbury that he must visit in the country in order to get away from his responsibilities in the city.

The humor in the film is mainly shown through the criticism of the upper class. Lady Bracknell interviews Jack Worthing in order to determine his “worth” so that he can marry her daughter, Gwendolen. However, she makes all of these ridiculous statements that shows the snobbery and ridiculousness of the upper class in England during the 20^th century. She is glad that Mr. Worthing is a smoker, for at least it is a hobby. She also is extremely happy that he claims to know nothing, for she feels that ignorance is exceptional and that education is worthless. It is sad when intelligence is worth nothing. The Upper Class in England was characterized by the lack of a profession. Those that even had professions were looked upon as lower-class. Lord and Counts did not have any real education as well. Many young men went to Oxford, but mostly to look presentable and “sow their wild oats”.  Upper Class men had hobbies, like hunting and having mistresses.  However, it seems that a mother should want an educated man who actually has some sort of hobby or is actually a nice man.

There is also an absurdity in the importance that Gwendolen and Cecily place in the name “Ernest”. Gwendolen tells Jack that her most ardent desire was to love someone whose name was Ernest. It is absolutely insane that the name of a person makes them a better or worse person. Gwendolen is so enamored by the name Ernest that she tattoos it on her body. Cecily herself tells Algy that her greatest desire was to marry someone whose name was Ernest.

There is also a criticism of women in this film. It does not matter who the women want to marry; it only matters who the mothers want their children to marry. Both women do not seem to care about the personality of their “loves”, but care only for their names and. They also don’t seem to do anything important. Cecily sits around writing in her diary and makes up girlish fantasies. They also hate each other when they are jealous of each other, but love each other when they are no longer competition and are angry at their prospective lovers. Both of them are extremely silly with no real strength of character and they act like spoiled children.  

Criticism of "Blind Sheep"

I first expected Monty Python’s Life of Brian to be a not-so-subtle attack on religion, for I knew that it was about a man who was considered to be the messiah. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Pythons, as the crew calls itself, made this film in an attempt to bring to light the hypocrisy of those that follow authorities without thinking for themselves.

The central theme of this film is the criticism of those that follow blindly. The film starts off with three wise men bearing gifts to a barn where a woman just gave birth. The wise men tell the woman that a star led them to her child, who must be the Lord for a star could never be wrong when it predicts the Savior. However, the three wise men were wrong. There was another savior-predicting star that just so happened to predict Jesus’ birth nearby. The wise men follow a star blindly without thinking about much of anything.

The second incident is when people are listening to Jesus speak on the Mount. The people in the back are so rude and self-absorbed that they completely ruin Jesus’ message of tolerance. Jesus is telling everyone the Beatitudes, which bless the unfortunate. Its moral is to show that people who are less fortunate than others, but the people in the back are too busy making fun of each other to listen. They followed this man, whom they believe to be the Savior, but they don’t care to listen. They also make up what Jesus says.

The main criticism is when the people start to make Brian a messiah. They didn’t care when he was giving advice on how to be kind to others or how to find happiness, but the moment they think he has the secret to eternal life, they all start following him. There is an allusion to the separation of Christianity where the followers start arguing about what the messiah’s message is or what he wants. The followers separate into two separate groups- those that believe his sign is a shoe and those that believe it is a gourd. They never once ask Brian what he wants his sign to be or what his message is. They also make up miracles in order to justify their belief in him. In fact, while running after him, the crowd pushes a blind man on the group. This is ironic because in attempting to follow a man they believe is kind and perfect, they forget about giving kindness to others. The people then create their own image of Brian, despite his protests. They are so obsessed with following him blindly; they sacrifice him to be crucified.

The movie expresses these themes by using humor and satire. The movie has many scenes of situational humor, such as when Brian is writing “Romans go home” and the Roman centurion gets mad at him for using the wrong grammar and spelling. Brian then has to write it 100 times. There are also moments where the names of people are so ridiculous.

Criticisms in "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?"

The film also uses humor to criticize the wealthy and famous. The starlet Rita Marlowe flies across the country with her pet dog and secretary for "seclusion", but she doesn't even know what that word means. She, however, doesn't want to be in seclusion and wants guys to just fall over her. She really just wants to escape her boyfriend. She uses Rock for attention, without a care to the rest of the world or Rock's life at all. She considers love to be just the same as lust. She just wants attention, and will use anyone to get it.

Rock Hunter wants the glamorous lifestyle of the starlets, for he feels like this will make him more successful. There is a criticism about the “needs” of people wanting to be successful. To Rock, a successful man needs to look like one. He therefore starts changing his image in order to look rich. But these changes are things he does not need, but to him he feels like he needs them. He tried to use a pipe, but was so bad at it he couldn't keep it lit. He felt worthless because he can't keep a pipe lit, which to him means he will never be successful. This is purely pathetic, for a successful person is one who works at his job, not one that can just look like one. Rock Hunter also had to choose a job that was “important enough”. He and the owner of his work place chose their jobs because they knew that they needed to be successful, not because their jobs would make them happy. The success of everyone can be measured by which bathroom that person uses. This shows that their culture places more importance on physical status symbols than actual happiness.

There is also a criticism of Rock Hunter's niece, who does not seem to do anything but worry about Rita Marlowe. She doesn't go to school and only works when she cleans the house for Rita or obsesses over Rita.

There is another criticism about Jenny. Jenny reflects the women that change themselves in order to attract men. She cannot be confident in herself, and changes herself as quick as she could in order to attract Rock.

This film also criticizes the attention that stars get. Rock receives honorary degrees from Harvard just because he is dating Rita- he is not even married to her! There appears to be nothing going on in the world apart from Rita and Hunter’s romance. The world does not run without their romance, which is depressing. Our culture, then and now, wants to hear more about romance and entertainment rather than world events.

The truly humorous part of this film is the absurdity of the plot. In the normal world, a regular man like Rock Hunter would never capture the eyes of Rita in so quick a time. The film also uses physical and situational humor, such as Rock's absurd walk with the shoes, and his near-miss with the mobs and mobs of women, like those coming out of potholes. It is also crazy when Jenny and Rock’s niece start to exercise in order to change themselves, and end up stuck in the same position the whole day and night.

 

Depiction of a Hard Life Through Humor

The movie Modern Times was released in 1936 during the Great Depression in the United Sates. The film depicts the historical time by using humor. Many people during the Great Depression were out of work, lost their homes, and had no means of living. Unfortunately, poverty breeds crime. By not educating or proving work for the people, the government is resigning them to a life of crime and then punishes them for the crime they commit. The young woman in the film exemplifies this concept perfectly. She is not allowed to work and therefore has no money to purchase the basic necessities in life-food, shelter, and clothing. She has no way to live except by stealing and committing crimes. Charlie Chaplin's character suffers a similar fate. He gets laid off his job and sent to a mental hospital. After he is released, he happens to be in the wrong place and the wrong time and gets arrested. He is released, but cannot find a decent job. He and the young woman get together, but cannot afford a decent place to live in and have to steal to stay alive. When he finally finds a job at the factory, the workers go on strike and he is arrested again.

This movie depicts all of these tragedies by using Charlie Chaplin's physical humor and the slight impossibility of some events. Charlie Chaplin makes us all laugh because he uses his body, rather than his words, to create humor. Physical humor still exists today. Jim Carey is a modern actor that uses his face and body to make us laugh. Kramer from Seinfeld used physical humor as well. Every single time he walked in Jerry Seinfeld's door, everyone would laugh because he would spin around. Physical humor is universal because every person can understand it without needing to speak the same language.

Humor allows us to grasp what is given to us. We remember funny things more than we remember non humorous things. This movie wants us to experience the hardship of the times, but is using humor as the medium.