The Crowd

How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?
I think this film relates to Foner’s chapter in that it definitely represents the “business culture” he writes about. The main character, John, moves to the city in hopes of being a successful business man, and when he gets there the hustle and bustle is overwhelming and intoxicating. Foner describes the twenties as a “decade of prosperity”, and we see that John is one of the many in the giant “crowd” of the city trying to get his piece of the pie. But we also see in this film that it is not as easy as it may appear, and John is constantly on an uphill battle to make it big. However, for a brief time, when he finally does win the slogan writing contest and receives $500, he does get to live the large life of the twenties, if only for a brief time before his entire life falls apart.

What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?
One of the things I found very interesting is how many advertisements we see in the film. This shows that the consumer culture Foner keeps talking about really was starting to emerge in a big way. For the directory to consciously put ads in the scenery shows that they were actually a significant part of the world people were living in. Also, just the idea that John is writing slogans shows that consumerism really was reaching new heights in the twenties.

What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class, and race?
I think this film mostly spoke for the attitudes towards class and wealth, and the American ideas of what it was like to work and start a family. John and Mary are in essence acting out the dream for the American middle class, which is to go find a job with “the crowd”, and basically follow the straight path to a career, home, children, etc. However, when John’s downfall begins, we see that this dream is not permanent, and that although it was possible for people to make it in the United States, people’s jobs and lives still came with relatively little security unless you were constantly struggling in the race for success.

What was the most important scene in the film?
I think the most important scene was when the little girl dies, and we just see an entire city that just goes on around John and his family like nothing every happened. At this part the caption reads, "MONTHS...ENDLESS MONTHS. The crowd laughs with you always...but it will cry with you for only a day”. I think this shows how although America was booming in business and cities seemed to be the place where dreams were made, that they could still be very impersonal and cold. I think this shows a new mindset in America, where it is very possible to become successful, but you are on your own and if you fall, no one is going to help you up. I think this also could be looked at as sort of a metaphor for the economic success of the twenties and the aftermath of the Depression.

Overall Rating
I can see why this was a very popular film at the time of its release and why it has stayed around as a very influential movie. I think it really gets at the downside of economic success in urban areas, and does a great job of portraying the isolation and sense of insignificance a person could feel if they were in the middle of all this. I think many of the issues brought up are still relevant today, making this a timeless and enjoyable movie.