Monday, March 11, 2019
Bicycles v. Uniforms: Who Has the Last Laugh?
On the surface Bicycle Thieves and The Last Laugh have the same plot. In both films the protagonist either loses his job or will likely lose a job and in a desperate bid to restore that job they need to reacquire or even steal a precious object that symbolizes their position, a bicycle or a uniform, respectively. Furthermore, if we ignore the "happy ending" imposed by the studio on The Last Laugh, both protagonists end the movie defeated and depressed with seemingly little hope for a better future. Nonetheless, despite these similarities, these are different movies. In what way are they different? What is the social or moral message of each? What are each say about the society of their times (Germany in the 20's and Italy in the 40's)? How do they differ on questions of social mobility, morality or the family? Is one more hopeful or cynical?
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Ignoring the pleasant ending in “Bicycle Thieves,” one realizes the plot of the latter is quite dissimilar to the plot of “The Last Laugh.” While yes, both the doorman and Antonio are indeed very hopeless, the former finds himself in far less of a crisis. In “The Last Laugh,” the doorman may have lost the esteemed position of doorman, but was merely demoted and still has a job. The doorman pouts about this because he was stripped of his glamourous title and is no longer able to brag to his friends that he is the doorman of a landmark German hotel. Despite his disappointment, the doorman is actually in no real peril. In “Bicycle Thieves,” Antonio, however, is in a veritable plight. He faces losing his job entirely, without the leniency of a demotion to fall back on, and is not fighting to keep his job to impress friends, but to support his wife and two children. In a way, Antonio’s circumstance justifies his stealing a bicycle and feeling defeated. Comparing the plots of “The Last Laugh” and “Bicycle Thieves,” one notices the influences Germany and Italy, respectively, had on the films when they each were released. In 1924, the year “The Last Laugh” was released, Germany was a successful country with a bright future. This is reflected on the doorman and his being a big baby upon being demoted and shows that 1924 Germany could afford a little failure. In 1948, the year “Bicycle Thieves” was released, Italy was in early stages of convalescence from WWII. Economic instability was then a reality and there was sense of panic to recover. Such is evident in Antonio, a hard-working man who needs work to feed his seven-year-old son and baby. The doorman, caught up in Germany’s success, is concerned with a silly title and his stance in society, whereas Antonio, caught up in Italy’s precariousness, is concerned with paying his bills and surviving. The genre of Italian Neo-Realism conveys through the cynical “Bicycle Thieves” that the average Italian in 1948 had it far rougher that the average German in 1924.
ReplyDeleteCentury of Film
ReplyDelete3/12/19
Ariel Cohen
Same but Different
Both movies, The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thieves, are very similar in terms of both the protagonist’s actions as a result of their prized possessions; however, they differ in terms of their overall message. The Last Laugh portrays a man who learns two valuable lessons in life, old age comes with a price and the negative effects of defining oneself in terms of how much money they make. Despite the ending of this film, the doorman learns these lessons because he is so desperate to maintain his status. The doorman learns a lot about his society as his journey throughout the movie teaches him these cherished lessons. The society in which the doorman lives is one that he used to believe is all fun and games when he was at the top, with every person looking up to him and loving him because he had money and a nice suit that came along with a high class job. The doorman learns that in fact he is living in a capitalist society that turns on him the second his uniform is taken away from him. Similar to how the man in Bicycle Thieves gets his bike taken away from him, he too is no longer at the top of his game and comes to terms about his place in society. The man in Bicycle Thieves also learns two valuable lessons, in a low class society people are willing to go through extreme measures to get a chance at a better life, and being a role model for your family is one that may be difficult but is needed to show others responsibility. It takes the protagonist the loss of his bike to come to terms that in his society life may not seem fair but being honest and doing things the right way not only benefits yourself but your family as well. These two films have a lot of similarities but their moral and life lessons teach different unique life lessons that is needed to survive in these different societies.
Bicycle Thieves and The Last Laugh are both films that follow themes of realism through their attention to detail and stylistic choices to capture reality as it is, not a glorified or romantic version. Both films address the affect job status has on social status, and the difficulty of trying to move up in society. However, Bicycle Thieves provides a fraction more of hope than The Last Laugh because it suggests that the means one needs to climb socially is easier than in The Last Laugh. In The Last Laugh, the doorman coat is the great symbol of power and status for the doorman and the 1920s German society he lived in. When the doorman is stripped of his coat, he instantly becomes weaker and powerless. An example of this is the scene where the doorman tries to prove himself by lifting the heavy trunk, but he hurts himself further and falls against the wall in defeat. Without the coat, the doorman felt like nothing. The film has two endings, one that states that when life sucks you just have to deal with it, and another that shows the near-impossible conditions for someone to start at the bottom of society and climb to the top. This film is also commenting on 1920s German society because it is showing how bleak conditions were, how economic conditions became a defining part of one's social rank. The film has hints of classism, the idea that the poor are meant to be poor, and will always be poor. The Bicycle Thieves on the other hand, is a commentary aimed more at the government than at people, or a class of people, specifically. In Bicycle Thieves, Antonio's bike is his status symbol; the bike represents the hard work, sacrifice, and perhaps most important, his luck. The bike is the key for Antonio to join the working class, which is a step up in society. As seen through the theft of the bike, Antonio's key was taken from him which shows the fleetingness of social climbing, the idea that you can fall down the social pyramid just as quickly as you rose it. The bike as a symbol for social ascension provides more hope than the coat because it was a more common object. Throughout Bicycle Thieves, many bikes are seen; an example is the hoard of bikes in the pawn shop and the rows of bikes at the game Antonio and Bruno pass. The bike is an interesting symbol because in the pawn shop scene, the bike is a symbol of power in the sense that all the bikes in the pawn shop could represent the power taken or forfeited by Italians in hard times. In the scene where Antonio drops Bruno off at the gas station and is riding off to work, the bike once again symbolizes power and status, the power Antonio has because of his increased status which can be seen when he rides away happily and looks at all the other people trying to cram onto the trollies. It can be argued that the bike is a symbol that is too easily taken away from the individual, which in turn makes it worse than the coat. The bike is a more common object, and that is why it offers more hope. During 1940s Italy, bikes were fairly common; despite many Italians having to relinquish their bikes, they never completely lost them as many were pawned. The fact that bikes were still within arms reach depicts better prospects for climbing socially. It can be argued that this film gives the message: even though times are rough, the key is close and easier to apprehend than something like the coat.
ReplyDeleteWhile “The Last Laugh” and “Bicycle Thieves” have similar plotlines on the surface, the differences within the characters’ motivations, as well as the themes of the two films, create an important distinction. In “The Last Laugh” the doorman is removed from his position, causing him to lose his self worth. He is demoted to a bathroom attendant; his discontentment for his new job is shown during one of the first bathroom scenes where he slowly and embarrassingly stands to help a man using the restroom. The doorman wants his uniform back because he places all his self worth in his role as the doorman due to the benefits he felt it brought him. The film serves as a warning for audiences that happiness must come from inside because external factors are, by definition, impermanent. The doorman is ashamed of his lower social status; he enjoys his job because it allows him to portray a false version of himself. Alternatively, the protagonist in “Bicycle Thieves”, Antonio, has different motivations. Antonio is also of lower social status, but he chooses to work hard despite his disadvantages. When his bike is stolen, he loses his ability to continue working at the same level. Unlike the doorman, Antonio recognizes the importance of his possession for mostly unselfish reasons; he places his self worth in his ability to provide for his family. As a result, Antonio does whatever he can to reclaim his bike including contacting the police, searching much of Rome, and even locating and confronting the thief himself. The doorman wallowed in self pity and accepted his demotion, yet Antonio attempted to mend the situation in any way he could. At the end of the film, Antonio desperately attempts to steal another bike, but was quickly caught and shamed in front of his son. In this moment, Antonio is defeated, just like the doorman, but, again, the reasoning is different. The doorman is ashamed for selfish reasons, while Antonio is beaten down because he worries about his reputation in his son’s eyes. Ultimately, while these movies have similar plots, they are unique in their motivations for wanting their possessions back.
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