Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Shiny, Happy People
The concluding scene of The Last Laugh depicts the incredible gluttony and generosity of the unnamed, demoted doorman after he miraculously inherits a fortune from a dying American millionaire. He feasts on mounds of food, eating caviar as if it were candy and drinking champagne as if it were water. A tracking shot of the "spread" emphasizes the opulence and indulgence of our hero. What is the point of this ending? Is is a happy ending or a parody of a happy ending? Is this supposed to be objective reality or a fantasy? Is this a cynical commercial ploy or is there deeper significance to the ending?
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ReplyDeleteAlthough “The Last Laugh” may initially seem to critique the nature of capitalist society’s treatment of those who can no longer perform their work, the film’s final scene subverts this idea, reminding the audience that it is not the nature of society to blame for the ostracization of the weak and elderly; instead, the fault falls on the shoulders of the individuals in power who decide to perpetuate the unjust cycle. From the beginning of “The Last Laugh”, it is clear that the audience is intended to deeply sympathize with the protagonist, an elderly man who recently received a demotion from his position as a doorman. For example, after the man’s attempt at picking up a luggage crate results in failure, he is shown from a high angle, emphasizing his feelings of vulnerability and defeat. Shortly, as he is receiving his letter of demotion, the camera is shown through the man’s perspective, following his eyes as he focuses on the words “age” and “frailty”. The image is then blurred to emphasize his distress and weakness. By showing the world through the man’s point of view, the audience is literally placed in the protagonist’s shoes, feeling every moment of shock and pain as though they were experiencing it themselves. As the plights of the man are emphasized, the precise antagonist remains unclear. The man who presented the protagonist with the letter of demotion rarely shows up again in the film, and no other figure is directly related to the root of the ex-doorman’s pain: shame. However, at this point, “The Last Laugh” seems to present a different type of antagonist: the nature of capitalist society itself. Once the primary character’s family learns of his demotion, they refuse to let him into their home. This irrational behavior shows the unfair focus even the closest of loved ones hold on wealth and position instead of traits such as kindness and loyalty. In a particularly memorable scene, faces of several neighborhood women cackling are superimposed on the image of the man walking along a street, overwhelming his mind and emotions. Once again, it is not one person who is the enemy: it is the entire group of people who now see the protagonist as lesser because of his inability to work as a doorman, and thus, keep an “honorable” money-making position. For the majority of the film, consequently, it is society that seems to be at fault for the hero’s unfortunate circumstances – that is, until the final scene. Suddenly, due to the sudden death of a millionaire, the hero finds himself extremely well-off, basking in the bounty of capitalism. However, unlike the other wealthy characters introduced in this film – for example, the man who demanded his shoes be shined and consistently chastised the ex-doorman – the protagonist behaves with gratitude, generosity, and empathy. He talks to the bathroom attendant like a friend instead of someone whose sole purpose is to serve, he provides tips to those who work hard, and he gives back to the night-watchman who supported him in his time of need. Although, admittedly, it would be unrealistic to be in the ex-doorman’s privileged position, this final scene portrays what capitalism should like if the members behave ideally, emphasizing that only individuals have the power to change moral injustices. Although “The Last Laugh” provides a nuanced view on capitalism, highlighting both its merits and flaws, the film ultimately urges its audience to understand that, whether you are doorman, a millionaire, or somewhere in-between, following the golden rule is always worth it.
The ending of “The Last Laugh” is not just a big ‘screw you’ to society. By ending on such a happy, good karma note, the director is basically telling society that they are so blind to their own flaws they can’t handle being shown them. People need to see the Golden Rule play out. We are so desperate to cover up our pitfalls so we naively believe that things will work out in the end. That’s why movies with happy endings make money. They portray society flaws but then say that they are redeemable and everything will work out in the end. That is almost never the case. Film watchers often fall into the trap of ignorance, specifically those of the upper class. Being told that everything works out is justifying all the harms and inequalities in society. If an upper class member sees in every film that those in the lower class end up succeeding in life, they are less inclined to change their ways. The director knew this, and when he was told to change the ending to something happy, he had to make it larger than life to get his point across. This ending is so unrealistic it is laughable. The idea that one can move up a social class that easily in a capitalist society during that time period is almost impossible. The upper class can’t handle being told they perpetuate inequalities. And since the upper class is who buys tickets to see the movies, film must be directed to pleasing them.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ending to “The Last Laugh” was supposed to be a wakeup call to high society. As seen throughout the movie, the rich often disrespected the unnamed doorman. After he was demoted from doorman to bathroom attendant men began to mock and tease the unnamed. They would ridicule him for being too slow and simply for just being an old man. It is clear throughout the movie that the rich think quite lowly about anyone but themselves. Men were so desperate to be a part of the wealthy’s lives that even becoming a doorman at their hotel was an honor. The wealthy believe they are too good to be nice to anyone but their class. They think just because they have money they can treat people like crap. When the doorman inherits the fortune he breaks social norms and is nice to everybody. He feeds people in lower classes, tips every waiter extremely well and even gives a carriage ride to a random man. He uses his money to support and help everyone around him. The unnamed doorman treats everybody the same and even takes it upon himself to help the new bathroom attendant. This ending is supposed to be a wakeup call for the extremely wealthy part of the population. They need to come back down to earth and treat everybody with respect and kindness because that poor bathroom attendant could one day be richer than you are.
ReplyDeleteThe unrealistic ending to The Last Laugh, in my interpretation, changes the story of the film but retains the message about the unfortunate way society treated/treats the elderly. Throughout the film, the emotional connection and identification the doorman has with his occupation and uniform is clear and strong. This attachment to his post is depicted by his pride as he walks down the street with the uniform, his literal dreams of being a doorman others can admire, and his facial expressions of sadness and defeat when he realizes he will be demoted. The end of this film before the studio’s edits showed the harsh reality of how underappreciated hard and devoted work is in many societies.
ReplyDeleteI believe the studio’s suggestion to add the last scenes might not seek to change the film’s message of the underappreciation of work, but rather, it could simply add the idea that hard work deserves reward. The title card between explaining that the man in real life could only look forward to death is a declaration that this movie has accurately represented the sad truth for older men in the workforce. However, it also explains that the author has made a decision to give the man an unlikely, happy ending. What follows is the grand and fantastical vision of the old doorman feasting, smiling, and giving back to others around him (with cash and respect). I think this exaggeration of luxury is helpful to the movie’s message because I don’t believe it was mean to represent real life; I believe this portion of the film is the writer’s fantasy for what a man with this much passion for contributing to society deserves. The original film showed that society disregards the man which is true, but the studio’s suggested ending makes the audience question if the end of the doorman’s career should really mean the end of his value. It makes them wonder if all those years where he wasn’t old and frail mean nothing in the present. This image of a utopian society where a man who worked hard all his life is rewarded near death rather than punished and demeaned is a much more palatable, which probably means more commercially successful, story for audiences than just a harsh reflection of society’s disregard for the elderly. So, in summary, I believe this is a fantasy, not parodying happy endings, but showing the happy ending that hard workers deserve and may never get in the real world.
The ending scene of the Last Laugh is one scene that paints a fairly different picture featuring our unnamed hotel doorman than the rest of the movie. Even though it seems at first glance there is no underlying meaning, I personally think this is one piece of cinema that could be analyzed. When the doorman receives the inheritance after his counterpart dies, he is seen in the last jovial scene gorging himself on food that did not look too cheap. I think this puts into account the doors that get opened for people who work hard and rise up from the bottom to a primary spot in high-class society. After the doorman lost his job, he found really no more meaning in the life he had loved. He was nothing without his job. After he was let go, there was really no monetary or physical appreciation that was given to him. All that was given to him was like a “thanks” and the stereotypical “we hope nothing but the best for you on your future endeavors”. You could probably say the elegant culinary opportunity that the doorman chose to seize after receiving his money was someone of a reward for his hard work for the hotel all of those years. Even though he didn’t, in the formal sense, receive any gift from the hotel. But the de facto gift in his mind was the money that he oh-so deserved. And furthermore, it seemed like the doorman was hungry in the last scene (or he was made just gluttonous). But I think his overeating also had to do with what he deserved. He got as much stuff as he figured that he deserved. It is a prime example of having to want it and just taking it. Overall, he was a man who could let go with no credit and getting what he deserved in the end.
ReplyDeleteKnowing the history behind the original creative vision of Director F.W. Murnau and interference between the studio, it becomes obvious that the seemingly random and somewhat nonsensical ending is an attempt from the director (perhaps out of spite) to parody and lampoon “happy endings”. Perhaps the most compelling piece of evidence for this case is the fact that in one of the very few intertitle cards, “Here our story should really end, for in actual life the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death. The author took pity on him, however, and provided an improbable ending.” Here, the director directly acknowledges that the ending was “improbable.” The ending is a prime example of Deus Ex Machina. The events shown in the epilogue are not set up in any way, and all of the information is forced in very ungracefully. The lack of setup and payoff for the ending violates a principal law of narrative storytelling, and does not enhance the plot in any way. Additionally, the “happy ending” creates a jarring tonal shift within the film. The bulk of the film conveys a dreary and depressing tone through its optical effects, dramatic angles, and physical expressions of the protagonist. The ending forgoes all of the techniques shown prior in order to drastically shift the tone to one of cheerfulness and levity. Giving Murnau the benefit of the doubt, it is clear to see that the ending serves to parody typical, lazy happy endings that are shown not only in film, but in ever narrative medium.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the ending to The Last Laugh not only retains the film’s message, but also strengthens it through showing firsthand how to react to everything shown previously in the film. In my opinion, FW Murnau attempted to convey the message that there are innumerable faults of society in how people treat others. The unnamed old man who loses his job experiences a professional tragedy, but his neighbors, friends, and family push the dagger in even further through their taunting and ridicule. This is especially shown through the scene that features him walking home after work. In this scene, they use special effects to emphasize five or six women laughing at him. This dynamic creates the idea that he is supposed to hold a prestigious job. However, upon being demoted, reflects on the demoralization of becoming a bathroom attendant. It can be reasonably concluded that Murnau deeply stressed how society caused the unnamed man depression and humiliation. Therefore, I interpreted the “happy ending” as a reflection upon the lesson taught from the rest of the film. When the unnamed man demonstrates hospitality through sharing his wealth, it reflects that he learned from when he experienced being a bathroom attendant. In one of the final scenes, the unnamed man goes into the bathroom. He is greeted by a smiling bathroom attendant. Due to his understanding of the hardships for the working class, he responds to seeing the attendant by giving him money and a cigar. The unnamed man demonstrates the benevolence of his heart multiple times throughout the film, and since the message of the film is learning from experience with humility, the “happy ending” is a positive continuation of the film that preserves its elementary values.
ReplyDeleteIn “The Last Laugh”, the story follows the main character, a doorman who has lost his position because of “old age and frailty”, as he slowly devolves into a weaker and broken down version of himself due to the happenings around him. This would include not only his loss of his job, and therefore his direction in life, but the humiliation that he suffered from the people around him. The movie takes a direction that is far from heartwarming and becomes depressing towards the supposed close of the movie. However, as the viewer predicts that the doorman’s story ends in an extremely bleak place, the film then takes a surprising and completely out of place turn of events, cutting to the same doorman. This time, he has a new fortune and openly shows his glee to an almost annoying extent. This ending is far from the reality that the movie was trying to construct and creates an entirely new meaning for the story. The end of the film was absolutely supposed to be a commercial strategy to bring in more viewers. Though it did its job successfully in creating a “happily ever after”, the final minutes turned out to be much less of a cunning business tactic and much more of a last laugh to the higher powers that contributed to the making of the movie. In the final scenes, the movie creates a perceivable fantasy story instead of the reality that the doorman faced, being so extremely far-fetched and in-your-face with lightheartedness that it actually resembles a parody of a true happy ending. This decision, in my opinion, was most likely made for the exact reason mentioned before – the director of the movie wanted no part in the alternate ending of the movie. I think that this decision to create such a fantasy ending was in order to legitimately make some effort on the director’s part to express the anger of being forced into creating a new ending. While this happy conclusion could be seen as a legitimate story device or message for the viewer, I highly doubt that it contributed anything to the underlying meaning of the movie or its messages to the public, and instead believe that the entire ending hinges on expressing contempt for something that never should have existed.
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