Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Uniforms and Bicycles: 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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It is true to say that the film “Bicycle Thieves” and “The Last Laugh” address similar social issues, but the way the fatality of this issue is shown is very different in those movies. In “The Last Laugh”, we have only one main character, the doorman. No one else plays a big role in the movie, so we can see change in the movie only in his behavior and actions. “The Last Laugh” uses the doorman himself to express his own failure, he walks bent and there are many high angle shots on him. In “Bicycle Thieves”, we have other characters playing a big role in the movie: Bruno, The main characters mother and his friends. Those people have a big impact on the man’s life as they interact with him very often. In the movie not the main character himself expresses the hopelessness of the situation, but the people around him. The sad stares of his son as well as the disbelieving words of his wife show how desperate the man must be. In both, the main character commit a crime, showing a similar social message: who can’t have something he wants, has to steal it. While the doorman gives the jacket back himself, the bicycle thief gets stopped by a crowd and nearly gets imprisoned. This shows that people in Rome in the 40s can understand the struggle the man is going through and spare him of the horrible situation he would have to go through. Also, he had a friend and even more people who really tried to help him get his bike back. Germany, on the other hand, seems cold in that way: nobody tries to help the doorman, instead he gets himself ridiculed and his self-worth shrinks. The door attendant’s family is embarrassed and does not make a single move to help him, other than in “Bicycle Thieves”. The whole movie is more desperate and descending in matter of self-worth and status, while in “Bicycle Thieves” we always have a little hope of him finding his bike back until the very last minute.
ReplyDeleteBoth “The Last Laugh” and “Bicycle Thieves” critique the fragile state of holding a job in the lower class. Since people who hold lower jobs, like a poster hanger or doorman, are seen as disposable to the upper class, they can be fired for what appears to be little reason. The first major difference between these films is the idea of community. In the film “The Last Laugh”, the doorman is instantly devalued in society once he loses his job and seems to be alone. While he has a job, he has a community, but when he loses the job he loses this community of people and becomes ridiculed. “Bicycle Thieves” is the polar opposite of this. Antonio has a community of people who are struggling to find a job. They all relate to one another and generally support each other unless it comes to fighting for a job. Once Antonio gets a job, he seems to be more alone. His job requires him to travel the streets by himself; however, he still has his community of lower class friends who support him when his bike is stolen. Antonio losing his job (his bike) does not result in a loss of community, but rather he receives help from his friends. The second difference in the films is their social message. “The Last Laugh” is more a critique on toxic masculinity. Men are only valuable to society when they have a high ranking job and physical strength. When they cannot live up to societal expectations, it mentally destroys the man. While “Bicycle Thieves” addresses this briefly by demonstrating the need for Antonio to get a job to provide for his family, it does not give off the same message. Antonio is not disregarded for having a low ranking job, but rather envied by those with no job at all. No part of his job or strength made him less of a man. The main message of this film was based on family. At the beginning of the film, Antonio will do anything to help his family and is an ideal role model for his son. After losing his bike, he lets his desire to have this one job drive him. This leads him to end up harming his family more than helping. He hits his son, leaves his son in dangerous places, and even results to robbery in front of his son. A hard working man is a role model, regardless of job title or social status; however, a man who results to violence and crime when he does not get what he worked for is not. This is shown throughout the film – a real man is determined and puts his family first no matter what.
ReplyDeleteBoth “Bicycle Thieves” and “The Last Laugh” are incredibly similar in their representations of their respective societies’ view on themes such as finding jobs, community, and class mobility. In both films, the loss of a job is seen as a present risk throughout life and, with the limited availability of positions in both societies, creates a feeling that the ability to maintain any type of social class or standing is incredibly difficult and fleeting. Though they share many viewpoints on their themes, they also shed light on minor differences within the two societies portrayed in the film. In “The Last Laugh”, the moment that the door attendant loses his job, he understands that his status and social standing has just been crushed. This gives insight into the nature of the community in Germany in the 1920’s, being highly competitive and unsympathetic to such an everyday occurrence that happens to many people. In contrast, “Bicycle Thieves” shows an almost complete opposite reaction to the loss of some form of social status, which can be easily seen in even the first few minutes of the film as dozens of people crowd around talking about how they have lost jobs and need to find work. These people, while still struggling for jobs, are much less cruel to each other because of the mutual situation that they find themselves in. Through these two portrayals of what it means to lose a job in each society, we also see that the struggles of society in Germany are mainly caused by the need for efficiency and competition over resources, which is the primary struggle for jobs in Italy. They are both extremely negative on their views of social mobility, showing in both films that the ability to move up in society is much harder than moving down and that there must be some fortune involved in maintaining your place in the community that you live in. The biggest difference throughout these two films is absolutely their respective views on family. In “The Last Laugh”, it is very evident, through the multiple scenes in which the doorman’s daughter and her husband reject the doorman, that family does not mean much in most situations, especially when that family is a detriment to your own life. This contrasts with “Bicycle Thieves”, which shows a heavy reliance on film throughout the movie as one of its central themes. This also leads to a more general statement that the German culture presented in “The Last Laugh” is much more self-centered than that of the culture in “Bicycle Thieves”.
ReplyDeleteThe main difference between each film is what money means to different people. The message of “The Bicycle Thieves” reflects later neorealism as and Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini depict ordinary life of Italy in 1948, a collapsed economy after the war and poverty parading the streets. “The Last Laugh” shows German expressionism with much more emphasis on emotional effect. Each style of cinema shows different perspectives of society, one highlights the desperation of poverty and the other revolves around social class.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of “The Bicycle Thieves” is to depict the devastation of poverty. Antonio Ricci and the unnamed man lose their jobs, resulting in them becoming desperate. However, the reasons behind their desperation differ. Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini try to depict a corrupt society where every man is for himself. Money is a necessity for survival. When Antonio gets a job offer, it requires a bike. To buy his bike back from the pawnshop, their family scraps their last possession: the sheets on the bed. The sheets represent losing the last luxuries of the family, something so basic. Additionally, the scale of poverty in Italy is overwhelming. At the pawnshop there is a giant inventory revealing how many people scrapped their last possessions. The portrayals of poverty are the underlying messages in “The Bicycle Thieves.” It is about how money is used to buy things. However, in “The Last Laugh” money is not a tool for buying, but a measure of status. In the epilogue, the unnamed man gloats about and tosses coins. Obviously, people of different class will treat money differently. Nonetheless, when the unnamed man faces poverty, his struggles surround the encounters with others and not his lacking of fundamental possessions.
In the scene where the unnamed man is demoted, he collapses after reading the letter. His coworkers help him up, but after touching him, one of the coworkers washes his hands. This reflects his lower income. These interactions then cause the unnamed man suffering. However, in “The Bicycle Thieves”, interactions on the streets or with coworkers have little significance. Antonio Ricci chases the old man through the streets with no thought of his social image. He pushes the man around and makes a scene at church. This scene brilliantly displays the broader context of the film: no worry to social interactions only focused on the bike. Neorealism depicts the hardships of lacking money in post war Italy, while German expressionism shows how lacking money affects day-to-day conversations.
-Tadj
ReplyDeleteAlthough Bicycle thieves and The Last Laugh are fundamentally the same movie in terms of plot structure and topic, the themes and morals presented by Bicycle Thieves leave the audience with a feeling of bittersweet optimism. Throughout Bicycle Thieves we see themes of community, family, and friendship. Perhaps the most prominent example of family is the relationship between Antonio and his son, Bruno, who accompanies him throughout the entire film. Though their relationship wavers at points, such as with Antonio striking Bruno and the child’s subsequent anger at his father, their relationship is steadfast. The film is sprinkled with moments where we see the genuine love and care they have for one another, such as their conversation at the restaurant where the two share a joking and loving moment. Along with this, there is a plethora of examples of teamwork. For Antonio, this happens when his friends diligently search for the dismantled bicycle at the flea market. Instances of teamwork also happen for the antagonists in the film. When Antonio’s bicycle is initially stolen, it is a dual effort between the thief and a man who distracts Antonio and leads him the wrong way. Later in the film, when Antonio pursues the thief into his neighborhood, all of the residents pour from their homes to defend the accused thief. When Antonio steals the bicycle in the climax, he is quickly apprehended by the victim and multiple men. Even though these people are all working against Antonio, the theme of teamwork and camaraderie is still pushed throughout the narrative. This is a stark contrast to how community is portrayed in the last laugh, where the unnamed protagonist is ridiculed and mocked after losing his job. The final scenes of the film look upon a defeated Antonio, filled with embarrassment and shame after barely escaping a trip to jail and knowing he will be without work the next day. However, Bruno hands him his hat and the two hold hands, melding into the crowd of people. the future for Antonio is clear, but he knows he will always have Bruno and Maria. Compare this scene to the ending scene of The Last Laugh, where our unnamed protagonist lies down in a dark bathroom, presumably to die. He is devoid of his title, his friends, his family, and perhaps, even his sanity. While the outcome of Bicycle Thieves may be somewhat grim, Antonio can always count on his family in the times ahead.