Saturday, February 4, 2017
A Little Bird Told Me . . .
The gossip of the members of his community about his demotion, rather than the demotion itself, is the direct cause of the doorman's downfall in The Last Laugh. Some of the most expressive images in the film demonstrate the spread of gossip and the resultant mockery of the neighbors: the camera moves to an outstretched ear, the camera follows the doorman along a walk of shame, grotesque and blurry heads superimposed on the neighborhood mock him with unabashed laughter. What is the movie saying about gossip as a form of communication? What is it saying about the community that listens to it? How does what other people think of us influence how we think of ourselves?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Everyone in modern society has a certain role no matter the personalized socioeconomic class, ethnicity, religion, or character. For the most part, there will always be someone richer and someone poorer than you in the world – that’s just the way the Earth works. Sure everyone would love to live in a fantasy world where endless riches lead to a life of happiness and relaxing, however very few will ever reach this status of wealth. We are constantly, with every profound or subtle move, are being compared and contrasted against others. As a result, society’s opinion or personal tag on you is important and very impactful. This can be clearly demonstrated in The Last Laugh where the main character, after his demotion, shows physical signs of both depression and age. He still manages to stand tall as he walks proudly with his uniform on, even though he clearly knows that he has been relieved of duty. It isn’t until he finds out that the rest of the community knows the truth that his back becomes creased and he hobbles around slowly with age. This example illustrates the drastic effect that words and opinions have on another. As the superimposed heads frightfully blur his vision, this clearly shows how other people are in his head; the words and feelings of others toward his own personal life take control of him for the rest of his life, even after he inherits great fortune. I think that especially at Hawken, where people are influenced to look a certain way and meet a high standard, we are pressured to buy expensive clothes, shoes, headphones, etc. to try and “fit in”, or in other words, to be as good as someone else by comparing ourselves. Every day people are judged and criticized for the good and bad choices that we make. Often times it can seem as if we get lost in the world of others, rather than just being concerned with our own personal lives. Instead of following what others believe, we have to remind ourselves to be content with what we have and be leaders of our own because after all we subconsciously listen and act based on others’ expectations and standards.
ReplyDeleteI think this scene is trying to show that when people are gossiping, often false accusations are made or are added to the stories, making them seem worse than they actually might be. People always want to hear the bad news about others because it makes them feel better about themselves and when they are given the opportunity, they’ll stretch the truth to make themselves seem superior to the subject of the gossip. For example, in The Last Laugh, before the doorman’s downfall, everybody in the neighborhood wanted to be his friend and be associated with his power. They wanted to climb the social latter, and by being the doorman’s friends, they would enhance their own social status. But, once the doorman was vulnerable and distraught, the people took the chance to further his grief by showing their dominance over him. With the person who was once at the top of the social latter weak and defenseless, everybody else had to prove why they were better than him. Not only did the people of the neighborhood want to prove themselves to those around them and gain social power, but they also wanted to make themselves feel powerful. By belittling the doorman, it in turn makes the people of the neighborhood feel more dominant. With all of the gossip going around and the mockery being made of him, the doorman’s fall was even worse. When the people who you think have your back are the first to turn on you, it makes you feel awful. Gossip influences the way we think about ourselves by diminishing our self-confidence and thinking that we aren’t good enough for anything. The movie does a good job with this scene to show how gossip and the loss of a support system can really be a devastating blow to an already catastrophic event.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, in society, people strive off of other people’s failures. Seeing other people fail makes shallow people happy since they are already insecure and want to feel more important than others. In The Last Laugh the protagonist loses his prestigious job, and his community who he thought were his friends, laugh at his failure. As soon as something bad happens, they all turn their backs on their family and friend. Furthermore, the town gossip brings the community together since they all congregate to laugh at someone’s failure. This movie shows that gossip is wanted and that people welcome talking negatively about each other. Watching this movie, I was disgusted by the humanity, yet I see gossip almost every day. The reason why I felt a repulsion towards the community was because of how cruel and ruthless they were to the protagonist. I think the movie exaggerated the gossip, yet similar situations happen in real life. The one scene where the community finds out about the protagonists’ demotion is a representation of real life communities.
ReplyDeleteThe Last Laugh also shows how others’ perception of us alters the way we think about ourselves. I believe it is very important to make yourself happy, yet other’s thoughts about us make us feel differently. The protagonist loved his job because other people respected him. When he lost his job people he cared about lost respect for him and turned their backs on him. The way his community thought of him shaped his mood, which is an accurate representation of life.