The Crowd (1928)

1. How does this film relate to chapter 20. in Foner?

This film, beside the fact that it takes place in the 1920's, same as the chapter, relates to it in many ways. Foner asks, in the first focus question, Who benefited and who suffered in the new consumer society of the 1920's? This is simple, in relation to the film. John and Mary, have failed. They lose their daughter, John his job, their apartment, and their overall confidence in life as the movie progresses. On the other hand, John's friend, Bert, sticks it out at the firm and eventually becomes higher up, earning more money and an overall better quality of life. This was a time when big business was king and getting a job that Bert got meant you pretty much made it. The film represents the image of business that Foner talks about. The film also shows the great downward spiral all Americans felt heading into the Great Depression that Foner shows in the book. The long lines for jobs, poorer areas popping up all over the US, amongst other things.

2. Why is this film titled, The Crowd?

This film is called The Crowd for a number of reasons. I feel that the director/writer/whoever titled it this because it represented what millions of people in urbanized areas of the US we're doing. This "American Dream" idea portrayed in the film was a group thought, and each person in the US at this time went about similar ways that John and Mary did in the film to achieve their own dream. The Crowd, as the title, makes the viewer feel that they are striving for something the same thing that the characters are in the movie, as well as many people in the US at the time. Another reason I feel that they titled the film, The Crowd, was almost a negative connotation. Unlike my other reason before, where the title portrays some camaraderie amongst people striving for the "American Dream", they may have called it The Crowd because they felt that everyone was just a sheep, one of the crowd literally, trying to do the same exact things to get by in life...and it wasn't necessarily working out for anyone. Maybe a foreshadowing to the Great Depression?

3. How are ideas about work explored in the film?

In the film, John gets a job at what looks like a patent firm in downtown New York. He is making enough money to live on, even though him and his wife live in a very small apartment. He laughs at the small-time jobs he sees throughout the day, the most specific being the juggler clown that was advertising for some store when they were riding the bus. John tries to move up the corporate ladder but with to no avail. He then quits his job after having 2 kids, one which dies. He moves from job to job. Later he becomes suicidal, loses his wife, and decides that he will get any job it takes, no matter what. Ironically, he gets a job as the juggler clown on the street that e made fun of earlier in the film.
This idea about working back in the 1920's showed that when you had a solid career, whether or not you liked it or you weren't making too much money, keep going with it. After quitting, someone more eager most likely replaced John at the firm. He then sold vacuums, then had no job. The film conveys the message that it's slowly getting harder and harder for people, and finding a decent job is going to get harder too.

4. Are John and Mary exemplary examples of the "American Dream"?

I believe that, yes, John and Mary are perfect examples of people trying to achieve the "American Dream". John and Mary fall in love, get married and begin their way to living comfortably. They live in a small apartment at the beginning of the film while John works at a patent firm(?). At the end of the film, John and Mary are back together with their son, watching a comedian. They never actually achieve the "American Dream" of a nice house and comfortable living situation, but they seem to realize that they need to work harder than their previous attempt at it, which is what the film is about. I feel like that is the "American Dream". Albeit dark, i think John and Mary are perfect examples because they failed at their idea of this dream, but do not seem to phased and are willing to give it another go-around.