Converse Essays

Converse Essays Converse Essay Converse Essay oduced and distributed Just as the nation was recovering from the effects of the Great Depression, with the economy somewhat stabilized following Roosevelts New Deal, and with the looming 2nd world war, Capras Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) is an important document not only in terms of the state of affairs as it was at the time of its production, but also in terms of what led up to it and what was about to follow. To better understand how the film accomplishes this, one must first examine the idea of freedom and its changing meaning in the period leading up to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Following that, the ways in which this idea is used in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and to what end, will be explored. Finally, the films role as an active agent in the reality that is to ensue with the outbreak of the 2nd World War, as relating to the past/present reality of the time and Capras manipulation of this reality, shall be considered. During the depression and its aftermath, the idea of freedom took several meanings as different issues were at the forefront of the American socioeconomic reality. Foner xplores depression-era ideas of freedom, concluding that the socioeconomic freedom (to work and be able to earn ones living) became of greater importance than the political freedom (as expressed in the constitution). [l] But this idea soon came to change as the conditions improved following Roosevelts New Deal. Following the labour union disputes and the more militant activism of organizations like the CIO and the Popular Front on the side of the workers, civil liberties and the freedom of speech took an increasingly central role as the decade was nearing its end[2]. The creation of the Department of Justices Civil Liberties Unit in 1939, established civil liberties as an issue with a central place in the New Deal understanding of freedom [3]. It is exactly this idea of freedom that Mr. Smith Goes to Washington builds on to convey Capras message. While Capras film conveyed the nations self image as it was at the time (perhaps more than one has any right to expect according to Bergman[4]), it also used this self image in order to make its message heard by his listeners. Qualifying Capras way of manipulating images as genius and referring to the way that he understood enough of what people wanted to help create a consciousness, and to build himself into the renders the work not only as one of a reactive nature, but also as an active protagonist. As Muscio notes, Capra was not simply a witness or narrator, but rather a key protagonist in the relationship between communications and politics[6]. As Capra explains: For two hours youve got em. Hitler cant keep em that long. You eventually reach more people than Roosevelt does on the radio[7]. freedom of speech, employing such rhetoric as: Libertys too precious a thing to be buried in books Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: Im free to think and to speak[8] or Fighting for something better than Just jungle law, fghting sos he can stand on his own two feet, free and But while such a fight was being fought at home by the CIO and protected by the Civil Liberties Unit, Capra points to the looming fght to keep these liberties overseas with his mention of Hitler