In the
movie Singin in the Rain, the actors
display a beautiful array of emotion through the use of voice and body
movement. While watching this, I identified with the characters and understood
the relationships between them. Through the use of their speech and gestures I
was able to measure the condition of the dynamics between the three main
characters, Don Lockwood, Kathy Selden, and Lina Lamont. In this blog post,
I’ll the discuss the way in which these characters used their talents with body
movement and gesture in order to communicate their emotions with one another
throughout the movie.
In the the
beginning of the movie, Don is working as a stuntman for movies in which Lina
Lamont always stars as the main supporting actor. At the end of a shoot one
day, Don approaches Lina to tell her how much of an honor it has been working
with her. She doesn’t’ say a word, but her cold, pompous manner, her high brow
and chin, and the way in which she intentionally ignores him makes it clear to
me that she not only is not interested in talking to him, but also considers
herself to be much better than him. After she sees that he might become more
than a stuntman, she stands right up next to him and smiles. This use of
movement signifies that she is only interested in him for his “assets.” Though
after this moment, he begins an on-stage relationship with her, this exchange
between them is what solidifies Don’s decision to stop pursuing her offstage.
After Don
and Lina make a few movies together, Don accidentally meets Kathy at a red
carpet premier. The first thing about her that surprises Don is that she does
not recognize him. Everywhere he goes, he can’t seem to avoid adoring fans. In
fact, they meet because he jumps in her car as a way to escape a mob of them.
As he is telling her this, he starts to put his arm around her. This body
language is an indication that he thinks he has her under his love spell.
However, as soon as she notices, she scoots away from him, and her somewhat
disgusted expression says, “Just because this guy is famous, he thinks he can
be with anyone.” This expression of self-respect is what keeps Don intrigued
with her. He spends the next three weeks thinking about and trying to find her.
He finds out that Lina, with her scratchy voice (another character revealing
device) is trying to keep them apart.
As selfish
as she is, Lina gets what’s coming to her in the end. While Lina is
mouth-singing for an audience in front of a curtain and Kathy is singing behind
it, Don lifts the curtain to reveal the real singer to the audience. Again,
this action shows, without words, how Don really feels about Kathy. Despite the
chances of losing his career for committing such an impromptu act onstage, he
still took them for Kathy. He wanted the world to share his love for her.
In
conclusion, through observation of the characters’ physical movement, I was
able to understand and identify with the characters and their relationships
with one another. This shows that movie characters use multiple tools for
communication, not just words.
I really liked how you gave very specific examples as to how different movements, facial expressions, and gestures showed true emotions that words did not always give way to. You did a great job at describing the meaning of each of these instances and it was a really good topic for discussion.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie, especially since it is showing the transition from silent films to talkies, body movement, facial expressions, and gestures are highly stressed and very important. I loved how this movie showed the individual transitions the film industry had to make in order to keep up with the technology of the sound recording to go along with the film. It was very educational in that way but yet still very entertaining. I don’t believe it would have been so entertaining and still so widely loved if it had not been for these elements of emotion shown through movements of both the body and face.
You did a very good job in giving examples as to how actions speak louder than words. Singin’ in the Rain really is a great film to show this with because there are a lot of scenes where Don is saying something with his words, but you, as the audience member, know to mean something completely different by observing what he is saying through his body movements or facial expressions. Many movies today demonstrate this, but this film shows the importance and stress put on the change due to the new technology of the talkie.
-Beth Bailey (Group 1)
This film does have a more prevalent use of body language and pantomime than what is standard for moviegoers of today, though I feel for different reasons. We see in the films being produced throughout the story that the only way to convey intent and intention is through overly exaggerated movement and over the top emotion, due to the lack of dialogue at the time. However, the film itself was set years after the actual transition, and shows how filmmakers have learned and adapted the use of sound and color into their movies. While there is a higher level of “over acting” than what is common for today, we can see a clear distinction to the characters normal movements and body language to the acting style they use when they are on camera in the storyline. Indeed, it is because the movie is a musical that their actions are overdone. The whole film has a move showy and Broadway feel than other movies of the time. Though it is a film, it has the feel of being at the playhouse to watch a great live show, without being one. This is also what I feel contributes to Lina being the least expressive of the group, because she can’t sing or dance, as they mention numerous times. All in all, this film has over the top movement seen both in the present and past, but for different reasons. After all, what’s a musical without dramatic and exciting song and dance?
ReplyDeleteBen Gross
Your idea of body movement and voice is very accurate and I like the way in which you’ve stated your observation. You said that you identified with the characters through the emotion. That is certainly a testament to the success and quality of the picture. And since it is a musical, the emotions must be exaggerated so that they may be interpreted through dance. To add to your idea, I think that the camera movements helped to shape the emotional aspect as well by allowing to see certain characters arranged in the frame in a particular way that suggests the connection that they have.
ReplyDeleteThe nature of a movie being a story told through pictures means that in order for it to succeed it must show, not just tell. This movie certainly succeeds in that way by using what you have pointed out, emotion through body movement. And with the invention of sound technology for movies, being able to say information to propel the story forward has allowed for larger, more complex ideas to be produced (Singin’ In The Rain for example.) This also allows more emotion to be conveyed, which is the other part of your point.
I also really liked Gene Kelly’s singing in this. It made me think that he was perhaps the greatest guy in the whole world, just by hearing him sing. I’m sure he was a nice guy but probably not the greatest. Nonetheless, the movie succeeds extraordinarily well on many levels and movement is definitely one of them.