Film Persona

Frank Capra’s “Meet John Doe” Thematic Elements:  Frank Capra’s ‘Meet John Doe’ is a film that is incredibly similar to the structure of most of Capra’s popular films. Films like ‘Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” or “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” examine a man who is pushed from the normalcy of the everyday modern American into the grandeur and chaos of a far more politically charged world. This idea seemed to echo of the times that Capra was living in. In the 1930s and the 1940s, small town Americans could not escape the constant newfound news cycle that sensationalized the modern world as well as headed threats of apocalypse and disaster. It is no wonder Capra’s films exhibited this unique structure, as everyday Americans felt as if they were pulled away from their immediate simple way of living and forced into the mindset of global economics and politics, especially after the stock market crash of 1929; an event that took place in the highest economic reaches of society but still its eff...

Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” Thematic Elements:   Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is a film that puts an average American patriot in the heart of Washington and then watches him become disillusioned with the American governmental system. When bright-eyed Mr. Smith first gets to Washington, he is in awe of the capital buildings, the statues, and monuments of Washington DC. Capra presents Smith as an idealist and patriot, who believes in our current system of democracy and knows its proud history. He arrives in this seemingly majestic city with the intention of participating in a fair democracy where he can fight for the constituents he represents. His first stumble along his journey is the bad press he gets when he arrives. The newspapers make fun of him and call him derogatory and defaming titles. He learns through one of the newspaper writers that it is common understanding that him being appointed to the Senate is merely as a puppet meant to do the bi...

 Frank Capra’s “You Can’t Take It with You” Thematic Elements:  Frank Capra adapted the stage play ‘You Can’t Take It with You’ into film in 1938, at a time when rising tensions were mounting around the world involving capitalism, fascism, and communism. A war of ideas was pervading the culture and society at the time with the goal of ideological supremacy. Capra’s ‘You Can’t Take It with You’ explores a possible remedy to those mounting tensions, in the form of an individualistic pursuit of happiness, freedom to pursue that happiness, and the unity of community with your fellow man. At one point in the film, Grandpa Martin says that there are too many ‘-isms’ in the world today. ‘Communism, fascism, …they’ve got an -ism for everything” is what he says to an effect. The film primarily seems to focus in on capitalism, as capitalism is the primary -ism of American culture, even to this day. The film begins with an introduction to our capitalist society, as the opening shot shows...

Frank Capra’s “Lost Horizon” Thematic Elements:  Frank Capra’s ‘Lost Horizon’ is an ambitious film about an ideal society – a society without war, without suffering, and without time itself. At the time the film was made – 1937 – the world was gearing up for the most dramatic war in its history. There were wars and rumors of wars; chaos and hostility were bubbling under the surface of society. That is how the film opens. We see the pages of a book turning, as if to start a fairy tale or a fantasy epic. The pages of the book talk about the desire every man feels to find a utopia away from society in which war and conflict are all but forgotten. Capra presents us this idea in the form of a fairy tale or fantasy epic to drive home the notion that this ideal is in fact fantasy – as he cuts from the book to the opening shot of the film to show us absolute chaos in China: Chinese citizens running for their lives with bombs going off and soldiers firing left and right. Capra lets us know ...

Frank Capra’s “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” Thematic Elements:  Frank Capra’s ‘Mr. Deeds Goes to Town’ is a film about how an individual can have his individualism stripped away and replaced with something that more conforms to society, allowing that society to control and even distort his own image entirely. Longfellow Deeds is a small-town individual with simple perspectives and simple luxuries placed in a contemporary world full of bureaucracy and technology. This presents the destruction of the individual and replaces it with the need to adapt and conform to the treachery and deceit the modern world rewards. Deeds must conform to the society he is now placed in and play by the rules of the game this society has presented; a game of winner take all – a dog eat dog world. As Deeds is getting fitted for vests and jackets to wear for public events, he comments that one of the tailors is trying to get him to wear a ‘monkey-suit.’ This notion is a theme present in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, ...

Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night” Thematic Elements:  Frank Capra’s ‘It Happened One Night’ is a film that takes place in 1934, at a time of great economic turmoil in America. Many people during this time felt trapped and restless about their circumstances. Capra presents us with two protagonists who are also feel trapped and restless about their circumstances – albeit for incredibly different and perhaps opposite reasons. Ellie is stuck in a wealthy lifestyle – unable to make her own independence choices – a slave to her affluent father’s wishes. Peter is stuck at a job that doesn’t appreciate him and one that he is tired of – however because times are so tight, he desperately requires a job to keep himself afloat. Being stuck makes them feel restless. Ellie wants freedom and separation from her economic dependencies. Peter wants the opposite – he wants the freedom that economic security provides to him as he has difficulty getting along without it. Once Ellie travels outside ...

Frank Capra’s “Lady for a Day” Thematic Elements:   In 1933, the Great Depression was still taking its toll on America. Many people were on hard times and found it difficult to get by. Capra, known for his depression-era comedies, created Lady for a Day with these difficulties in mind. It tells the story of a woman and the people around her just trying to get by in any way they can who all bound together for a common cause.  The story focuses on Apple Annie, a street vendor who sells apples. Annie lives in relative poverty and sells apples on the street to get by, she drinks heavily, and her appearance is undesirable to the common person. Years ago, Annie sent her daughter Louise to be raised in a Spanish convent because she could not afford to take care of her and hoped that she could have a better life without having an impoverished mother. However, because of the guilt and embarrassment of her status, Annie has been corresponding with Louise telling her that she is a s...