Monday, February 12, 2018
Innocents Abroad?
In Top Hat the American dancer Jerry Travers and the American socialite Dale Tremont waltz and fall in the love in the European cities of London and Venice. Along the way they meet Europeans embodied in the members of the stuffy Enlgish social club, Beddini, the Italian fashion designer, Bates the valet, hotel clerks in both cities, and even an Italian carabinieri that arrests Bates (Horace Hardwick, Jerry's producer, is played by an American actor but he could be English). The settings are European, but the actual sets reveal an idealized version of Europe. What does this film tell us about Americans views of Europeans? What do Americans think of themselves? How do Americans view themselves on the world's stage?
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The movie, Top Hat, displays to its viewers that the Americans and Europeans are in two different decades, and are extremely different in terms of energy and romanticism. In the movie, all of the Europeans are very proper and it seems like they haven’t evolved with time. For example, Beddini, the Italian fashion designer is very “old fashioned” in marrying Dale and he is willing to actually fight Jerry over her. This very dated, even for 1935 when the movie was made, and ultimately shows that Americans believe the Europeans are stuck in a past decade in terms of romanticism. Another example of the Europeans stuck in the past is at the English Social Club when the whole situation is very proper and stuffy. There is not much action at this party and it shows the American filmmakers are showing that they believe that not only do the Europeans feel they are special, but they also don’t know how to have a party like Americans, full of energy. Along with how the Americans view the Europeans, the Americans display strong feeling on how they view themselves. They show in the movie that they firmly believe they have evolved from the proper past decades and blossomed into action packed humans are here for a good time. This is shown in the fact that Jerry is performer and full of energy. He is also very aggressive and confident in getting Dale to fall in love with him, compared to Beddini, who is very proper. Along with this, the Americans just seem way more spontaneous, adventurous and somewhat sneaky. The main example of this is Jerry after Dale is mad at him. He creates a complex plan in order to get to talk to her and isn’t afraid to confront Beddini. He then takes her on a boat road and ends up marrying her the day she was supposed to marry Bendini. In terms of the world stage, this movie shows that Americans feel they are very adventurous and have a great time. Throughout the movie, the Americans are always full of energy and it just seems like they are always having fun, minus the Dale being upset with Jerry.
ReplyDeleteBased on the Mark Sandrich’s Top Hat, one could gather that, from the American perspective, Europe (and European lifestyle) was an exotic and dazzling utopia. Based on the set design, the physical appearance of Europe was a romanticized and over-glamorized version of the real thing. For example, in the setting of Venice, the set depicted a pristine, clean white city with quaint canals and cobbled streets. In actuality, Venice (and no city for the matter) is not at all that clean and quiet. The set was almost too charming – like confectioner candy, it was hard to swallow because it was too sugary sweet.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the plot – the American characters (Dale and Jerry) are guests in the cities of London and Venice. At the beginning of the film, Jerry is seen sitting in the parlor at a men’s social club. Jerry is clearly an outcast, as he is the only man not sitting with the exact same posture as all of the stuffy gentleman at the club. Every time he moves or flips his page, he is off kilter from the other men- drawing attention and turning heads every time he makes a small movement or sound. This depiction of an American in an English setting suggests two things. Firstly, it relays the message that the English (or at least the upper class socialites at this club) are stuffy, stiff, uniform, and uptight. Secondly, it makes Jerry (the representation of a typical American) appear to be the ideal “norm”. He is polite, yet not too uptight. At the same time, however, Jerry is singled out for making too much noise and not fitting in – the presents the American’s view of themselves in European society as undignified and more wild, friendly and carefree. This message is brought home when Jerry dances in the first number “No- Strings” where he describes life as a single American man to be “footloose and fancy free”.
In Italy, this theme is continued. Beddini, the Italian fashion designer, is a little less stiff and more slimy compared to the representation of the Englishman in the stuffy men’s parlor. Similarly, however, both share a certain air of condescendence and reserved attitude that we don’t see in our American characters. Even the Italian carabinieri that arrests the valet, Bates, (and Bates himself as well) share this attitude. The best proof of this is how, as Dale and Jerry spend more and more time with the European characters, we can see them adopting the attitudes and dispositions of the American characters. Almost as if their carefree attitude is infectious, we can see the European characters loosening up and dancing more as they spend more and more time with Jerry in Dale. This is evident in the last scene, where all of the previously reserved characters are shown in the background of the grand finale dance number.
Top Hat is a classical movie that delivers a strong message about American’s view of Europe and their view of themselves. The image of Europe is portrayed through the characters and scenery. The characters depict Europeans as very formal and willing to fight for their honor. In the beginning of the movie, Jerry is waiting in an English social club. The club contains men reading newspapers and drinking tea in complete silence. Whenever Jerry would talk or make a noise, everyone would stock and look at him in disgust. This scene represents Europeans as very proper. Later in the movie, Dale concludes that she must marry and decides to marry Alberto Beddini, an Italian fashion designer. During their short stay in the honeymoon suite, Jerry tap dances on the floor above them and causes loud banging sounds. Dale tells Beddini to stop Jerry and right away, he picks up his sword and declares that he will kill Jerry. Beddini is willing to fight for his loved one and in doing so, depicts all Europeans as fighters. The setting contains rivers flowing through the city with gondolas and the hotel contains giant rooms with a lot of open space. This is a generalization of Venice and the rest of Europe. The movie was shot on a set in Hollywood not in the actual cities and as result, the producers created sets that were stereotypes of each city. It is portrayed as this glamorous city were anything could happen such as falling in love and getting married. On the other hand, this movie also depicts Americans views of themselves. Jerry, the dancer, is the main depiction of a typical American. He is spontaneous and always making bold actions that work out for him in the end. One such example is separating Dale from her new husband, Beddini. He does this by out smarting causing a commotion in the floor above which results in Beddini leaving Dale to investigate the issue. This allows Jerry to slip by and into room with Dale. Bates, the valet, is another example of American culture. Bates is caught doing something illegal by a police officer but the police officer does not know English. Bates tries to take advantage of this situation and insult the police officer to his face because he believes the officer does not understand him. Unfortunately, this bold move backfires and Bates is then arrested but none the less this shows that Americans are willing to take advantage of stations and try daring acts.
ReplyDeleteMark Sandrich's Top Hat pokes fun at the typical European and their culture. He uses the character, Alberto Beddini, not only as a romantic opponent to Dale, but also as a plot device. He purposely creates Beddini's character in a way that highlights his believed stereotypes of Europeans during the era. Everything about Beddini is a stereotype from his short temper, to his stuck up manners, and also his general unawareness. This shows the viewer that during this era that Americans thought of Europeans is pretentious and generally out of the loop of things. One can interpret that Sandrich and other typical Americans thought of the European society as stuck up because of how he portrayed the Venice setting. Sandrich purposely created the backdrop to appear fake and not very impressive to highlight his views on how Europeans over exaggerate their own accomplishments. This also shows the viewers how Americans didn't view themselves as the superpower they are today, but more as the up and comer. Sandrich's The Top Hat has shown me how the American opinion of themselves and their foreign counterparts has drastically changed since that era.
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