It Feels Forced

Ever feel that way when watching a movie that is making an intentional effort to be relevant? Like maybe they have an all-Asian cast, like in Crazy Rich Asians (2018). Or maybe the dominant heroes are female, like in Wonder Woman (2017) or The Old Guard (2020). Believe it or not, Bringing Up Baby got me thinking of these kinds of movies.

To explain why, let’s go back in time just a bit to understand this. In the earliest years of film-making, people expressed themselves how they wanted, just as they would in any art. But, as we all know, if that art upsets enough people, actions will be taken. Ironically those actions tend to throw gasoline on that fire, but that never stops the attempts to censor.

So enough people were getting more and more impatient with seeing what they determined to be lewd or inappropriate in movies. It was a common enough sentiment that politicians, hoping to gain the people’s favour, started threatening action. This caused the movie industry to create their own code of ethics to avoid the government being involved. (Consider that in Chicago a law was passed in 1907 that all movies were to be reviewed first by the city’s police chief before it would be made available to the public.) That’s a good thing to avoid, and to make sure everyone would be satisfied, they made their rules—the Hays Code—rigid and straitlaced. Movies were not to depict:

• Overt references to sexual behaviour
  

• Methods of committing a crime
  

• Infidelity
  

• Childbirth
  

• Ridicule of clergy or church
  

• Homosexuality
  

• Sex hygiene or venereal diseases
  

• Interracial relationships
  

• Illegal drug use
  

• A criminal depicted as a hero

There were others, but this gives you a basic idea. This gave birth to what would be known as “Screwball Comedies.” These came about in the mid-30’s in the middle of the great depression. These were spoofs of romantic stories and movies that would see creative use of innuendos, a critique of the upper class, escapism, a “battle of the sexes,” sarcasm, wild plot twists, and other aspects that could give viewers of that time a good laugh and a good way to escape the stresses of the time. Women were the dominant figures in the relationship who knew what they wanted while the men were naive with their masculinity challenged as a way to generate comedic scenarios. Bringing Up Baby is an example of the many screwball comedies made in the 30’s and early 40’s.

Which brings us to these movies that have elements that “feel forced.” Is having a black superhero, a female warrior, or a lead gay character “just trying too hard”? Or is a response to what’s going on inside of us, a yearning for change? Maybe movie producers add these elements on purpose, but that doesn’t always mean they’re always shoehorned in. Sometimes it’s just what our current cultural situation is calling for.

Some point to box office flops like 2016’s Ghostbusters as an example of Hollywood trying too hard. But there are bound to be movies that flop in any effort. Watching Batman and Robin (1997) didn’t make me stay away from comic book movies, nor did The Love Guru (2008) lead me to decide that Mike Myers couldn’t make a funny movie.

We can see changes in our culture reflected in the movies, which I find pretty cool actually. Besides, remember that screwball comedies didn’t force their content. Their content was a result of outside restrictions that were forced. And consider the new kinds of movies we are seeing today. Aren’t they in response to what has been at the very least subtly forced? I mean, for almost a century movies were dominated by white males. Considering the actual representation of our diverse culture, doesn’t that kind of feel forced? I mean, I saw 1958’s Touch of Evil that had Charlton Heston portraying a Mexican man. Now that’s forced!

So don’t write off any movie that you think may have elements of diversity. Let Bringing Up Baby come to mind and check them out. But hey, I’m not forcing you here…

Congratulations Bringing Up Baby. This is your week.

And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actress:

Ginger Rogers as Penny Carroll in Swing Time

Best Actor: John Carradine as Hatfield in Stagecoach

Best Quote: “When a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he’s in no position to run.” — Cary Grant as David Huxley in Bringing Up Baby

Some examples of this genre, other than our movie of the week are His Girl Friday (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), It Happened One Night (1934), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). From what I’ve read, it looks like the genre ended in the mid-40’s, but it heavily influenced many others after it. A lot of sites claim the following as examples: Some Like It Hot (1959), Overboard (1987), Runaway Bride (1999), Rat Race (2001), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), and Hail, Caesar! (2016).