Wednesday, February 11, 2015
A Little Bird Told Me . . .
The gossip of the members of his community about his demotion, rather than the demoition itself, is the direct cause of the doorman's downfall in The Last Laugh. Some of the most expressive images in the film demonstrate the spread of gossip and the resultant mockery of the neighbors: the camera moves to an outstretched ear, the camera follows the doorman along a walk of shame, grotesque and blurry heads superimposed on the neighborhood mock him with unabashed laughter. What is the movie saying about gossip as a form of communication? What is it saying about the community that listens to it? How does what other people think of us influence how we think of ourselves?
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The movie is trying to show the ruthlessness of people. It is trying to show that the doorman’s community, which he probably thought he had many friends in, doesn’t care about him. That can be seen by all the laughing that everyone does when they find out that he is no longer the doorman. You would think that some of the people who he considers to be his friends would console and help him in his time of need. This is not the case as the man residents of his community just laugh at his predicament ruthlessly. The movie is also making an interesting commentary on gossip. It is showing that for some gossip and news is much more important than the feeling of the people the news is about. All the people care about is the fact the doorman has been demoted from being a doorman to being the bathroom attendant. For some reason in this neighborhood getting demoted at a job that many of the residents do not seem to have is news and reflects poorly on the doorman to the point of public humiliation. This is just a terrible part of the story as the doorman gets to see the true colors of all the people in his community. It is very unfortunate for him that he has to go through this traumatic experience of being humiliated by his friends and community, and I felt bad having to watch our friend the door man go through such a tough time as he got demoted at his place of work and by his friend in his community.
ReplyDeleteThe movie “The Last Laugh” explores how gossip can be the downfall to people. When people do not mind their own business, it can cause the person who is the subject of the gossip to have a greater downfall than he may already be having. When the lady sees the doorman working in the bathroom, she quickly runs back to tell everyone in the community what has happened. This event causes the doorman to lose his standing in the town. The doorman is already down about losing his job and now the whole town knows about his downfall without allowing him the opportunity to tell them in his own way. If the lady had waited and let the doorman tell everyone himself, the downfall may not have been as bad because he could release the news in his own way and share the reason why he moved positions. The community is tight knit so news travels quickly. The community is also harsh and insincere in its friendship with the doorman. The community is harsh when they make fun of the doorman when he returns from the job instead of listening to his side of the story and maybe consoling him. The worst part of the community involves his family who are sad for themselves that he is fired. They are sad for themselves and feel like disgraces to be around him. As a result, they kick him out of their house and never communicate, nor see him again. It is natural to listen to people and their ideas about oneself. So, when someone, like a close family member, makes fun of you, the hurt burns deeper than it would from a random person. When that close person makes fun of you and does not want you in their life anymore it kills because that person is a huge part of your life.
ReplyDeleteThe Last Laugh portrays gossip as a mode of communication that has the power to ruin a life, yet is inevitable in society. The film uses gossip to explore the darker sides of human nature. Although the doorman seems like a pleasant person who has never caused anyone harm, people immediately make fun of him for no reason once they find out that he has been demoted. Gossip spreads quickly and no one stops to think of how it makes the doorman feel. In order to show how fast gossip travels, the director pans the camera when it would seem to make more sense to use a cut. When a woman yells from her balcony that the doorman has been demoted to a bathroom cleaner, the camera pans extremely quickly across a large distance to another balcony where someone receives the news. It is almost as if the camera is following the words as they fly from one person to the next. The film attributes gossip to all of society, not only one person or type of person. As the demoted doorman walks home from his job, the camera follows him as he is jeered at by every person he passes. People who do not seem like a part of his everyday life or who may not even know him lean out of windows to make fun of him as he walks by. The movie shows that everyone is prone to spread rumors and ridicule others when given the opportunity. The doorman’s reaction to being mocked shows that he is as much a part of society as anyone. He is intensely hurt by everyone’s words and the mockery pervades his mind. As the doorman endures the worst of this torment, one sees laughing faces superimposed on the image of his neighborhood. This solidifies the idea that gossip is an inherent part of any community. It also shows how overwhelming the derision stemming from gossip can be to the person at whom it is directed.
ReplyDeleteThe Last Laugh portrays gossip as a mode of communication that has the power to ruin a life, yet is inevitable in society. The film uses gossip to explore the darker sides of human nature. Although the doorman seems like a pleasant person who has never caused anyone harm, people immediately make fun of him for no reason once they find out that he has been demoted. Gossip spreads quickly and no one stops to think of how it makes the doorman feel. In order to show how fast gossip travels, the director pans the camera when it would seem to make more sense to use a cut. When a woman yells from her balcony that the doorman has been demoted to a bathroom cleaner, the camera pans extremely quickly across a large distance to another balcony where someone receives the news. It is almost as if the camera is following the words as they fly from one person to the next. The film attributes gossip to all of society, not only one person or type of person. As the demoted doorman walks home from his job, the camera follows him as he is jeered at by every person he passes. People who do not seem like a part of his everyday life or who may not even know him lean out of windows to make fun of him as he walks by. The movie shows that everyone is prone to spread rumors and ridicule others when given the opportunity. The doorman’s reaction to being mocked shows that he is as much a part of society as anyone. He is intensely hurt by everyone’s words and the mockery pervades his mind. As the doorman endures the worst of this torment, one sees laughing faces superimposed on the image of his neighborhood. This solidifies the idea that gossip is an inherent part of any community. It also shows how overwhelming the derision stemming from gossip can be to the person at whom it is directed.
ReplyDeleteIn the film The Last Laugh gossip is portrayed as an incredibly powerful force. The film begins with a very self-assured and confident doorman. This is an individual who appears to not only know everyone but have a personal relationship with them all. One scene even demonstrates how the man goes out of his way to help a child who has just fallen. He helps pick her up and gives her some candy. Such acts of kindness epitomize the confidence of the doorman in the beginning of this film. However, after not being able to lift a large trunk off a car everything changes for the self-assured man. With his boss witnessing just how fragile his physical capabilities are becoming he demotes the doorman to bathroom attendant. This completely destroys the man. Everything he once knew and could be proud of is now gone. Despite, his horrible inner mourning the man is able to manage as no one knows of his new situation. However, after a women seeing him as his new role at the hotel all things fall apart. Everyone he once knew begins to gossip and talk about his downfall as a doorman and a man. Once this happens everything truly falls apart. The man can barely manage from day to day: he is simply defeated. For the rest of the movie it even appears that he walks with a hunch: a physical embodiment of his defeat. If it had not been for the harsh words and gossip of the town this man could have managed, but the word did get out and it ultimately led to his complete downfall. (this is with the real ending not modified)
ReplyDeleteThe movie The Last Laugh, while it is a silent film, definitely implies some important things about gossip and the way it impacts the subject; while the doorman is already ashamed of his own position and disappointed by life, the gossip being spread around town by his friends and neighbors seems to make matters even worse. This movie not only asserts that gossip can be hurtful, but it also allows the viewer to infer that gossip itself is an inherently bad form of communication. As the movie shows many different people sharing the embarrassing truth about the former-doorman’s life, the director’s intention of portraying gossip in a bad light is very clear. The Last Laugh is a story not only about the troubles of a demoted doorman, but also one that shows that words can be very hurtful and that the idea of quickly spreading rumors about a person can be detrimental to their emotions as well as their reputation. Gossip, as defined by dictionary.com, is “idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others.” Needless to say, this definition holds negative undertones and seems to put gossip in a negative light. The Last Laugh tends to agree with the dictionary in that it shows people laughing and taunting the doorman who is obviously intended to be sympathized with as he hangs his head and walks along.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to this, it is also important to consider what the director intends to say about the community that listens to gossip. It doesn’t seem like the neighbors and friends are being portrayed in a positive light, as his friends (or at least the people whom he considered to be his friends) and family laugh at him and disassociate with him respectively; obviously being mean to someone due to their unfortunate demotion is not only condescending but also unsupportive, so the fact that the director chose to portray the gossiping community in a negative light says something about the community in addition to questioning the ethics of gossip itself. Since gossip, according to the director, is not a valid or acceptable form of communication, a person who engages in such activity is subsequently intended to be seen as undesirable.
Finally, the overarching theme must be examined in order to understand that the thoughts and words of other people really do have a profound effect on us, whether we would like to admit it or not. When the main character is demoted from a doorman to bathroom attendant, he obviously feels shame; in addition to simply being angry about being demoted, he also goes to great lengths to try to hide his demotion from the rest of the world. This is indicative of not his individual personality, but in fact the principle that the thoughts and words of others matter to us more often than we admit. The doorman obviously feels even more shame and embarrassment when his neighbors find out, as he seems to be horrified when he gets the letter and tries to cover up his job switch, and upon his discovery he seems to be even more dismayed than before. Because of his humiliation, it seems like the doorman also thinks less of himself throughout the movie; he moves slower, looks at the ground more often, and simply looks unhappier as the movie goes on. Considering the fact that a doorman is not innately above a bathroom attendant, societal standards are obviously coming into play as he conveys disappointment with his change of occupation, and as a result the effect of the decreased communal opinion of the doorman is obviously a lowered self-esteem as well.