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Data Mining Old Movies for the Lost America
The Goo Goo Dolls famously had a song lyric, “…reruns become our history.” This is not necessarily a bad thing and it is certainly quite true, especially for GenX-ers and older. Perhaps for the millennial generation it is more like, “…user interfaces and form factors become our history.” That paradigm shift is for another essay, though.
In any case, the cultural zeitgeist of a time is captured in the reruns of television shows for sure. However, television reruns only go so far back. Also, the unifying vision of television fragmented relatively quickly as cable began to break the network stranglehold on America’s attention. Movies, on the other hand, go back more than a century. There is a great store of historical information in older black and white movies.
As an avid history buff, I often watch old movies with an eye to learn some history. Some socio-political writers here review current movies, like Kitanya Harrison. As I read his reviews, I thought someone ought to review the older movies. Many younger people do not even know these time capsules exist. Some of these movies give REAL insight into the American psyche. However, many Americans just do not know of them. If they do know of them, they are turned off by the lack of color. They also figure the story lines are stale and have nothing to do with today.
The fact is that these old movies, especially the ones before WWII are quite germane to the lives of Americans today. We are living in a second Gilded Age very similar to the one that ushered in the 20th century. I have decided I need to introduce 21st century Americans to some of the ideas and beliefs of 20th century Americans. Many 21st century Americans think of their 20th century counterparts as boring, conservative, rule-following automatons oozing with racism and sexism. There is a lot more depth there and there is much to be gleaned from the society that spawned the American century.
I will be reviewing black and white movies that I think offer real insight into the attitudes of Americans in the first half of the 20th century. For my first movie, I have chosen one of Lucille Ball’s more dramatic vehicles. Most Americans think of Lucille Ball as the red-headed screwball of the early TV sitcom, “I Love Lucy”, but she was a lot more than that. She was proof…
