Lewis Mumford is a historian and philosopher born in 1895 in Queens, NY. When he was 44 years old he created a film called "The City" a movie which contrasts a glorified view suburban life, while presenting an exaggeratedly miserable view of city life. The excerpt of the film that I watch begins with shots of the city, portraying an overcrowded world, in which conditions are poor and people are packed together like sardines. There is little room for people to move and cars are taken over by massive crowds, then at what I assume is 5 o'clock the disappear leaving behind a ghost town while they all pile in their cars and get on the highway; even on the highway the cars are unable to move due to traffic. The film then moves to what i am defining as a suburb although i do not think that the idea of a suburb had been created yet. Either way, the film shows a suburban type life where problems don't exist. An almost "Leave it to Beaver" type life, yet this film was made before the time of leave it to beaver. The film appears as an advertisement for 'safe, clean' suburbs where your kids can run around and experience the fresh air. I assume that the type of town depicted in this video is either that of an industry town, or a suburb. It appears as though it could be an industry town due to the fact that there was a factory in the town. The film does not show what happens when the factory shuts down, when what happened to Detroit happens to those small towns.
A narrator's voice is heard, explaining the beauty of this "new" type of life. I would like to highlight some of things he says and offer my comments on them.
"Just watch us grow, the scales wont hold us soon."
I found this to be ironic due to increasing obesity in America.
"A little gossip, or a friendly hand is good for the complexion"
I found this statement also a telling sign that the life they are offering in this video isn't really real.
"...the market is just an annex to the kitchen, another chance to chat about the children's measles or the weather..."
The narrator makes this statement in such a lighthearted way. As if to say that life in this suburb is so perfect that even when your child has the measles things are okay. This again, is an example of how the reality lifestyle has been skewed.
"One thing is sure, most of the greens brought in by truck from nearby farms each morning are fresh and crisp, and haven't lost their flavor or youth."
I found it to be interesting that this was an issue even in 1939, and is still an issue (kind of) in 2011.
"In this new scheme of things, the school becomes the center and the focus of activities."
This statement was true for the town i grew up in. Any town-wide activity was held at the school and church (which were connected to one another). In the early 2000's Catholic schools began closing. between 2000 and 20006 twenty-two schools closed, the school in my town being one of them. since then my town has fallen apart. This kind of falls into the same vein as centering a town around and industry or a factory. Once that place closes the town has no purpose and is essentially abandoned. The narrator tries to cast this centralized focus in a good light, yet it is another "leave it to beaver" type situation. It looks good on the surface but in reality it limits a town and puts it into a slippery situation where the town depends on this industry or this school and if that fails so does the town.
"You take your choice, each one is real, each one is possible"
This statement is humorous as neither of these choices were real. Both were gross exaggerations of each scenario.
This is the intro to a movie called revolutionary road. Set in 1955, 16 years after the release of Mumford's film, in the world that Mumford was championing. The movie follows a couple who in their seventh year of marriage move to a suburb. They realize they are unfulfilled with the life they bought into and their marriage falls apart as a result.
I think if Mumford had seen this movie his film might have a different tone.
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