Essay Example on Bro, Socio-Cultural & Economic Trends Portrayed in Movies

Introduction

Films adamantly denote the socio-cultural and economic trends in society and the diverse phenomena that people face. Directors often use films to portray and condemn social evils, whether the tragic fear of autocracy, oppression, discrimination, or violation of human civil rights. Audience perception, satisfaction, and attention in the imaginative massages of a film actively depend on the movies' relevance to the contemporary trends in the socio-cultural, economic, and political life. The Brocken Blossoms is an American drama film against the dominant masculine brutality and arrogance, and racial prejudice in American civilization (The Film Daily 5). It uses satire to expose the fear of trepidation and terror that domestic violence promotes. For instance, Lucy Burrows' (Lilian Gish) childhood is characterized by an epitome of anxiety, distress, misery, and brokenness that the father Battling Burrow (Donald Crips) causes, leading to her premature death (Milne, 3461). The film depicts the social evil caused by drunkards contrasted by the innocence and holiness. Based on the short movie, Chink and the Child by Thomas Burke, Griffith exposed the cruelty and social injustice in America. Consequently, the American audience perceived the Brocken Blossoms as a sensitive, emotional, and humanitarian film that unmasked the superiority of the Asian Buddhist peacefulness as compared to the dominant western Anglo-Saxon strife, brutality, and ignorance (Motion Picture News 1251). Nevertheless, the film gained much fame and influence due to diverse phenomena from the force of the themes, director to the major characters with Asian ancestry.

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The Film in the United States

Broken Blossom was loved and appreciated by the people across the United States. It received a positive reception due to its direct connotation of the phenomena affecting the audience, such as male chauvinism and social prejudice (Milne, 3461). According to the New York Morning Telegraph, the Grand Theatre called out the police reserves contain the large crowd storming the doors for admission to watch the film. Mr. Mark, the owner of the Grand Theater, ascertained that the film attracted one of the largest crowds into the theater. That Saturday night, when the Grand Theatre aired the film, it set a record generating a lump sum of money that exceeded the previous set records by hundreds of dollars (Motion Picture News 3419). The crowd's crazy desire to watch the Broken Blossom had forced Geo M Cohan Theater to play the film 137 times despite charging three dollars per seat. Merrill Theater's manager, Bostick, also claimed that the crowd heading to the theater to watch Broken Blossom blocked all cars on Milwaukee Street. In Portland, the audience perceived Broken Blossoms as the best and most beautiful film ever played in the history of Rialto Theater (Motion Picture News 3419). The film produced a similar reaction in Tacoma, where the manager described the production as the most wonderful film that broke all the records set previously by other films. The reception of the movie across the United States created the picture that Broken Blossom was the best film production (The Moving Picture World np). The positive perceptions of the movie among the people lead them to the theaters resulting in good business never experienced from other films.

Shea's Hippodrome managed by Harold Franklin is also among the theaters that experienced good business trading Griffin's Broken Blossoms. The film was perceived to be exceptionally appealing to the people of Toronto. Mr. Franklin prepared a symbolic stage for the production consisting of a broken blossom and a flower corsage (Motion Picture News 3917). Although he always changed the films twice every week, Broken Blossoms was booked the entire week. The manager reported excellent performance in his business throughout the week of its show. The movie was perceived as an artsy embodiment of the cultures, adventures and the unaccepted pleasures of the Eastern culture attracting more people that adore the Eastern customs and traditions

The film's perception in public was affected by the key persons behind the creation of the movie, like the producers and directors that transform ideas into sound and images to make motion pictures (The Film Daily np). Most people would choose to purchase and watch a film depending on the name of the producer or distributor. For instance, the name of the film's director, D.W Griffith, assured patronage for Broken Blossom in the market. D.W Griffith has unquestioned supremacy in the film industry, establishing him as the greatest promoter of art. He was considered as the best and most crucial director and filmmaker during his generation. Using his name in public theater attracted more people to have a glimpse of what the master of art had for them (The Film Daily np). Although Griffith has continuously received criticism for his racist works, his devotion to unmask the social, economic, and political brutality in the Western society adamantly prompted massive attention. Therefore, the wave of the popularity of D.W Griffith was a marketing tool for Broken Blossom as both his fans and critics purchased their copy to assess the director's social understanding. Additionally, His picture was a representation of the height of art in films. Showing the picture of Griffith in the theater gave the public the notion that Blessed Blossom was the best assuring them of quality and compelling motion pictures in the movie, which has resulted in the reproduction of the film across the United States (Motion Picture News 2112). The presence of Griffith's image in Broken Blossoms gave it the prestige, marketing the film to the public, which transformed into more sales and profit generation.

Further, to Griffith, the presence of both Lillian Gish and Robert Harron in Broken Blossom also played an essential role in the marketing of the film. Although they were not initially entitled as stars in Blessed Blossom, they two came to mean a lot to the public compared to the other players of the film acknowledged as the chief assets of the movie. The presence of the two players lured more people into watching Blessed Blossom as they made the crowd perceive the movie to be good. For instance, Lilian Gish, famous known as the "First Lady of American Cinema" active presence in the film, attracted many people due to her influential position in pioneering the grave techniques of film performance. Therefore, the existence of famous actors significantly propelled the film to receive a positive market reaction.

Conclusively, films portray and expose the pathetic and deplorable social status that many people fear to confront. The audience's positive perception adamantly reflects their agreement with the director's connotations in a film, whether portraying the oppressive governance, poverty, male chauvinism, child abuse, or gender discrimination. The film Broken Blossoms dominated the American film market in 1919. Contrary to the racist nature of Griffith, the film received many raises from both the fans and the critics, who acknowledge the existence of silent evil of gender oppression, child abuse, and injustice against women as the protagonist's character Battling Burrow harasses both his housekeeper and innocent daughter Lucy Burrow. As many people shared in the socio-economic degradation in America, while remaining silent, Griffith becomes a voice for the voiceless to advocate against the patriarchal system and crimes against humanitarianism. Being associated with the famous Chink and the Child by Thomas Burke that campaign against the high poverty level in the society, Brocken Blossoms remain one of the most influential films in the western cinema.

Works Cited

Milne, Peter. "Broken Blossoms," Picture Reviewed in Advance, Motion Picture News. XIX. No. 14 (May 34, 1919): 3461.

Motion Picture News. "Abelson's Exploitation Makes New Patrons," Motion Picture News (January 31st, 1920): 1251.

Motion Picture News. "Kansas Exhibitor, His Artist, Makes Success with Exploitation Stunts," Motion Picture News. Vol XXI. No.2: 2112.

Motion Picture News. "New York Morning Telegraph," Motion Picture News. (November 8th, 1919): 3419.

Motion Picture News. "Shea's Hippodrome Joins Week Run House," Motion Picture News. (November 29th, 1919): 3917.

The Film Daily. "Broken Blossoms is Poignant Tragedy Given a Masterly Production," The Film Daily. (May 18th, 1919): 5.

The Film Daily. "Name of the producer is enough to assure patronage, Box Analysis for the exhibitors." The Film Daily. (June 5th, 1919).

The Moving Picture World. "David Wark Griffith and YOUR Theatre." The Moving Picture World. Vol. 46 (October 1920).