Contemporary analysis would attribute Beppo's murderous plan to "temporary insanity."
An interpretation more likely in those days, would be (as per Lombroso) that extreme stress woke up in him the ravenous vengeful beast that he always was.
The first one, of course, is more plausible to us because of what we are and what we (think we) know.
Is the happy ending the typical Hollywood ideology NOT to alienate the public and send them away with a saccharine sprinkled rotten apple? Or, is there something else afoot? Some other ideology?
I feel that the ending, on the surface, gave audiences the "happy ending" that they would expect for their ticket price, but a closer look under the surface reveals something much more sinister; that is, a look at how those "different" from the societal norm behave and act. Whether we choose to accept the transformation in Beppo's demeanor as a Lombroso criminal trait or a "temporary insanity" plight, we have to recognize that Beppo, for whatever reason, is not your "typical" male citizen. At the time of this film, that difference was Beppo's status as an Italian immigrant in a Christian, English speaking land. This approach to the minority is embedded in the director's decision to shoot Beppo's character in such a way, and it proves the use of media as stereotyping at the time. Today, we would simply label Beppo with some kind of mental disorder and send him off: the way we see his transformation in this film is a reflection of how we view all people with similar "disabilities," then, if we will call it that. Main point- context provides clarity for the images we see and how we interpret them, with our own notions/preconceptions clouding our vision.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the film gave the typical Hollywood ending, but also it opened up an argument for stereotypes against the Italian immigrants. The film most likely reinforced the ideas and prejudices that many white Americans had against the Italians. The creators of this film knew that people would tend to agree more with the stereotyping of Italian immigrants, and that the notion of defending the immigrants would have been a taboo subject. Overall this film just reminded me of more hate against the Italian type of propaganda they were experiencing.
ReplyDeleteThere was definitely a happy ending in the movie. But like my classmates have pointed out, the stereotypes of Italian immigrants were very present in the movie. The director/producer/screen writer had to have known this-- and I think maybe wanted to show both sides in order to appeal to both audiences (people who would sympathize with Beppo and people who wouldn't)
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with my classmates that this film ended with your typical Hollywood ending. I think the director and writer of this film ended it this way to let the public decide for themselves why Beppo did not go through with this murder. Was it because he suddenly felt for Corrigan and thought about how he would feel if someone did this to him? Or was it because he knew he was better than what he was about to do and he was just lashing out because he had so many emotions running free.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the film had a its typical Hollywood “happy ending” because the enraged Beppo did not go through with his revenge plan. However, the happy ending was in favor for everyone except Beppo. But throughout the film, Beppo was depicted very much with the stereotypes that are existent upon the Italian tribe of people. As much as I would like to say yes to the fact that the happy ending’s purpose is to no alienate anyone, the entire film itself was centered on the difference between how Italians lived, and behaved compared to the others throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteI have very mixed feelings about this ending. Sometimes I think that the ending is meant to show us Beppo's humanity - that in the end, he too has feelings that can be difficult to manage at times but that he is not evil.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I sometimes feel that this ending could also be deliberate. Maybe the ending is meant to show us that a vengeful and almost insane man cannot possibly win at the end and kill the child of a respectable man.
This film definitely was not as clear cut for me - I didn't always just see the vengeful, violent and dangerous perceptions of Italians play out here.
Despite Beppo overcoming his temporary violent urge for revenge, I still wouldn't call the ending "happy." It ends with Beppo crying over the grave of his son, so no matter what way you look at it I believe the ending is still sad. Even though Beppo overcame his violent tendency, Italians could still be interpreted as being "loose cannons" to the public, so I think that might have been the intention all along.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching the film because it was similar to much of the other material that we covered in this class. It had the same themes such as struggle and hardships in America. The part where Beppo's son died was extremely sad and Beppo is a human being, he has every right to grieve for his son. The ending was not a "happy ending" for me because even though he did not kill the little girl, he stills has to suffer the death of his son that could have been prevented. Beppo is not a beast at all, he went through a traumatic experience therefore he loses control of his emotions at different times during the film.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Beppo did become extremely violent and had malicious intent towards the end of the movie, I do not think that this film made Italians look bad to the public eye. Beppo's frustration and angry was completely understandable considering the fact that his son died because he was beat up and robbed. Also, I do believe that the film ended in a typical Hollywood happy ending. The film made a point to show how Beppo went from being a violent and malicious person, to a person who forgives and becomes compassionate.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this film was made to connect the audience with someone that they would normally consider a foreigner. It successfully would gives one the feeling that anyone, even the nicest person (such as Beppo) could be driven to the point of wanting to do something bad. Furthermore, the film shows that even those kinds of people can get "redemption" by choosing to do the right thing, no matter how far gone they may seem.
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