From either The Black Hand or The Skyscrapers of NY choose a SMALL DETAIL that most likely only you noticed. Describe it clearly (when, who, where) but briefly.
COMMENT:
WHY did you notice it? Is it important for your own understanding of the story? What does it TELL YOU about the characters, the director, the audience or whatever you want?
FIND YOUR OWN ORIGINAL DETAIL. DO NOT REPEAT something that has been mentioned before
REPLY: find a comment about a detail you missed but that you find intriguing in any way shape or form and explain why you chose to reply to that particular comment.
One small detail I noticed in THE BLACK HAND was the location of the Italian thugs' hideout, which happened to be a junk shop. I was able to pick up on this element because I was (unfortunately) prepared for it- Italian stereotypes were used and exploited throughout the entire film, leading me to believe that the thugs' headquarters would not be any different. Junk shops are commonly thought of as dirty, sleazy, and low class, which coincides with how American media was portraying Italian immigrants at the time.
ReplyDeleteThis detail had little to do with the story itself, other than providing the backdrop for a hostage scene and furthering the film crew's political agenda. This agenda included stereotyping an entire tribe of people and highlighting all of the negative aspects involved with the group, never once mentioning the vast benefits that Italians could bring (and have since brought) to America. Based on the depiction of Italians as mustached, violent gamblers that steal and operate out of a junk shop, I can gather that the crew behind this picture wanted to negatively influence the public's perception of Italian immigrants in America, revealing a clear case of using media to promote ignorance/racism.
I definitely missed that. I didn't realize that their hideout was a junk shop. Which directly coincides with the stereotype of Italians during the time.
DeleteA very small detail that I noticed in THE SKYSCRAPERS of NEW YORK is at the 6:27 mark in the video. This is when all the supervisors/foremen come back to get their belongings but before the foreman is accused of the theft. The first three gentlemen walk in very happy and upbeat and are chatting together but the foreman who they eventually accuse walks in very slowly and is alone and almost seems to have a limp.
ReplyDeleteI find this significant because even before he is outwardly accused of the theft, he is portrayed as an outcast or someone who is not part of the gang.
Hey Yasmin,
DeleteI missed this detail when viewing the film, but it has definitely intrigued me. The fact that the foreman is labeled "guilty," before he is even accused of crime is telling of how Italians were viewed/treated in the early 20th C; they were all "violent, dirty, mustached Mafia members" that were criminals by default (Lombroso theory). The media portrayal of this stereotype found in the detail is very relevant to what we have been learning, and I am very glad that you pointed it out.
Thank you Brandon!
DeleteOne small detail that I noticed in THE BLACK HAND was the part of the delivering of the letter. They are in a pork store and the character receives the letter. When he calls over his wife, his wife then calls in their daughter. The daughter comes running into the store and hugs her father. The way that he leaves in such a hurry, the look on the daughter's face is distressed and worried. Does she know exactly what is going on or is she just worried because her parents seem upset and flustered? The mother than comforts the girl by picking her up on her lap, holding her head and rocking her back and forth. What this shows me about the characters is that their family is very close and if something affects one member of the family, the entire family is affected.
ReplyDeleteA small detail that I noticed in THE BLACK HAND, happened when Maria was stolen. Maria was stolen on the street, in broad daylight, and shoved into the back of a horses carriage. The thing that was odd to me was that not one person seemed concerned that these men were taking a little screaming girl off of the street and sticking her in the back of the carriage. This may have happened because people were too nervous to get involved, or because this type of bribery was common back then. Still it seemed a little odd to me that no one would try and stop the men.
ReplyDeleteDear Sydney,
DeleteYou're right! now that I think of it, no one did try to intervene. I agree with you in that it could be out of a need for the filmmakers to portray the prevalence of the crimes that Italians supposedly commit.
I think that this was an astute observation that also makes sense given everything else that we have learned.
Sydney,
DeleteI can't believe I did not notice this detail in the film. It shocks me that no one found it unusual or thought to call the police.
In THE BLACK HAND, I immediately that upon receiving the letter, the man beckoned his wife, hugged her and his daughter, got his gun and left. Why is it that he automatically reverts to "criminal like" behavior upon receiving this letter. Is it becomes "all Italians are criminals" ?
ReplyDeleteI like your comment Kaitlyn, because I didn't initially pick up on the father grabbing the gun as a sign that was intended to portray Italians as resulting to "criminal like" behavior. I think that is a good touch to the stereotype associated with being Italian in America.
DeleteA small detailed I noticed in The Black Hand, was that the thieves kidnapping Maria paid off the coachman once he dropped them off. I would think that if the Black Hand was an actual organized crime as people claim, they would not trust a random stranger from the street to not "rat them out." From what I have learned by watching various movies and Tv shows, people associated with organized crimes do not allow those who are not part of their organization to be involved with any of the "dirty work."
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriela, I actually did not even think twice about this part of the clip. It is really interesting that you brought up this part of the film because I feel like most people would just pass right over it and not even think twice about who is doing their "dirty work" for them.
Deletehi, it is very interesting point, even though I watched film many times I did not paid attention to this moment. it was showing that they were paying for their workers right away after each task.
DeleteSmall detail that I paid attention to is the part Maria was already kidnapped and representative from Black Hand came over to Marias father to pick up money. Women that were looking after Maria gave her something to drink, I guess water. Maybe this will not made me to understand story better, but I think this still shows humanity in people. Even though they people that kidnapped her the women was caring for her. She could let her be their without any water but as a women, maybe a mother of some child she was worried about her.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the BLACK HAND, one detail that I noticed was the scene where the black hand was writing the letter. They misspelled 'Beware' and 'desperate'. I found this entertaining and interesting. This scene was to portray Italians as illiterate.
ReplyDeleteWay to notice that Joanne. I didn't notice that at all, but I'm glad you picked up on this. Italians had it much harder than groups like the Irish, who already spoke the native language. It takes very smart people to come to a country and learn another language.
DeleteI am impressed that you picked up on how "beware" was misspelled. Great attention to small detail. I also completely agree with your statement that this scene was placed in the film to portray the fact that most Italians were illiterate. If you look back to the video, you can also see that the black hand's attempt to spell beware was in bold lettering. The bold lettering further emphasizes the fact that the director of this film intended for his viewer to see this.
Deleteyes, I noticed this misspelling too. but I did not thing about the point that you said: Italians as illiterate
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ReplyDeleteWhile watching The Skyscraper of NY, I was intrigued with the scene that occurred from 2:11-2:25. During this 10 second span, you see a man in the background climbing the scaffold of the sky scraper with his bare hands and no protection. If he were to slip, he would be falling to his death. This scene made me conclude two things. (1) Working conditions during these days were horrible and (2) People were so desperate for work in these days that they were willing to risk losing their life to make money.
ReplyDeleteIn the Skyscraper of NY video, I noticed in the part where all the men are working in lines, you can see a man standing on a side bar positioned higher from where they were sitting. He had a pipe in his mouth and he was pointing down at the workers, sort of like he was supervising their work and bossing them around. The body positioning itself seemed to me like the workers were the Italians, and they were looked down on by those who thought themselves to be superior. It reminded me of the cartoon where the Italian was a show shiner, and drawn out to appear like an ape, and the man getting his shoe cleaned was looking down on him. Same message.
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