Madelman

1) The two characters are flirtatious - something approved of during this time (see question 3); there is playfulness about the first scene that is refreshing. They enjoy each other's company, are comfortable with each other - the building of a healthy relationship. This might be something 'different' for the time period, probably not the reality of society as a whole as women weren't seen on the same level as men as of yet. Once again, Hollywood and the media using propaganda to convince us of things (for good or for ill) The code Hollywood imposed on movies was their attempt to dictate morals of society - these scenes show what the expectation of a relationship might be; although I'm not sure how many real relationships follow a movie plot of star crossed lovers 2) I do not believe I have seen any movie in its entirety with either of these two - guess I better get watching! 3) the relationship is flirtatious and cute - not too standoffish, but innocent in its portrayal. He seems more experienced (as proof through his many names in the song and even with who he brings in in the second clip); she of course is much more innocent as seen in the second clip - not understanding the ways of those wild men - although she understands how to work her womanly magic in the boat. This seems to be the conundrum of many female characters of the time - they should shown as naive, but knowledgeable about how to 'woo their man'

1) I think that Held is more naive than a woman would have been in the 1920s - women understood their power with men - they were working toward and had achieved suffrage. She knew what was going on and would, in reality, have played them off each other much more; something that might have been emphasized more pre-code (question 3). Movies during the Depression were a mode of escape for almost all, so depicting a life that many were not able to live - the money, the prestige, etc - was part of that escape mode and would not have been the reality for the vast majority of the country at the time. 2) Musicals of the Depression era were, as mentioned above, a means of escaping. They would be something to inspire hope in the country and a thought that there will be a better time to come. That is one reason 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' quickly became so iconic (as well as the incredible talent of Garland). The hope of something better, a way to escape the problems of everyday life, will be depicted in the musicals to come. 3) Obviously the interactions between the men and women would have been far different pre-code. And as someone already mentioned, the costuming would be much 'less'. In many ways, it would be more 'realistic' concerning the relationships between men and women. Films during the time of the strict code regulations gave people a 'false' sense of what was really happening in America concerning relationships.

I have to say 'Wizard of Oz' - mostly because my son made me watch it over and over again when he was young (still does once in a while -he's graduating high school on Thursday); and I show the whole movie to my AP US History kids and clips to my regular history kids. But anything with Judy Garland is amazing. And of course anything with Julie Andrews (although I'm a bit soured on Sound of Music since my son wasn't in our school's production of it this year). I am looking forward to this class and learning about some musicals I am not as familiar with.