Cinema 2

“If you believe, as the Greeks did, that man is at the mercy of the gods, then you write tragedy. The end is inevitable from the beginning. But if you believe that man can solve his own problems and is at nobody’s mercy, then you will probably write melodrama.” – Lillian Hellman

Douglas Sirk’s Written on the Wind (1956) is both figuratively and literally colorful in representing melodrama.  Sirk has been through his share of drama, both professionally and personally.  He was born in Germany and worked in theatres before he began his profession as a filmmaker.  He eventually fled Germany to avoid persecution for his films, while his wife and son stayed behind; Sirk never saw them again.  He is best known for his melodramas in the 1950’s, and they often depict cynical views of upper and middle class, as their values are questioned and considered petty.  While melodrama is associated with emotional and radical forms of expression, Sirk believed that emotion was not detached from one’s mental and intellectual capacity but, rather, that “there is a thinking of the heart, too.”

Melodrama, though it was one of the earliest and most popular genres since the silent era, is ridiculed and referred to as a “weepie” because it appeals to the female demographic.  The term itself connotes hysteria, fantasy, absurdity, chaos, and exaggeration – anything outrageous or overwhelming.  While one can easily (and ignorantly) identify a melodrama as being too simplistic, emotional, or repetitive, it takes careful observation to realize that there is more than meets the eye with this particular genre.  Melodramas are not simply dramatic, rather, they are filled with complexity, discontentment, conflict, and struggle (usually internal).  Characters are endowed with inner battles that ultimately lead to their downfall or, if the director succumbs to the desires of a hopeful audience, redemption.  The struggles one is faced with in a melodrama are so intense and highly dramatized that it’s easier to choose martyrdom rather than to rise above a given situation, and the audience is left doubting their own bravado and ethics; one is left to question their own strength and threshold for pain, and must leave the film either condemning a character or forgiving them.  Upon the conclusion of a melodrama, one hopes for a clear and concise ending, some kind of message to walk away with but, instead, must deliberate on their own whether or not what they had just watched had a happy ending or a tragic one.  While melodrama is underestimated, it can usually be used, and masterfully as proved with Sirk’s work, to critique and/or call attention to societal values and injustices.

Douglas Sirk, through his melodramas, fearlessly exposes society at its worst.  He brings to focus the problems that are ignored or brushed off, while simultaneously acknowledging individuals and their dysfunctional coping methods as well as their need and/or refusal to conform to enforced norms.  In doing so, he plays with the dynamic of personal relationships like sibling rivalry, for example, competition between friends, or even tension between lovers.  Sirk puts emphasis on dark themes like repression, “black sheep”, and the misunderstood.  Through the artistic use of mise en scene, or baroque sets, which are inspired by such artists as Delacroix and Daumier, and an almost excessive use of color that creates a sense of artificiality.  Ironically, the overwhelming use of color is meant to exude a sense of oppression, a stymieing of growth and accomplishment.  The make up of the set is so colorfully designed that it creates a paint-like impression.  Sirk also uses flat lighting so that the audience sees a flat picture rather than enjoying real space and depth.  For me, this serves to represent a biased story or perspective, where a situation or emotion cannot be fathomed because it is either stifled by outside determinants or by the character who fail to acknowledge their own vices.  This can either demonstrate the oppressive work of society to mold its members, or to highlight a character’s weakness and inability to deliver what is expected of them.  Sirk also uses openings such as doorways, windows, and framing devices which ironically display a character’s entrapment, whether its physical or emotional; and mirrors that usually symbolize reflection and self-realization.  He also uses both color and music to tastefully enhance an already dramatic plot.

In Written on the Wind, we learn of a pair of siblings, who were born wealthy and are to be heirs of their father’s business, Hadley Oil Company.  While the plot seems as simple as rich brats’ inability to cope with their seemingly petty problems, we discover more in depth the actual insecurities they are faced with.  Kyle Hadley is faced with problems of virility, as he has a low sperm count in addition to his alcoholism and resentful feelings of inferiority towards his best friend and partner, Mitch.  Marylee Hadley is an insecure nymphomaniac whose heart belongs entirely to Mitch, who does not reciprocate or respond to her advances; he is in love with Kyle’s wife, Lucy.  Phallic symbols are everywhere, and color plays a major part in properly constructing the story of this troubled foursome.  Lucy and Mitch are the more serious, straight-laced characters and are given a dark wardrobe throughout the film, while the Hadley siblings are clad in colorful attire and accessories, including their cars.  In one of the opening scenes, Kyle has met Lucy and is now infatuated with her.  They are in the Hadleys’ private plane, where Kyle is the pilot, Lucy is beside him in the cockpit and Mitch is in the back.  This alone demonstrates the preconceived notion of Kyle’s power, as he is the controller in the situation, the “captain”.  However, reality comes into the cockpit with Mitch, as he reminds Kyle that he has gone off course.  It’s clear that Kyle is the head, and Mitch is the neck that controls it.  Kyle knowingly goes off course as he is determined to woo Lucy.  When he lands, he takes Lucy to an expensive hotel in Miami where the room meant for her is ornate with jewels and gifts galore.  The halls are pinkish-red and the room is filled with oversized flowers, and offers a view that overlooks the ocean.  It’s so colorful and so dramatically set up that it’s almost tacky, which represents Kyle’s cheap attempt to “buy” Lucy’s affection.  Lucy, however, is impressed but not won over, as she leaves within the hour.  She admits that the whole arrangement was beautiful; but that she was more concerned about how “ugly” it would be the next day.  This is symbolic of their whirlwind romance, as they married very soon after.  It was crazy, romantic even, but the abruptness of the situation and the drama surrounding it would foretell the tragic ending of their short-lived bliss as well as Kyle’s life.

The nature of the last events within the film is in question, as it was Kyle’s life that was a tragedy, rather than his death.  With his demise came the sudden reform of his formerly selfish and spiteful sister, Marylee, who realized that her unhealthy infatuation with Mitch and her attempts to win him over were in vain.  She would be the heir of Hadley Oil Company, and again one’s feelings are misplaced as she is completely unqualified though taking over a business is considered both a feat and an accomplishment.  However, the light is that she has outgrown her past vices of sexuality and the repercussions of blind love that make women seem weak, and must now deal with a real challenge that both men and women face, and that is taking over a business.  Written on the Wind is so overwhelming, petty, colorful, and over the top in every aspect whether it’s the creation and arrangement of each scene, outfit, and music score, or the plot itself.  It’s so ridiculous that one questions whether people can be so dense and so self-centered and this is where Sirk does his job: he raises awareness about the fickle-minded, petty nature of individuals within a society, especially when forced to fulfill certain standards.  He inspires fury over an immoral society, one that creates “monsters” like the Hadley siblings then persecutes them for being so.  Is this the type of society we want to live in, one void of values, ethics, patience, and forgiveness?  Douglas Sirk does a brilliant job with works like Written on the Wind in forcing us to not only ask such questions, but to answer them through self-reflection and self-reform.

Douglas Sirk’s film was definitely different from the other films we’ve watched so far in the semester.  Aside from Citizen Kane, I don’t remember any of the other screenings being as dramatic as the one from today.  The colors were so vibrant which work very well with the melodramatic tone of the movie.  I love how Sirk used the colors to not only tell the story but also to represent the different characters.  Mitch and Lucy (I think the wife’s name was) are given a dark wardrobe, whereas Kyle and Mary Lee (I think was the sister’s name) were clad in either bright or bold colors.  Also, Mitch and Lucy have darker features to match their more somber personalities, whereas the Hadley siblings were blonde-haired and bright-eyed.  Though the four main characters express desperation in regards to their respective emotional battles, it is ironic how the Hadleys, though they seem more extroverted and lively, are the ones in greatest despair.  I’m sure the Hadleys have gained sympathy from viewers because they are the black sheep in their family so they are expected to fail, but for me their problems seem petty.  I believe that if they weren’t so consumed by their wealth and power, that they would be able to overcome their inner struggles.  I sympathize with Mitch the most, for he got stuck being the best friend and keeper of Kyle , the love interest of Mary Lee, and the admirer of his best friend’s wife, Lucy.  To be stuck in such a love triangle, especially with a group of selfish, self-centered people, must be a terrible burden.  Also, I love the phallic symbols.  Many people mentioned the tower, and the vibrating kid on the machine.  I don’t remember anyone mentioning the beginning when Kyle was sitting at a table with two women, one of which was sucking on the olive that was on the toothpick.  I honestly thought that was the type of woman Kyle would fall for since he was the most desperate for recognition as a real man.  I admire Mitch for taking care of Kyle and for refusing Mary Lee’s advances even when faced with murder charges.  He ended up with Lucy, just like he wanted but I feel she doesn’t deserve him.  Overall, I feel the cinematography, colors, and music proved very useful and beneficial to smoothly bring the movie together.

After writing my film analysis, I thought about the other films we’ve screened in class that I enjoyed and Citizen Kane came to mind.  It’s rich with symbolism and there are as many symbols to analyze as the movie is long.  Citizen Kane is portrayed as a cold character yet every close up of him conveys intense emotion.  He was hated and judged for his abuse of money and power yet those who persecuted him for his corruption were seduced by it.  This demonstrates true hypocrisy, as those who were supposed to love him, loved not his character but everything that made them resent him. 

There is also much to be said about the women in his life.  His mother gave him away to and for money and, though he hated it, he inherited her cold disposition and thirst for money and power.  He was cold and detached towards his women and vice versa, as his women never loved him.  They loved his value in terms of power, money and connections.  His power made him powerless. 

Ironically, Kane initially resisted both the curse and blessing of wealth, saying he “gagged on [a] silver spoon.”   What I loved the most was the significance of Rosebud, which was his sled as a child.  At the beginning of the film, we are given the impression that Kane’s family is poor, hence his mother giving him away.  However, in his poverty, the young Kane found happiness in the little things like snow balls and his sled.  Even in poverty, Kane found consolation in his sled.  But once he attained wealth he became consumed by it, which ultimately led to his discontentment and unhappiness.  I find it so powerful that the Rosebud was never found and, instead, destroyed because it epitomizes Kane and his self-destruction.  Kane was content with his sled but was forced into a life of wealth which ultimately became his tragic flaw.  Kane could never find happiness, just like no one could find Rosebud.  It’s as if it never existed and, even if it did, it was never to be found again.  This demonstrates how far gone Kane was, his happiness was lost, never to be redeemed.