I love things that are self-aware, probably because I am hyper self-aware. I like things that turn inward and critique or reflect upon themselves. Along with requiring a unique sense of perspective (being on the inside and still looking in), it takes courage, too. I can think of lots of examples: 30 Rock skewers network television from the perspective of a network television show; At Swim-Two-Birds is a meta-textual story, a writer writing about a writer. Two of my favorite movies deal with this self-awareness. They are movies about movies – I just love that.
Singin’ in the Rain – courtesy of IMDB
The first is Singin’ in the Rain, which I’ve written about before. Gene Kelly stars as Don Lockwood, a performer who got involved in motion pictures after his work as a set musician and then stuntman. He caught the eye of starlet Lena Lamont played by a delightfully annoying Jean Hagen. His best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor), works on film music and keeps Don grounded as his star rises. But, no one keeps Don’s ego in check better than Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds), a chorus girl Don meets serendipitously. She insists that she’s not familiar with his movies and considers film to be second to the stage. The movie focuses on the shift from silent to talking pictures. Classic musical shenanigans ensue, brilliantly choreographed musical numbers highlight Kelly’s propensity for all things dance while a slew of excellent songs with beautiful lyrics will keep you humming hours after seeing the movie. Kelly’s iconic Singin’ in the Rain dance will have you swinging off of lampposts, too.
Just as Don and Lena were getting settled in their stardom, something came along to uproot everything they knew about their business. Don is lucky enough to have Gene Kelly’s beautiful voice, Lena is not. Rather than have the audience hear Lena’s real voice, studio executives dub her lines with the voice of Kathy. Watching silent film stars struggle to adjust to the presence of sound in a movie is fascinating. In real life, actors had to drastically change their performance styles or risk becoming antiquated faces of films past. In a way, Singin’ in the Rain deals with the fickleness of Hollywood. Audiences love Lena, but they won’t respond positively when they hear her speak. Kathy has all of the talent, but her face isn’t recognizable to the moviegoer. Both situations kind of stink, though I promise you’ll be rooting for Kathy.
This movie was made in 1952. In terms of time, it was not far removed from this actual occurrence. Silent film stars of the 1920s were pushed out by young vocal ingenues. Vocal dubbing ran rampant throughout Hollywood, which I am obstinately against, by the way. How cool is it that a movie took on these two Hollywood black marks? Of course, this is a movie musical so the commentary is done through song and dance with lots of smiling, but the commentary is still there, and I like it.
The relationship between Don and Kathy is also very Hollywood self-aware. Don has a huge ego as most movie stars will. When he meets Kathy and she refuses to indulge his star, he’s affected. He can’t stop thinking about the girl who doesn’t seem to care that he’s a movie star. How self-aware is that? It’s an actor emphasizing the worst part of an actor’s nature and thereby providing a criticism.
The Artist – courtesy of IMDB
A lot of the self-awareness present in Singin’ in the Rain can be paralleled with that of The Artist. The extremely talented, oh-so-handsome, Gene Kelly-esque Jean Dujardin plays a silent film star George Valentin who can’t seem to cope with the coming of sound. He helped launch the career of Berenice Bejo, but she quickly surpasses him in Hollywood. George desperately clings to the Hollywood he once knew and makes a few flops before he calls it quits.
The Artist deals with Hollywood’s ever-changing nature but focuses on the individual more than the conceptual whole. The audience comes to understand George’s fear of becoming obsolete, a fear that transcends the film business and can be applied anywhere. His downward spiral is more drastic, however, because his success depended on the fair-weather adoration of strangers. The Artist is aware of the fleeting nature of fame and the dangers of pinning one’s self-worth on it.
Sunset Boulevard – Courtesy of IMDB
Sunset Boulevard does this, too. Gloria Swanson plays silent film star Norma Desmond years after her last movie. Self-awareness abounds in this film. Not only is it a movie about a movie, but Gloria Swanson’s personal story parallels that of Norma. Swanson was also a silent film star whose career experienced quite the lull after the dawn of sound. Swanson had to pull from personal experience to play Norma Desmond. The result is one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen. Norma is all at once, desperate, pathetic, creepy, elegant, and regal. In this movie, Hollywood is fickle and actresses are friendless – maybe a little too true to life?
Can you think of other movies about movies that have a sense of critical self-awareness?
How about books, poems, television or artwork?
Roz Writes 