Screening Report 1: The Gold Rush

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
The most striking element for a modern viewer to notice while watching a silent film like The Gold Rush is the fact that filmmaking has transformed significantly as photography has progressed. From the acting, to the costumes, to more technical aspects like camera movements, better apparati, film, and techniques have allowed modern filmmakers to capture the nuances that could have been easily lost when making silent films.


The Little Tramp is one of the most recognizable characters in film history

In 1925 when The Gold Rush was released, motion photography had only been successful and commercially viable for roughly half a century with the invention of Eadweard Muybridge's simplistic Zoopraxiscope, (Foster, 2009, p. 4). Photography had improved, but it was not without its limitations. By mere observation, one can tell the quality of the film was grainy and the number of frames per second was low by modern standards, meaning choppier movements. Film could not be processed to produce color and required a lot of light to work, which forced a high contrast, black and white look. There was also no ability to record sound at the same time as filming, thus music was played during these films to fill the silence. Filmmakers needed to utilize different methods to cope with these technical setbacks and still keep movies entertaining to audiences, because nuance could easily be lost. The Gold Rush used many different methods to stay engaging, and I will elaborate more on these in my analysis.

2. Find a related articles and summarize the content.
I discovered a piece by James E. Caron called "Silent Slapstick Film as Ritualized Clowning: The Example of Charlie Chaplin". It examines the techniques used by Chaplin and others in silent films to create funny, entertaining scenes. This style of comedy was especially popular due to the lost nuance I mentioned previously; slapstick is physical, exaggerated, and hard to miss on screen. Whether through falls or pies in the face, Caron (p. 8) explains "... the comic maneuver constitutes degradation from a state of full humanity, and the results are easy laughs." Silent movie actors are, in essence, miming their way through a film and become literal clowns.

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.
Chaplin employed many slapstick gags in The Gold Rush to keep the audience laughing. During the snowstorm, The Little Tramp was constantly engaged in chase scenes as his cabinmate hallucinated him as a chicken. He nearly fell off a cliff as the cabin hung precariously, causing the Tramp to teeter around the floor. He was often the victim of pranks, like being continuously tripped by Georgia's beau in the dance hall, and the poor man was forced to eat his own boot at Thanksgiving (much to the delight of viewers). Most of the laughs that came from this movie were from very physical acts, sometimes where the Tramp got hurt. Of course, schadenfreude makes for immense popularity.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material, and the article.
I thought the other techniques used in the film to convey mood and plot were creative. Because of the high contrast and black and white displayed in the film, facial features like eyebrows, eyelids, and lips were darkened to make expressions more easily discernible (Georgia isn't the only one wearing eyeliner...). Since there was no dialogue or sound effects to establish mood, music was used to convey this. Faster and slower scenes were scored with instrumentals that could easily pace the action. It is interesting to realize that this silent movie could be enjoyed by people of different ages, cultures, and language backgrounds. Despite its silent quality, the ability to transcend these barriers makes The Gold Rush and other silent films a medium to bring unrelated groups together to laugh and have fun.

Bibliography

• Caron, James E. (2006). "Silent Slapstick Film as Ritualized Clowning: The Example of Charlie Chaplin".
• Chaplin, Charles (Producer & Director). 26 June 1925. The Gold Rush [Motion Picture]. United States: United Artists.
• Foster, William R. (2009). Early Film History. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM   1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.   2) (X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.   3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.   4) (X) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.   5) (X) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.   6) (X) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.   7) (X) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.   8) (X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Alison Coppola
Date: 9/17/15