The Material Values which are crucial in understanding a films' philosophical dimensions

The Material Values which are crucial in understanding a films' philosophical dimensions

I have chosen to do this commentary because there is a trend in film criticism to ignore the material elements that influence the structure of a film’s story. I am not talking simply about visual techniques which the director employs to deliver a particular message; I am speaking of the material elements in the story that influence the attitude of characters. Characters in film are divided between their idealist and materialist values. The idealist values focus on their humanist principles which speak to morality and the quest for truth however the materialist elements in the film are largely responsible for conflict. There thus arises a debate which I will not seek to elaborate on to any great extent but it involves the conflict between the idealist/humanist and the materialist/realist and how this influences one’s perception of a film. The ideals in a film do not simply hover over the heads of the characters there is a material conflict that must ensue before the character will attain or fail at his task. This ideal can be good or bad. Why some reviews are not comprehensive enough is that they fail to assess properly the material conflict at the heart of the film and normally this involves assessing the influence of the external world before delving into the ideals that are at the heart of the matter. With a proper assessment of the external material world that influences the character one will be able to delve into and assess the ideals that confront the protagonists on their quest. Again I say these ideals may be good or bad but it normally involves a division of character based on the influence of the material world. For instance a character confronted with a million dollars will either flee with the money or return it to his owner. If he flees with the money he is considered selfish and if he returns it he is considered selfless. Before one assesses the actions of the characters one must first spend time on the million dollars and how it arrived at the place and why the action of the selfish individual may seem justified and why the selfless individual may not seem justified or simply naïve in his actions. One should not be quick to cast judgment simply because of preconceived notions of moral values. It is clear that some critics review a film in this biased manner and so their reviews appear distorted and weak from an analytical point of view. There is no villain in film that does not manifest his or her domination without institutional structures and once you remove these foundations he or she is normally exposed and defeated. Similarly the so called villain defeats the hero because the hero has no material backing to carry out his plans of establishing some form of order. The weakest films are the ones that focus primarily on an ideal without developing the material principles that ensure conflict. The most important films are those where the individual encounters some adversity through the institutional framework in which he or she resides and is able to overcome or wallow in defeat for the reality of life is that you win some and you lose some in your battles with the superstructures created by man. If the protagonist wins then one feels overjoyed if not then one fells some sense of melancholy. The material influences could also be found in nature or, to be more specific, a particular area in nature which has made some impact on the individual’s consciousness. In nature it is material because man transforms this distinct space in nature into a element of design which is either to escape economic activity or to maintain and possibly extend some form of territory linked to economic activity. It is fool hardy to analyze the reach of a film by simply speaking of the ideals of the characters without delving into the material influences. Great science fiction, thankfully, escapes this and most reviewers are forced to confront the overwhelming influence of the material world on the protagonists and antagonists. Films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Blade Runner (1982) address these problems head on and are interested primarily with the influence of the material world on the individuals. This is why good science fiction is extremely relevant.

 I recently did a review of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and I was struck by the ignorance of some critics who failed to assess the influence of the material environment on the characters. I argued the case that the material element (the nature of gold) was paramount in revealing the inherent personalities of the three characters. These critics spoke primarily about greed and paranoia as if these ideals loomed over the head of these characters whereas the influence of the ruthless capitalist McCormick on the attitude of Dobbs was not mentioned to any great extent. This capitalist for instance reveals the inherent contradictions of  capitalism that seeks to enhance its profits by extracting surplus value (unpaid labour time) from the workers which will ensure added profits and this is why partners are so mistrustful of each other on the quest; they feel that one member will seek to take all the proceeds of his labour. I am simply saying that in a case such as this the capitalist system and the events of the Mexican revolution cannot be avoided in determining the path of the characters and their eventual degeneration.  The film is not merely about greed but about the failings of empire.

Let us look on other films that seem to be about character but are expressly due to the influence of the material world on the character thereby forcing his hand or influencing what sort of elevated or base ideals he or she pursues. Gone with the Wind (1939) was not simply about the doomed  romance between Rhett and Scarlett but about the passing of the slave society in the south  and how the civil war destroyed their way of living in which they were once so secure. The destruction of their property by the Northern army left some individuals destitute and on the brink of madness and also forced some to start the Ku Klux clan to try desperately to reassert themselves in the society.  As the film asserts at the beginning it was a civilization that was gone with the wind; civilization here implies the development of a secure material foundations built on the backs of slavery. There are those however who do not spend much time assessing this and so fail to grasp the significance of the characters Rhett and Scarlett. These two characters were able to adjust to the crumbling edifice through their selfishness or individualism however it is this individualism that defeats their romance. This disappearance of southern ideals can also be seen in a film such as A Streetcar named Desire (1951) where Blanche (Vivien leigh) is ruined mentally because her property (or security) has disappeared leaving her to hold on to past unable to make the transition to the brutal urban setting represented by the character Stanley. Likewise in Titanic (1997), which borrowed the formula from Gone with the Wind, the romance of the two protagonists are influenced by the sinking of the massive ship in 1912 and the class struggles inherent on the ship. These class struggles are reflective of the wider society where the bourgeois class has enslaved the proletariat. Sunset Boulevard (1950) is a great film which deals with the faded character of Norma Desmond who was unable to adjust to the changes made in the film industry where the prestige of silent pictures were eroded with the introduction of sound. Her degenerate character holds onto a base ideal that she is still a star. She is consumed by this idea and it is clear how elements in Hollywood artificially elevate humans to the point where they feel that everyone is indebted to them. When she visits the paramount studio to see Cecil B. Demile, for instance, one of the workers on the set who remembers Norma from the good old days shines a bright artificial light on her and isolates her therefore making others on the set take notice and remember Norma the once great silent star. The Godfather (1972) is clearly a metaphor for American capitalism despite the ideals of family. The family is a form of security and is linked to the consolidation of property. The drama in this film is instituted by Sollozo who wishes to introduce drugs into the underworld. Vito Corleone is unable to keep pace with this new development and after the attempt on his life the family is thrown into conflict simply because of this new material development. A lesser film would have made it into a soap opera where brothers argue with each other to gain favour with the father and he would weigh his options and then make his decision based on the character of his sons. In Citizen Kane (1941) the main character Charles foster Kane  is lost in the overwhelming size of his empire of material wealth.  Pinocchio (1940) is about a wooden puppet trying to be a boy which means he must shed the material trapping of this world before he can attain that particular ideal. This animated film is magnificent simply because it understands the basis of life that in order to attain a certain ideal one must shed the material world. The more consumed you are by the material world, the more you are likely to lose your soul due to your selfishness and absence of a collectivist spirit. A collectivist spirit is the ultimate goal of an idealist.

The title of particular films is a dead giveaway that the protagonists are in tied to some oppressive material environment and will involve some response of characters to their material foundations. The Bridge (material) on the River Kwai (1957), The Shawshank (material) Redemption (1994), Taxi (material) driver (1976), On the Waterfront(material) (1954), The Maltese Falcon (material) (1941),and  Casablanca (material) (1943). I could go on forever and also one must bear in mind that America is the greatest capitalist nation on earth and so if you assess an American film the exploitation of human labour is bound to come into play as well as the growth of industrial capital which involves rapid changes in technology or the class struggle which is the outcome of the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeois class. This also applies to Europe, particularly Western Europe, which is also highly developed on capitalist grounds. The profits generated could be illegal or legal etc. It is this material element of the capitalist system which will always be at the heart of American films no matter how thin it might seem. It is when the characters come into conflict generated by the material world that will determine whether they are able to achieve their ideals. It is our ideals that determine whether or not we succeed however it is the external material world which determines whether there is something to fight for or not.   

 This is why in my reviews I place a lot of emphasis on the external material world for by assessing this element you are able to arrive at a closer approximation of the truth. You need to understand what these characters are fighting for. The subjective techniques of the director, his use of camera and editing style will influence how the message of a film is transmitted. This will determine how clear the message is received. The more convoluted the message the lesser the film becomes.