Down Argentine Way (1940)

Compared to the other movie (Flying Down to Rio) I liked this one a little better. The color and the cinematography was a great and the storyline was quite touching. The actors who played the Argentine characters were obviously not Argentinians nor were they Latinos and their speaking of English in terrible “Spanish” accents to emphasize the Argentine character for the English-speaking audiences makes the movie not so authentic in keeping with the setting of the story. Although it is unreal, this type of stuff was/is quite common in a lot of Hollywood films for example if anyone has seen old cold-war themed action movies, you’ll notice that the Russian bad guys are speaking English in Russian accents even among themselves. This tactic, I think is just general fictional part of the movie and the lack of resources for the movies makers to hire authentic speakers of the languages or even just to make the audiences understand the story more easily.

Reading through the posts of other classmates I noticed a lot of them say this movie is somewhat of a “cultural appropriation” of Argentina or that the setting of the film stereotypically portrays Argentina as this dance-musical tipsy place, but I think the purpose of the movie was just to present and promote Argentina from an entertaining perspective. In my view the central focus of the movie is a love story between Ricardo and Binnie and nothing more. Just like Flying Down to Rio, this film only uses the “foreign” (Argentina) place as a mere stage and backdrop of the film. I’m certain the director and the producers probably knew they could not portray Argentina at a 100% accurate way or they just didn’t knew much about the country too well in a sense. But, I’m certain the film did not try or had intention to disparage or smear Argentina in a negative light. Seeing Carmen Miranda perform at the beginning of the film and according to sources, during the production of the film, a film crew were sent to Buenos Aires to film various panoramic shots of the city, this shows the film did somewhat try to retain and add some “Latin” character into the film. Although I did wished they hired real Argentine actors and filmed the authenticity and the culture of Argentina, we have to understand the movie is a mere fantasy and a work of fiction created for a majority American audiences and I’m sure most movie-goers then and now didn’t care much about authenticity or details but rather more drawn attention to performance and story.

All in all, Down Argentine Way is a typical American rom-com with a small touch of “Latin-ness” that tried to make it as unique as possible. As Americanized and having a not-so-genuine Argentinian cast, movie shined a positive light in telling a story of romance and showing musical talents. It is obvious the film is a misrepresentation but in the end Down Argentine Way is a work of fiction that portrays romance and music in a positive and entertaining manner.

Una Argentina virtual

Down Argentine Way (1940) inicia con una escena de Carmen Miranda cantando en portugués en un escenario desde un plano que equipara al observador con el espectador que observa los movimientos de la intérprete. Esta primera escena nos anticipa buena parte de lo que vendrá en adelante dentro de la película, donde la características de lo que podría considerarse como “argentino” se enmarcan dentro del uso del léxico “pampas” “Buenos Aires” y “Argentina”, y donde la historia de amor desarrollada a través de la compra y venta de caballos dentro de los dos personajes (provenientes de clases privilegiada pero opuestas por conflictos familiares) es intercalada con el baile, el decorado y la música como elementos de entretenimiento para quien observa la cinta.

Nos encontramos ante una Argentina virtual, que funciona como depósito para todo elemento considerado latinoamericano desde el imaginario cultural estadounidense en el momento; desde ritmos tradicionales mexicanos, ritmos caribeños, congas, mambo, bolero, etc, hasta escenarios que nos recuerdan más al México rural que a la capital porteña. Paradójicamente un elemento característico de la cultura argentina en el momento de la producción de la película como el tango, es mencionado de pasada en la canción central de la película, pero se encuentra totalmente ausente dentro de las composiciones musicales.

Se puede afirmar que la Argentina representada en la película tiene más cercanía cultural con México que con el país que intenta representar. La selección de actores secundarios, los usos lingüísticos en español o el decorado, sustentan esta afirmación. Esto no es casual en primer lugar, dada la cercanía de la frontera mexicana con el lugar de rodaje de la cinta, lo que resulta en una movilidad de actores y recursos, y en segundo lugar por el juego que resulta de las imágenes que circulan sobre Latinoamérica en el momento dentro de Estados Unidos, provenientes del caribe de los nightclub y del México de herencia española.

Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) hablaba sobre las condiciones que permiten a la hiperrealidad aparecer dentro de la cultura contemporánea, si pensamos en los signos que aparecen en la cinta, podemos notar su ambivalencia, su condición de mutabilidad, aparecen como pertenecientes a una localización real, pero son interpretados como pertenecientes a toda una cultura, diferente, distinta a la norteamericana, (y en apariencia homogénea) de la que se distingue al mismo tiempo que genera un alto poder de atracción. Podemos suponer que la condición de lo real en la cinta está oculta y que ha sido sustituida por su imagen, (de ahí su condición de hiperreal), una imagen que sirve como pantalla para las fantasías del espectador, entretenimiento, drama, historias de amor, locaciones exóticas, ritmos atrayentes, personajes extraños, todo funciona sobre un escenario que podría ser intercambiable sin alterar el drama de la película (Buenos Aires, por Montevideo, por Santiago, etc.). La cinta tiene el valor de mostrarnos no tanto una representación de lo real, que es ausente, sino una representación de la condición virtual y mutable e intercambiable de lo latinoamericano en el momento de su producción, lo que nos permite mirar las transformaciones y las constantes de la idea del sur de la frontera desde el cine de Hollywood.

Week 3 – Down Argentine Way

The first character we see as an audience in the film Down Argentine Way, is a singer who I believe is singing in Portuguese. The only thing I can make up from what she is singing is when she says, “In South American way” which still would be rather hard for someone to understand if they only speak English because her accent is very thick. Her look right off the bat is represented as very Latina to me, she is dressed in what looks like a brazilian samba dance outfit. My first thought was that she actaully looked like the cartoon on the Chiquita brand bananas. I found it interesting that she her outfit was red and that she was also wearing red lipstick. The color red is usually represented with something sexual or dangerous. In film today I find that the color red is used repeatedly to over sexualize women, espeically latina women in film, a perfect example being Sofia Vergara’s character Gloria in Modern Family. However, we can also see the color red used to represent latino dangers in film when it comes to gang violence and how the colors define which group gangs belong too.

As I contiued watching the film I noticed that the main latino characters (Ricardo Quintana and Don Diego Quintana) had terrible accents. When I read Phillip Swanson’s study I learned that neither one of these actor’s is latino and it made a little bit more sense as to why their accents were so terrible. Although I then wondered if their accents were a part of their act? I asked myself if their broken speech was suppose to represent a “realness” in their characters or was it used more to emphasize that they were the “other”.

The song that Ricardo and Glenda sing when they meet at The Westchester Hotel caught my attention very much. First, we hear Ricardo singing the song in Spanish as everyone is gathered around him while he plays the panio. It doesn’t seem like much of a big deal when is singing it’s just a nice song. When Glenda begins to sing the same song in English however, there seems to be a drift. The lyrics are what caught my attention the most, I had to stop mid film and google the lyrics. The lines that made me laugh are when the song says, “Kiss your cares goodbye / You’ll find your life will begin the very moment you’re in Argentina … You’ll be as gay as can be / If you will learn to ‘Si Si’ like a Latin”. In my opion the song is like a jingle that you hear in a commerical. It’s catchy, it defintely draws your attention, and it makes you want to go to Argentina and see if these words that are being sung are in fact true (at least it did this for me). After I looked up the lyrics to the song I rewatched this scence again and looked more at the shift that happens when Glenda starts signing. When Glenda starts sininging the opening line “moonlight” begins off slow that brings in a mystery. The song later transition into a more upbeat tune which makes Glenda dance around the crowd. The crown which mostly seemly to be from the United States seem very drawn into what she is saying. It’s as if this song for the crowd in the movie and also for the audience watching is an ad, sending out the message that Argentina (and other latin american countries) is place where you’ll find love and happiness. The song is sang again in the film several times demonstrating that my idea of it being a sort of ad holds truth. They also make sure to play the song during the end credits because they want the audience to leave with this idea that in latin american countries “you’ll find your way”.

Down Argentine Way (1940): The appropriation of the other’s culture

Down Argentine Way, directed by Irving Cummings, is a declaration and an attempt to seduce the Latin American by creating an Argentine theme movie while misrepresenting their culture. There is a lot of talk in cultural classes about authenticity or the proper representation of other cultures. And, in Down Argentine Way is clear that the director and his team did not make an effort to include actual Argentine music, clothing, or even dancing routines  that could reflect the ‘authentic’ folklore of this nation. It is important to remember that by 1940, the Argentine cinema was well-established in Latin America and movie theaters where all over the capital, so I would imagine that when they saw this movie misrepresenting their country and its traditions (which they saw as a cultural travesty),  pushed to boycott it.

The movie begins with the iconic Carmen Miranda dancing at the tune of a typical tropical ‘Tutti Frutti Hat’ type of song. The appearance of Carmen Miranda marks the tone for which the viewer should identify with this movie about Latin America. Furthermore, Carmen Miranda serves as a cultural homogenizing marker which indicates that all Latin countries are the same and that cultural or geographic specificity doesn’t really matter. Perhaps what really matters in the movie is the pretend good-neighbor policy of integration and cooperation designed by the Americans. This is not to mention that by 1940 the Argentine government (as well as the Brazilian) was being seduced by the Axis forces and the USA saw to change this sphere of influence on their favour. Just like Phil Swanson in his article, “Going Down on Good Neighbours” explains, Down Argentine Way was made to represent glamour and good fortune for some, the content of the film sets South America to be a paradise free of war, while many were suffering and dying everywhere else. Hence, somehow, Down Argentine Way is a historical misrepresentation where Americans can escape from reality and find their own oasis in Argentina (or anywhere else in Latin America) as a way to run away from the calamity of war.

Down Argentine Way also points out to a new era of transatlantic communication and transportation. For instance, in one of the first scenes, the Argentine horses are moved into a cruise ship. The image reads, “Argentine-Pan American Lines” showing a direct way of international maritime transportation route from Buenos Aires to New York. Technology, integration and business all collide in this movie as a way to international integration among the developed North and the developing South. The feud between two families also are also part of the main plot of the movie. The Argentinian family represented by Mr. Quintana and the American Family represented by Ms. Binnie Crawford do not have a good relationship. But at the end of the movie, these two families are reconciled and become good-neighbors which favours the commercial trade among them. Hence, hinting that no matter the differences and difficulties among these two nations (USA and Argentina), a ‘beneficial’ solution can be achieved in the end.

The music and dancing of the movie,  Down Argentine Way,  also symbolizes the misrepresentation and cultural appropriation done by Hollywood. In fact, the Spanish songs are replaced by English ones. The tropical Spanish drums take over Glenda, the main female American character,  as she starts suddenly dancing and even singing in English first and then in Spanish (Language does not need to be learned just felt?). It is like the music possess her and she cannot longer be a rational American woman. Nevertheless, this order is restore when the English band starts singing again and Glenda gets herself together in order to sing again more calmly. There is also another music scene where there is a sort of match-up between the American singing band and a tropical drum Latino band. However, their appearance and placement on the screen shows them in different planes of impotence. The English tuxedo music band is located at the center-top part of the screen while the drum Latin American music band is sitting down at the bottom/feet of the American band. This arrangement servers to illustrate the perception that America is always first: culturally, artistically and even commercially. On the other hand, the idea of the Latin Lover and all the romantic skills that he possess in the movie, represented by the character Ricardo Quintana, also are used as a secret code language to provide access unexplored sexual pleasure in a mutual transaction.  It seems that the Argentinian horses and its men are also equally misinterpreted or word-coded to be of the same caliber. Here, Down Argentine Way makes an animalistic assumption which equal to sexual pleasure (getting yourself a man) could be the same as buying a horse.

Finally, the fiesta celebration that Ricardo and Glenda seem to run into when they are preparing for the horse raising, lacks cultural specificity. This fiesta has more to do with a Mexican celebration than with an Argentine get together. There is no tangos being played here. The clothes of the peasant girls are wrong and the gaucho’s all have the same style costumes. What’s more, when one of the Argentinian girls is dancing frantically in the center of a crowd of people, she gives her place to Binnie Crawford: an American. Somehow the American, represented by Binnie here, take over the Argentinians in their own backyard and displace them. Ms. Crawford then steals the show and takes over their music, dancing, singing, and even their men and horses. In this bilateral commercial transaction, the Americans are the ones who always win and the Argentinians (and for that matter all the Latin Americans) are there as mere fillers who can be convinced or bought easily.

Hence, Down Argentine Way is a clear example and the epitome of misrepresenting other people’s culture expression for your own entertainment and pleasure with little or no consequence. Way to go Hollywood!

Down Argentine Way (1940): The appropriation of the other’s culture

Down Argentine Way, directed by Irving Cummings, is a declaration and an attempt to seduce the Latin American by creating an Argentine theme movie while misrepresenting their culture. There is a lot of talk in cultural classes are authenticity or the proper representation of other cultures. And, in Down Argentine Way is clear that the director and his team did not make an effort to include actual Argentine music, clothing, or even dancing routines in the movie that could reflect the ‘authentic’ folklore of this nation. It is important to remember that by 1940, the Argentine cinema was well-established in Latin America and movie theaters where all over the capital, so I would imagine that when they saw this movie misrepresenting their country, all they say was a cultural travesty which would push them to boycott it.

The movie begins with the iconic Carmen Miranda dancing at the tune of a typical tropical ‘Tutti Frutti Hat’ type of song. The appearance of Carmen Miranda marks the tone for which the viewer should identify with this movie about Latin America. Furthermore, Carmen Miranda serves as a cultural homogenizing marker which indicates that all Latin countries are the same and that cultural or geographic specificity doesn’t really matter. Perhaps what really matters in the movie is the pretend good-neighbor policy of integration and cooperation wished by the Americans. This is not to mention that by 1940 the Argentine government (as well as the Brazilian) was very seduced by the Axis forces and the USA saw to change that sphere of influence on their favour. Just like Phil Swanson in his article, “Going Down on Good Neighbours” explains, Down Argentine Way was made to represent glamour and good fortune for some, the content of the film sets South America to be a paradise free of war, while many were suffering and dying everywhere else. Hence, somehow, Down Argentine Way is a historical misrepresentation where Americans can escape from reality and find their own oasis in Argentina as to run away from the calamity of war.

Down Argentine Way also points out to a new era of transatlantic communication and transportation. For instance, in one of the first scenes, the Argentine horses are moved into a cruise ship. The image reads, “Argentine-Pan American Lines” showing a direct way of international maritime transportation route from Buenos Aires to New York. Technology, integration and business all collide in this movie as a way to international integration among the North and the South. The feud between two families also are also part of the main plot of the movie. The Argentinian family represented by Mr. Quintana and the American Family represented by Ms. Binnie Crawford do not have a good relationship. But at the end of the movie, these two families are reconciled and become good-neighbors which favours the commercial trade among them.

The music and dancing of the Argentine music in Down Argentine Way also symbolized the misrepresentation and cultural appropriation done by Hollywood. In fact, the Spanish songs are replaced by English ones. The tropical Spanish drums take over Glenda and she starts dancing and even singing in English first and then in Spanish all the sudden. It is like the music possess her and she cannot longer be a rational American woman. Nevertheless, this order is restore when the English band starts singing again and Glenda gets herself together in order to sing again more calmly. There is also another music scene where there is a sort of match-up between the American singing band and a tropical drum band. However, their appearance and placement on the screen shows them in different planes of impotence. The English tuxedo band is located at the center-top part of the screen while the drum Latin American band is sitting down at the bottom of the American band. This arrangement servers to illustrate the perception that America is always first: culturally, artistically and even commercially. On the other hand, dancing and the Latin Lover represented by the character Ricardo Quintana also are used and represented as a secret code word to access sexual pleasure in a mutual transaction. At the same time, the Argentinian horses and its men are also equally misinterpreted to be of the same caliber. Here, Down Argentine Way makes an animalistic assumption which equal to sexual pleasure (getting yourself a man) to the buying of a horse.

Finally, the fiesta celebration that Ricardo and Glenda seem to run into when they are preparing for the horse raising, lacks cultural specificity. This fiesta has more to do with a Mexican celebration than with an Argentine get together. There is no tangos being played here. The clothes of the peasant girls are wrong and the gaucho’s are and have the same style costumes. What’s more, when one of the Argentinian girls is dancing uncontrollably in the center of a crowd of people, she gives her place to Binnie Crawford: an American. Somehow the American, represented by Binnie, take over the Argentinians in their own backyard and misplace them. Ms. Crawford then steals their music, dancing, singing, and even their men and horses. In this bilateral commercial transaction, the Americans are the ones who always win and the argentines (and for end the Latin Americans) are there as mere fillers who can be convinced or bought easily.

Hence, Down Argentine Way is a clear example and the epitome of misrepresenting another people’s culture expression for your own entertainment and pleasure with little or no consequence. Way to go Hollywood!

Down Argentine Way

John Parker July 17

Down Argentine Way really promotes Argentina as a fun land of love and Latin rhythms. I once had a teacher from Mexico who emphasized, derogatorily, that “amor” is a huge component in Latin American popular culture: “If you’re romantic, Señor, then you will surely adore, Agentina.” Distinct Latin rhythms again permeate the festive scenes, especially when Carmen Miranda is featured. Carmen, who I think is Mexican, sings in Spanish and Portuguese, and dances subtly but distinctly in the syncopated style that we saw in Flying Down to Rio. Guitars serenade, a frenzied conga dance overwhelms, maracas clatter. The two Negro dancers, perhaps less Latin in their tap dancing, are sensational. Of course, a dance cabaret is featured so we see Latin dance and hear South American rhythms at their finest. The chauffeur, Anastacio, is in constant siesta mode, although Argentina does not have the sun reputation of its exotic counterparts further to the north. Our dashing protagonist, as usual, is very rich and maintains strong family values. Also as usual, meaning as in Flying Down to Rio, our Latin protagonist falls for an over-the-top-blond-coloured American. It was fun to see Don Ameche in one of his earlier movies. He was in Trading Places and Cocoon (in which he break dances and for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) in the 1980s. Interestingly, he was born Dominic Amici in the United States. I wonder if the name change to Spanish corresponds with the Friendly Neighbour period of the 1930s and 1940s. “Don,” of course, carries certain connotations: rich, dapper, smooth talking, moustache. Looking him up on Wikipedia, I see that he often played roles similar to the one in Down Argentine Way.

I’m particularly curious about the portrayal of Gaucho culture in the film. We are in the pampas region of Argentina, where sheep and cattle ranching dominated during centuries previous. The ranch hands all wear Gaucho clothing, and Gaucho formal clothing is worn for the fiesta at the end. There is a village fiesta with rustic dancing and singing, and Gaucho serenaders with guitars at Don Ameche’s ranch. Formal racetrack British style horse racing and jumping is well outside the realm of the Gauchos. I’m hoping someone who knows the culture will comment with his or her impression of the film’s portrayal. Films that try to present aspects of culture are probably bound to a few clichés and not able to go in depth, and I understand that. This potentially leads, as we’ve discussed already, to over simplification that plays into stereotypes.

Down Argentine Way

John Parker July 17

Down Argentine Way really promotes Argentina as a fun land of love and Latin rhythms. I once had a teacher from Mexico who emphasized, derogatorily, that “amor” is a huge component in Latin American popular culture: “If you’re romantic, Señor, then you will surely adore, Agentina.” Distinct Latin rhythms again permeate the festive scenes, especially when Carmen Miranda is featured. Carmen, who I think is Mexican, sings in Spanish and Portuguese, and dances subtly but distinctly in the syncopated style that we saw in Flying Down to Rio. Guitars serenade, a frenzied conga dance overwhelms, maracas clatter. The two Negro dancers, perhaps less Latin in their tap dancing, are sensational. Of course, a dance cabaret is featured so we see Latin dance and hear South American rhythms at their finest. The chauffeur, Anastacio, is in constant siesta mode, although Argentina does not have the sun reputation of its exotic counterparts further to the north. Our dashing protagonist, as usual, is very rich and maintains strong family values. Also as usual, meaning as in Flying Down to Rio, our Latin protagonist falls for an over-the-top-blond-coloured American. It was fun to see Don Ameche in one of his earlier movies. He was in Trading Places and Cocoon (in which he break dances and for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) in the 1980s. Interestingly, he was born Dominic Amici in the United States. I wonder if the name change to Spanish corresponds with the Friendly Neighbour period of the 1930s and 1940s. “Don,” of course, carries certain connotations: rich, dapper, smooth talking, moustache. Looking him up on Wikipedia, I see that he often played roles similar to the one in Down Argentine Way.

I’m particularly curious about the portrayal of Gaucho culture in the film. We are in the pampas region of Argentina, where sheep and cattle ranching dominated during centuries previous. The ranch hands all wear Gaucho clothing, and Gaucho formal clothing is worn for the fiesta at the end. There is a village fiesta with rustic dancing and singing, and Gaucho serenaders with guitars at Don Ameche’s ranch. Formal racetrack British style horse racing and jumping is well outside the realm of the Gauchos. I’m hoping someone who knows the culture will comment with his or her impression of the film’s portrayal. Films that try to present aspects of culture are probably bound to a few clichés and not able to go in depth, and I understand that. This potentially leads, as we’ve discussed already, to over simplification that plays into stereotypes.

Week One: The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique): The bending of reality

My first reaction to The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique) (1973), directed by Philippe de Broca, was of fantasy meets reality. It is a movie with different layers but those layers, like many other movies, need to be peel with care before they reveal what they have to tell. At first, The Man from Acapulco seems to be a French version of James Bond, charged with many shades of humor and parody against the tropical Mexican landscape. On the other hand, this movie also resembles the Pink Panther because it plays with a clumsy but agile detective, Bob Saint-Clar, a fiction character, who is involved in all of the action scenes which later are explain to be the creation of the other main character: François Merlin, the writer. In a sense, The Man from Acapulco is a movie about the creation of reality based on fantasy. A French writer writes about Acapulco, a place he has never been to, but wishes he could be there in person in order to escape the cosmopolitan city of Paris. Hence, Merlin uses the genre of action and adventure literature to create fictional characters who can travel to remote places (away from civilized France) to solve miseries and to live a more exciting live.

There is something very important about this movie because it explains the power of writing. But beyond creating stories and imagining fictional heroes saving the pretty girl, this movie also showcases the struggles of the creative process of writing itself. Here is where I relate to the movie and to the difficulty of writing something of value. This is not to say that the movie cannot be analyzed in other ways. For instance, one of the elements of the movie, and perhaps an empowering element for Merlin as a writer, is that he becomes some sort of semi-god full of vengeance. Case in point, Merlin punishes or rewards the people who live in his building (Christine) or come to his apartment (Charron, Mrs. Berger, the electrician and the plumber), depending on how his state of mind is at the moment. If the electrician does not fix his cable problem at home, then Merlin makes him an evil villain in his book. Hence, the power of writing and his personal power as a character is to use his talent to create other fictional charters which makes his story line very successful. But the vengeance part does not end in the fictional section of the movie. For example, Merlin also punishes Christine when he thinks she’s been cheating on him with his editor. During this final scene, Merlin’s male ego is hurt so much that he leaves Christine outside of his apartment to sleep on the floor just because he thinks she has betrayed him. Not to mention, the many times Tatiana, the fictional double character of Christine, who suffers multiple violent rapes many times over at the hands of the military as a punishment.

Another element which is important in The Men from Acapulco is the breaking down or failure of the typewriter machine. This event allows the filmmaker to ‘break’ the fantasy/reality continuum of the scene and to tell the viewer there are to different worlds being presented here. One is the the word of reality of Merlin and the other is the fantastic world of Bob Saint-Cla, the action hero. Now, the viewer can identify that Merlin is a writer but not any kind of writer. He is a writer having some issues with money, his flat, his lonely life in Paris, and more importantly, with his instrument of creation: the type writer. Here, the power of creation of the type writer (and now with our computes) gives Merlin the power to imagine other exotic geographies far away from home. In these foreign lands, such as Acapulco, a helicopter can fly over the pyramids of Tenochtitlan and inside them a crazy sacrificial bloodbath type of killing can take place. Hence, the violence and horror is justified in this context of primitivity. Even the theme of his novels are set to be cheesy. Merlin knows his audience and writers for a sex and violence thirsty kind of reader. Nothing wrong with that, but the only thing is that his writing perpetuates certain misconceptions that many French (and perhaps Europeans) people might have of remote place such Mexico.

In the end, The Man from Acapulco was a very funny and entertaining movie. At the beginning, I stated watching with French subtitles on but later and thanks to Jon, I watched it with Portuguese subtitles which made much more sense and allowed me finish watching the movie until the end.

 

 

Week 2 Post: “Flying Down to Rio” (1933)

Flying Down to Rio truly felt like I was being taken to another country or another era after being primed with The Mark of Zorro in the prior week. Specifically the “culture shock” I am referring to is in regards to the depictions and social degradation of women in this film. From the very opening […]

Flying Down to Rio (1933)

This film reminds me of a typical musical rom-com movie. After seeing the first 5 minutes of the film, I knew how it would end (just like any other rom-com films); Guy is a talented free-spirited guy, falls in love with a pretty woman, pretty woman is doubtful, there are barriers (Shes Julio’s girl), guy does talented things, guys friend’s are all goofs, singing and music, guy gets the girl, the end. Felt like the whole movie was centralized and focused only on Roger (the guy who gets the girl) and everything all works on his favor just like that. One thing that interested me was the fact that the Brazilians were portrayed as these very socially conservative people (arranged marriages, traditions, etc.) perhaps that one is somewhat true considering the time period of the film. The carioca scene was quite accurate in the sense that carioca is a product of Brazil, everything else seemed artificial and I didn’t feel any sense or understanding that the setting took place in Rio de Janeiro.

The characters and their acting were quite sleazy and tacky (especially Roger and his musical band friends). What made me laugh was the fact that Julio was such a weak guy he didn’t even bother to fight or challenge Roger and easily give up Honey at the end. I felt like Julio should’ve been made into an antagonist or a form of barrier for Roger rather than just some meek foreign guy with a weak heart. Also, its funny how every character in the movie (maybe except for the hotel boss at Miami and Honey’s aunt) were so submissive and obedient towards Roger, its as if the whole movie was a biased-dream of Roger’s fantasy. Everything and every situation that Roger is in, it all works on his favor. Even near the end when he stages that flying girls on the plane stunt and deciding to leave he ends up getting the girl he loves. I’m aware that the movie is a musical romance that focuses on Roger’s endeavor but I wish the directors should have added more barriers and realistic situations with a bit of wit and liveliness to the other characters instead of focusing too much on Roger.

Without a doubt there are musical rom-coms that are far worse than this but considering the age and time of this film I feel Flying Down to Rio was one the predecessors of the modern cheesy rom-coms. I did not hate the film but it certainly made my eyes roll.