The documentary, The City (1939), examines the various phases which were involved in the development of the city. The poverty and grime of city life had its roots in the pastoral New England where the workers started living. It has been shown how the labor of the industrial city gives rise to the metropolis. The way of escaping from the jammed streets of the metropolitan city, the countryside sees the emergence of highways which deface the landscape and thus mar the beauty of nature and the habitat of the surroundings. The film chooses to “promote the founding of planned ‘garden cities’”. (Gillette 73)
The story is portrayed with no dialogues and the idea is expressed through “imagery, narration, and music.” (The Naxos Blog 1) The film goes on to delve deep into the frantic pace of the metropolis and mill-town living. This in turn destroyed the way of life which was formerly prevalent among the people dwelling in rural America. The film shows the way in which “the frantic pace of city” jeopardized the way of life. (The Naxos Blog 1) The documentary points to the idea that the essence of such a lifestyle which was lost in the cacophony and humdrum of the city life could be recaptured in planned communities which were of modest sizes.
At the very inception of the film, Mumford, who was an early critic of the conurbation, makes the narrator rhapsodize that the town was them and they were a part of the town. The “new town” sequence at the culmination of the documentary was shot utilizing “Mumford’s model of a small, planned community” which could provide job, had schools, social services and was self-sustaining. (The Naxos Blog 1) The film portrays the debatable question making the audience wonder if the place is actually a haven or a milieu inappropriate for sustenance owing to the drudgery and the lack of planning.
The documentary can be describes as a “propaganda piece for the garden city idea.” (Gillette 73) The film talks of a possible solution which is envisaged by the philosophical view of an ideal city. The scene shifts from the “idyllic setting of a New England village” through the industrial town, then to the enormous metropolis and then back to the flabbergasting garden city adorned with the beauty of life. (Gillette 73) The idea expressed through the juxtaposition of the images is that the healthy ambiance, sense of community, sociability must be realized in the new towns.
In stark comparison to the chaos and fragmentation of the city life, the new town brings a life of order, happiness and peace. These factors get portrayed through the use of various cinematic techniques. The shifts in music from harmony to dissonance and the change of textures bring forth the comparison between the blissful village and the industrial town. The mood and imagery show a shift to the scenes of the inception of the film after the sequences on the metropolitan city.
The film ignites the idea of restoration of healthy living environment by reviving the harmonious musical score and the dispensing shadows. The film goes on to make “a lively plea for town-planning”. (The City 19 secs.)The alternating dissolves from two paintings by children, which portray the squalid of the city and the planned community respectively, establishes the contrast at the end. Thus, the film portrays the seminal aspects of the urbanized land and delves into the characteristics of the civilization. “The turmoil of crowded metropolitan life” has been contrasted with the comfort of the suburbs. (The City 23 secs.)
The film propagates a message of the city of tomorrow. It would be a decentralized city which would be well-designed by the city planners. There, the traffic would flow smoothly and the dwellers would work in factories which would be lit by the bright rays of the sun. The people would live in bright houses which would bland into the exquisite landscape. This idea is communicated through portraying the “plight of the urban citizen” and showing “the alternative way of life.” (The City 41 secs.)
Works Cited
Gillette, Howard Jr. Film as Artifact: The City. Web. 1 Sep, 2013.
<https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/amerstud/article/viewFile/2289/2248>
Naxos releases The City – 1939 World’s Fair Documentary Film with New Aaron Copland
Score. The Naxos Blog. Web. 1 Sep, 2013.
<http://blog.naxos.com/2009/01/16/the-city-aaron-copland-score/>
The City. Dir. Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke. American Documentary Films, Inc., 1939.
Film. <http://archive.org/details/CityTheP1939>
The City. Dir. Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke. American Documentary Films, Inc., 1939.
Film (Part 2). <http://archive.org/details/CityTheP1939_2>
