In the Maysles brothers documentary, Salesman, produced in 1969, a strong case is made for the daunting challenges that four traveling Bible salesmen face on a daily basis. In Salesman, the producers argue that the frustrations faced by the salesmen are similar to the struggles faced by Catholic missionaries. Although they are only salesmen, their struggles to stay afloat and make money from the sales of the Holy Bible are gritty and real.
Underlying values such as guilt, sin, and redemption play vital roles in the film's development as close-ups of potential buyers of the "Catholic Bible Set" show them wrestling with these emotions. When push comes to shove, the salesmen's tactics become more aggressive -- and buyers of the Holy Writ are faced with an ethical dilemma, as well as a costly economic decision. The developing text shows that they are besieged by the salesmen's not-so-subtle tactics which become wholly centered around the question: Are you a good Catholic? Salesman utilizes rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos to support its thesis: Religion is big business, and Bible sales is just business as usual.
Once in the home, Salesman depicts scenes of the Bible salesmen's interactions with their sales prospects. The Maysles brothers show that the salesmen appeal to the ethos of their clients by asking them how religious they are, their ethnic heritage, their family lives, and their financial condition. In one scene, Paul asks a squirming, indecisive Floridian woman about her nationality -- after he presumes that she, like himself, is Irish Catholic. He compliments her by saying that "The Poles are good people too." Shallow and pretentious in sales, Paul shows no fear and the ability to manipulate his buyers' with a cutthroat approach nonetheless. Towards the end of the film, Paul explains to "hard" sells that the Holy Bible is the right thing to have in the house -- for the children, as they will derive a great benefit from its teachings.
Ethically speaking, the Bible salesmen are pushy and hypocritical. It is unclear how they are qualified to give testimony to the grand effects that the Bible will have on a family when, as Bible peddlers, they do little more in their off-time than gamble, smoke, and tell off-color jokes. Simply put, they are ordinary, stereotypical salesmen -- regardless of the product they are selling. They are motivated by money and greed, but explain to their buyers that they are motivated by higher principles. Rather, they claim that they are in the business to help people. One wonders, as a buyer must wonder, what are they helping me with? As the Catholic Church is the overarching influence in the film, it becomes clear that the salesmen are not-so-subtly -- like the pretense of the Catholic faith and religion overall -- selling salvation and a pass (at an "affordable" price) to heaven. The collection plate has metamorphosed into a man in a suit at the door with a "Catholic Bible Set" and an installment plan to help buyers get there. While they argue that Bible selling is merely business, the Maysles brothers also argue that great emotional stakes are invested in the business.
For example, at one of the sales conventions, Dr. Feldman, who garners a trophy inscribed "The World's Greatest Salesman of the World's Greatest Publisher", delivers an inspirational speech in a fire-and-brimstone manner. The emotions run high with all of the salesmen, as their livelihoods depend on their salesmanship. They, like most men, have families to support. Alongside those responsibilities are other loftier ones, as represented by sales goals, not in terms of units sold but, as the conventioneers stand up and ambitiously announce, monetary goals. One man stands up and says his goal is $35,000 while another says that he is on track to earn $50,000 in his first year as a salesman.
Again, the film uses pathos by showing that the salesmen have nicknames for themselves, from "The Gipper" to "The Bull" to 'The Rabbit" to "The Badger". This technique endears the salesmen to the film's viewers as well as to each other. It also shows that they rely on pure animal energy to do the "Lord's Work." The producers liken the salesmen to predators, and their buyers to prey. A devout Catholic might be offended by the nature of the business.
A devout Catholic, by definition, would be emotionally-distraught by the dynamics of turning religion into money. Ironically, "devout Catholicism" and the "Almighty Dollar" go hand-in-hand in the documentary, and the film consistently manipulates those antipodal emotions. The salesmen at the bottom of the totem pole receive commissions, the Bible publishing company makes money, and the Catholic Church shares in the profiteering. As an indirect result, Catholicism's reach is extended but its reputation is tarnished by repeated sales calls.
Logos is an equally-utilized technique in the film -- one that convinces the viewers of the necessity of business in religion. The point is that religion is promulgated mainly through the influence of Church and literature, e.g. the Bible. Someone has to design, manufacture, distribute, and sell the Bible. From a logical perspective, salesmen are a necessary part of the equation. Just as nothing in the world is free, neither is religious knowledge obtained from the Holy Bible. Good Catholics require good, family Catholic Bible Sets, according to the logic of the Bible manufacturers. Above all, it is a business with profits and losses, assets and liabilities, solicitors and customers.
The Maysles brothers show that door-to-door Bible salesmen lead ordinary lives, and this ordinariness is what makes them good at what they do. If they were extremely-moralistic or overly-ethical, the overall business would flounder -- and their families would suffer, if not spiritually, at least financially. This is made exemplary by the sales talk at the conventions, as well as the ordeals the salesmen must endure in order to sell their products. Whether it be incorrect addresses, unfamiliar surroundings, language barriers such as Spanish, doors shut in their faces, being away from their families, or flat tires, these men withstand the trials and tribulations that go with the job.
Works Cited
Maysles, Albert, Maysles, David & Zwerin, Charlotte Mitchell, dir. Salesman. Janus Films, 1969. Film.
