Canadian History
Thesis Statement: America's sweetheart “Mary Pickford”, who was a strong, career oriented women and significantly contributed to Canada's society as she helped change the role of women in the “1920's”, and was known as a trend setter in fashion and influenced the American life and culture in Canada.
The contribution of Mary Pickford in Canadian history goes a long way. Pickford became one of the well-loved artists of all time, as she became instrumental in establishing United Artists in the year 1919. She started to join the theater at age seven and was identified by the name “Baby Gladys Smith” and adopted the family name “Pickford” in 1907. She appeared in the show which became “The Warrens of Virginia” and became a hit. In 1909, she started to make films and worked with famous directors such as D.W. Griffith (Imdb.com). Pickford became one of the greatest performers on celluloid and silent film. Records show that she starred in 190 movie titles which were all dramatic in theme (Whitfield 1). Although she was only a petite woman who was 5 feet tall she wooed her audience by having a magnetic effect in front of the camera. Her roles in the movies ranged from being a newlywed, a flirt, a young mother, a convent girl, a temptress, a murderer and a female heartthrob. Her performance changed the nature of acting as it veered away from the grand, artificial approach to a simple, direct connection to the camera (Whitfield 2). Her decision to change the acting style and do away with the old acting moves came as a shock to most people. However, Pickford was a forthright woman who became both the producer and actor in most of her films. She fought for her own reasons because she knew deep in her heart what her audience wanted to see which encompassed more than the sheer scale of her talent.
With her perseverance, she transformed herself to one of the greatest celebrities and became a popular icon known as “Little Mary” and “America’s Sweetheart” (Whitfield 1). Many of the journalists regarded her as a flash of sunlight in a dark room and a moth which glimmered in the dark. Pickford became the most sought-after actress of her time. In 1955, an article in Chicago tribune wrote that she is loved by many people because of her simplicity. The audience admired her for being who she was without any pretenses. She was loved and accepted without analysis. Pickford was adored on the basis of the honest simplicity which captured the audience admiration. After Pickford married co-actor Douglas Fairbanks in 1920, she became more famous and became a world-wide phenomenon. It was during this time that she earned more money as she began to ask for unprecedented fees and was given the right hand to approve every minute detail of the production. This paved the way for a big step in Pickford’s career as she decided to become her own producer. She applied the financial acumen which startled her male colleagues as she reconciled beauty art with simplicity (Whitfield 2). Armed with her strong desire to succeed, she was an icon of a strong, career oriented woman who was able to make a strong impact in Canadian society as she was able to transform the role of perception of women during the 1920s. She became a trend setter in the field of fashion was influential in the life and culture within Canada.
Pickford’s work in performing silent films is considered as a specialized craft. Those actors who appeared in silent movies who started in the theater had to cope with the intimate lens of the camera by reducing the big hand gestures on stage by adding more of naturalism and mime for clarity of the movements (Whitfield 3). It is without a doubt the silent film culture was started by Pickford was able to carve her own name in the world of movies. She was able to embody not just the silent-movie culture, but the hope and inspiration of Canada during the 1920s (Whitfield 3). Although Pickford was labeled as a comedienne, this description does not do justice to her rich talent of being the prime dramatic actress of her generation. The audience loved her character as she projected warmth and charm (Brownlow 120). Just like in her films, she was able to rise above any situation and will not wallow herself in self-pity. Her acting was simple and naturalistic as it represents a raw talent which made her “America’s Sweetheart”. She was able to showcase the typical American girl because of her character for being attractive, funny, generous, warm-hearted, independent and fiery-tempered when the situation calls for it (Brownlow 120).
During the early 1970’s, Pickford retained humor, energy and vitality which made her the most important woman in the film industry. Pickford was able to remain one of the richest and influential women in the world. She became a woman of substance by strongly reflecting the period where she started to transform herself to a household name. Pickford is the epitome of strength and will power by standing up for her views and strong in her condemnation of moral liberalism (Brownlow 120).
With her talent in acting, Pickford was able to call her own shots and take silent film-making to greater heights. She was able to make her audience laugh, cry and laugh again. Such emotional exercise comes with only pure talent since it is not easy to relate to the audience without dialogues. Pickford is considered as one of the greatest entertainers of her time and people look up to her because of her simplicity and beauty. Truly, Pickford was able to serve the public audience well by entertaining them to the best of her ability establishing a direct connection with the camera. Pickford was able to make a significant contribution by influencing the American life and culture in Canada by becoming a role model for both men and women during the 1920’s. She was able to inspire them to become independent and fight for what they beliefs despite of adversities. A woman of substance, Pickford was greatly loved by her audience because she was able to awaken their deepest emotions and delight them with her remarkable talent in acting.
Works Cited:
Brownlow, Kevin. The Parade's Gone by Now. California: University of California
Press, 1968.
Leavey, Peggy Dymond. Mary Pickford Canada’s Silent Siren, America’s Sweetheart.
USA: Dundurn, 2011. Print.
Mary Pickford. Web. Retrieved on January 12, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0681933/.
Whitfield, Eileen. Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood. Kentucky: The
