Monday, December 19, 2022
For reasons best known to my subconscious I've been meaning to re-watch Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon" (1937) for a little while, so last night we did. I was surprised by how little of it I actually remembered, and All that said, it is an interesting artifact from a time when
optimism about the fate of the world and a belief in our common humanity
were in short supply. Of course, this was Capra's great theme, and it
might be interesting to survey when movies that express utopian ideals
appear in a historical context. impressed by the lavish production design. In the back of my mind I think I recall knowing that it had been one of those Hollywood movies where the director went all in and substantially over-budget, and you can see where the money went. Although I have not seen "Avatar" it seems to me that the two movies have in common both that, and a kind of naive idealism. I was also struck by what might be called the Orientalism, or to be blunt, the casual racism..
All that said, it is an interesting artifact from a time when
optimism about the fate of the world and a belief in our common humanity
were in short supply. Of course, this was Capra's great theme, and it
might be interesting to survey when movies that express utopian ideals
appear in a historical context.
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