On the surface Bicycle Thieves and The Last Laugh have the same plot. In both films the protagonist either loses his job or will likely lose a job and in a desperate bid to restore that job they need to reacquire or even steal a precious object that symbolizes their position, a bicycle or a uniform, respectively. Furthermore, if we ignore the "happy ending" imposed by the studio on The Last Laugh, both protagonists end the movie defeated and depressed with seemingly little hope for a better future. Nonetheless, despite these similarities, these are different movies. In what way are they different? What is the social or moral message of each? What are each say about the society of their times (Germany in the 20's and Italy in the 40's)? How do they differ on questions of social mobility, morality or the family? Is one more hopeful or cynical?
The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thieves both sport a sad and unfulfilling ending as the protagonist is left seemingly hopeless. However, these two movies have different messages despite the similar situations Antonio and the Doorman find themselves in. The German economy in the early 1920’s and the Italian economy in the 1940’s were both spiraling out of control with unemployment and hyperinflation however the problem facing the Doorman was the societal view of someone in a lower class while Antonio simply needed to find a job to provide for his family. The message of The Last Laugh is in a capatalist society people lose sight of character and judge their peers based off status, pay, and ability. Bicycle Thieves is a criticism of the unorganized government and inability to provide jobs for able workers. For example, at the beginning of the film, protagonist Antonio is called out of a group by a job recruiter to hang posters on a building with one caveat; Antonio needed a bike for the job. He tried to explain to the job recruiter that he didn’t have a bike but he would make it work. Multiple men called out that they had bikes and were able to work however were met with the explanation that the job didn’t fall under their assigned job titles. The idea that able, job searching workers would be denied work because of their work titles is insane and a huge criticism of the job recruitment industry, run by the government. While The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thieves have similar themes, the actual message of the films are quite different and a criticism of two different things.
ReplyDeleteThe critical difference between the movies The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thieves is that The Last Laugh criticizes the moral values of German citizens while Bicycle Thieves criticizes the political and governmental state of Italy. In The Last Laugh, the doorman loses his job, destroying his main source of identity. Without his uniform, he has no value and becomes the laughingstock of the whole neighborhood. The film uses the gossip surrounding the loss of his job as a central theme in its narrative to condemn society for overemphasizing the importance of a person’s social status. The Last Laugh shows how 1920s German society strictly valued tangible successes, creating toxic and destructive environments. Contrastingly, Bicycle Thieves serves not as a commentary on the morals of citizens but rather on the governmental power at the time. The Italian Neo-Realism film is set in post-World War II Italy, and after the war, the most pressing Italian issue was the lack of employment for the working class. Low employment levels led to severely decreased social mobility for people such as Antonio. When Antonio manages to secure himself a bike and, in turn, a job, it represents hope for Italian citizens that the government will finally end the working-class unemployment crisis. However, Antonio’s bike is soon stolen, leaving him unable to provide for his family. The theft of his bike is the vehicle for the film to portray politically left-leaning ideologies and criticize the Italian government for its lack of post-World War II social rectifications. Bicycle Thieves shows the corruption of the Italian government in the 1940s through Antonio’s bike, a symbol of hope, being lost forever.
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