Masses formed a perpetual threat to culture. Mass thinking/ prejudice/ suggestion would threaten to swamp individual thinking and feeling. Mass democracy was seen as majority rule of the mob or mob-rule which was harmful for a society or government. We think masses denote the working classes - therefore the problem with the masses are not the lowness and gullibility but the power to alter society and to change the capitalist economy - and this is why masses are abhorred by rulers and the makers of law and society. The leaders of the capitalist economy will do everything to prevent a Revolution and the working classes do not want their conscience to be awakened but most importantly nobody wants to acknowledge that true power does lie with the people
Table of Contents
1. Who Are the Masses?
2. A Changing Representation of the Masses in Movies
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this work is to analyze the evolving cinematic representation of "the masses" and their role in revolutionary movements across the 20th and 21st centuries. By comparing foundational socialist films with contemporary dramas, the study investigates how directors leverage cinema as a medium for social commentary and political mobilization.
- Sociological definitions of "the masses" and crowd behavior.
- Cinematic techniques for portraying collective political agency.
- Comparative analysis of 20th-century propaganda vs. 21st-century mainstream political drama.
- The role of the "hero" in relation to the collective.
- Impact of cinematic representation on real-world political activism.
Excerpt from the Book
A Changing Representation of the Masses in Movies
What is interesting is that the birth of cinema happened around the same time that masses were given birth to by the Industrial Revolution. The Lumiere brothers in 1895 were successful in playing the first film reel. Early cinema aimed at being realistic and wanted to portray people as they were- the masses were portrayed in various crowd scenes ranging from a simple documentary by the Lumiere brothers of A Train Arriving At La Ciotat, where the presence of the camera was not disclosed to the ‘actors’ to movies with political motifs such as D.W. Griffith’s Birth Of A Nation that had epic war scenes and a heroic depiction of masses in the American Civil War. (Dirks ‘Greatest Crowd Scenes) Early cinema aimed at being didactic instead of simply entertaining. Some directors even used cinema as a medium for political propaganda. Directors Sergei Eisenstein and Fritz Lang were two such people who used their art to portray political, social and economic conditions of their countries in their own aesthetic style.
Summary of Chapters
Who Are the Masses?: This section establishes the sociological framework for understanding the term "masses," tracing its historical transition from a negative descriptor of "mobs" to a recognized political force.
A Changing Representation of the Masses in Movies: This section analyzes how the cinematic portrayal of the masses has shifted from the socialist propaganda of early 20th-century directors like Eisenstein and Lang to the nuanced, market-driven representations in 21st-century films such as V for Vendetta and Rang De Basanti.
Keywords
Masses, Cinema, Revolution, Sociology, Capitalism, Propaganda, Sergei Eisenstein, Fritz Lang, V for Vendetta, Rang De Basanti, Class Consciousness, Political Drama, Crowd Psychology, Social Change, Multiplex Crowd
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the changing cinematic representation of masses and revolution, specifically comparing how these concepts were depicted in 20th-century socialist cinema versus 21st-century commercial films.
What does the author identify as the primary theme?
The central theme is the power of the "masses" as an agent of social change and how directors use the medium of film to reflect or manipulate these energies in different political climates.
What is the core research objective?
The objective is to trace a pattern in how the basic qualities of a mass—zealous, amorphous, and uncontrollable—are visually and narratively represented across different eras of cinema.
Which scientific or theoretical methods are applied?
The work utilizes sociological theory regarding crowd behavior and historical analysis of film aesthetics, specifically applying the theories of Raymond Williams and various sociological perspectives on the "mass."
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the sociological definition of the masses, the rise of political cinema in the early 20th century, case studies of Battleship Potemkin and Metropolis, and a modern analysis of V for Vendetta and Rang De Basanti.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include Masses, Cinema, Revolution, Propaganda, Class Consciousness, and Social Change.
How does the representation of the "hero" evolve in these films?
In early films like Battleship Potemkin, the individual hero is intentionally minimized to emphasize collective power, whereas modern films like V for Vendetta use an enigmatic, masked hero to lead the masses, signaling a shift in narrative focus.
What role does the "multiplex crowd" play in this study?
The author uses this term to describe the contemporary audience for modern political films, noting that directors must balance their social agendas with the demands of a largely bourgeois or petty-bourgeois market.
How does the film Rang De Basanti differ from the socialist films of the 20th century?
Unlike the didactic propaganda of the 20th century, Rang De Basanti reflects the challenges of a capitalist society where peaceful protest is often suppressed, leading to a different, more volatile path toward political awareness.
- Quote paper
- Alisha Nangia (Author), 2011, Who Are the Masses? A Changing Representation of the Masses in Movies, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/283839
