"Don't Forget Me" Part One.

Falling Down (Joel Schumacher 1993) could be argued to be a perfect example of a film that exemplifies and calls into question the concept of masculinity in late 20th century/early 21st century society. Like American Beauty we could go into detail of how todays culture has emasculated the middle and working-classes. However, there are no doubt numerous essays describing this, and I would like to approach this film (or a few scenes at least) from a different perspective. I will attempt to argue that we can draw parallels with the current economic crisis.
Michael Douglas's character Bill 'D-Fens' is a product of the cold war. We are told that he used to make missiles and keep the country safe," and that he is in fact, like the protester at the bank (below) "not economically viable."




















The scene above is arguably used in the film as an example of the 'everyman' element; the man is dressed almost identically to D-Fens thus giving the audience a glimpse into Douglas's character and motivation. I would also argue that the fact that the protester is African-American was almost a 'token' gesture in response to any anticipated racism levelled at the film. I found an excellent essay and analysis on ethnicity in the film here http://www.theunapologeticmexican.org/elgrito/2007/01/at_the_movies_-_falling_down.html


It is worth asking how we make the link from a movie made in the early 90's to British society today. I would argue that we have more in common with our American cousins than we first realise. Leonard Quart in The Religion of the Market stated that even in the Thatcher years "British society became more Americanised; much more efficient, hedonistic, cash-obsessed and competitive". And so likewise, in times of economic crisis, Britain suffers just as working-class Americans suffer. While the film deals with the effects brought on by the Cold War ending upon a large section of society, in Britain we suffered in a similar way by the decline of the manufacturing industry, particularly in the Major and New Labour years since the film's release. And more importantly, like America, the billions used to bail out the banks have left us all 'not economically viable.'

Next time, I'll be looking at socialist themes in the movie.