People on Sunday ? Self-Betterment Motif
Watching People on Sunday (Robert Siodmack and Edgar G. Ulmer, 1930) felt like time-traveling to a different country, in this case, Germany, without ever being seen...
Not only was I able to see the architecture and transportation of this era, recognize the existence of various scales presented by the Kino-Eye camera (including individual versus nature and individual versus machine), but I was also able to grow an appreciation for how the treatment of women has changed globally since this time. I really enjoyed watching this film, picking out the moments of kineticism, and analyzing the various montages. Each montage that stood out to me gave a glimpse of societal expectations, including beauty standards and the behavior of women. With very few hints to the time of day, they also contributed to the lack of temporality throughout the film and exciting lack of responsibility on Sundays for those living in the busy city.
In one montage, we see various women doing grooming-related activities such as getting their nails done, going to a hairdresser, and a seamstress sewing clothes. Another montage features different women at the beach, one putting on lipstick and wearing pearls with her bathing suit, and another putting an ocean mud mask onto her body. These two scenes seemed to contribute to one of the overall themes: self-betterment. I cannot tell if I necessarily liked this aspect, as it made me consider how objectified and less independent women were during the time of this film. In fact, throughout the film, it seems that the women were constantly trying to impress men, while the men seemingly took pride in their ability to easily woo any woman they interacted with. This is exemplified in the scene where the main cast is on a paddle boat and two outsider girls paddling nearby steal the men’s attention, stirring up jealousy.
The third montage that grabbed my attention was one that featured different people of different ages and sizes exercising. This allowed for the audience to view everyday people through a Kino-Eye, more accurately than the subjective eye of a human. I appreciated this part of the film as I was able to notice the technological advancements of both exercise equipment and workout apparel since this era. It also contributed to the kinetics and emphasis on self-improvement throughout the film. The constant movement of individuals either playing a sport, jumping over a track hurdle or sitting on a moving workout machine throughout this montage also added to the overall business of the city despite it being the weekend.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of all is that these activities still occur today, yet are judged from a different, more modern perspective. Women still get their nails and hair done, but not always with the intention of impressing men and rather for the purpose of self-love and self-betterment. People also still exercise, though there is less emphasis on achieving a certain body type and instead an anti-body-shame sentiment exists. Furthermore, men are called out for their behavior more often today as women have more awareness of their objectification nowadays, which was apparent during our class debrief of the film when various students pointed out the borderline sexual harassment apparent in certain scenes. What was normal then may not be normal today, but it was nice to have the opportunity to reflect on the changes thanks to the various editing and photographic techniques of the film.
