Singin' in the Rain

During the 50s many great advances in the film industry came about. The movie Singin’ in the Rain 1952 was one of the first motion pictures with sound both recorded along with the acting, and also added to the background of the taped footage. The most famous song performed of course is what the movie is named after. In class we took a look at this number performed in the original version of the movie from 1952, and later we saw the same song performed in a dramatically different light. “Singin’ in the Rain” appeared again nineteen years later in an almost scarily unique movie named “A Clockwork Orange” directed by Stanley Kubrick. Singing in the Rain and A Clockwork Orange were created during two drastically different points in our country’s history. One could even argue that during the almost twenty years between the releases of both, the United States went through the most significant change of our country’s past.

                The 1950’s was still a decade that was full of rules, church views, family values and hardworking American’s with one view morals. During this time our country was involved both in Korea during the war and also in the Space race with the soviet’s launch of Sputnik. Because of all of these things the government was trying to put out media that only soothed tensions and ideas at home. Not a lot about the war or soviet relations was released, and the main focus of many directors was to make movies that will keep focus here, and also make people happy, with entertainers such as Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Marlon Brando. The version of “singin’ in the rain” performed in the original movie was a happy number sung solely by the main character as he dances around tapping his feet and swinging on lampposts. This shows a happy go lucky attitude that the film industry aimed to put across in hopes of easing the public’s nerves.

                From the beginning on the 1960’s to the beginning of the 1970’s when A Clockwork Orange was released (1971) the United States took an immense turn and has never gone back to its conservative ways since.  Many social revolutions occurred during this time which was nicknamed the “cultural age”.  Sexism and racism both relaxed, and radical and new trends emerged. Many think our nation was reversing their rigid culture of the previous decade with unattainable demands, and break free of these social constraints through drastic digression from the norm. This explains why the second time “singing in the Rain” was performed in a movie that was made almost twenty years later; the delivery was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Acted out while abusing a tied up man, and going to rape his wife, the new message was not joyfulness, but rather an image with a deeper and more intense message.