Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tragedy of the Common Man?
When the unnamed doorman in The Last Laugh is demoted to bathroom attendant, his world collapses. At the end of the film he is estranged from his family, fellow workers and neighbors and only the night watchman gives him succor. Is this film a tragedy in the Aristotelian sense? Is it an indictment of the society of the time? Or, to put the point another way, whose fault is the doorman's downfall?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Throughout The Last Laugh, the doorman is struggling with his new position as bathroom attendant. His pride and joy as a doorman are taken from him and given to a younger and stronger man who can do the job even better. His neighbors mock him and his family avoids him, ashamed of his failure. Although this film has a "happy ending," I do believe it is, in ways, a tragedy. The doorman's depression is clear throughout the film as he drags himself to work everyday and sits emotionless in the bathroom, causing the viewer to feel sorrow and sympathy for him. Yet, I do believe the doorman's downfall is his very own fault. Yes, his family and friends reject him for his failure, but he didn't have to let his demotion ruin his life and drive him into a depression. As soon as he is demoted, he sinks into a state of self-pity and hopelessness. At the end, although the doorman lucks out and becomes rich, he only has one friend, and still does not have his old job back. Although the ending of The Last Laugh may give the illusion of a happy ending, the doorman really ends up with nothing but his money, which he seems to be blowing at a fast rate, and something tells me he will never truly be satisfied.
ReplyDeleteIn my mind the Last Laugh is a tragedy is a very wierd sense of the word. Throughout the film viewers are exposed to the sad emotions of the doorman after losing his job. Its not tragic in the death sense of the word but its tragic because the film evokes sympathy in the viewers for this doorman and the many negative things that seems to be happening to him. His family and friends simply make his situation worse as they add fuel to the fire instead of trying to console him and try to make him feel better. As far as whose fault his downfall is I would have to say that I'm not sure. Him getting fired is a downfall in itself but the fact that he dwells on it for so long instead of trying to move on make viewers think that maybe it is his fault. I think that it would have been more interesting to see the doorman make the best out of a sticky situation and to see him more happy then sad all of the time. In the end the film is still a tragedy but I don't believe that it had to be.
ReplyDelete