(Yes, another blog post about the pandemic, or at least about watching movies during the pandemic. It does, however, apply to non-isolation movie viewing as well.)
So why is now a good time to watch old movies? As everyone is shut up at home waiting out the high tide of covid-19, I know many are looking to Netflix and other streaming services for distraction and solace. If you do, consider this: old movies may be more consoling than newer flicks.
I watch old movies. Pretty much exclusively.* I’ve been a classic film fanatic since I was a teenager, and attending film school only deepened my addiction. And having studied history as well (20th century focus), I can’t help but ponder the historical context of the films I see.
An example: Those glossy, frothy Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers dance fests can seem pretty silly to us now, until you remember they floated out on the stormy seas of the Great Depression. You can’t begrudge a struggling populace their tuxedo-and-gown confections. Plus… the comedy! the music! the dancing!
So what do I mean by old movies, exactly? As distant as it may seem, 1992 does not count as old here. I’m talking about the 1950s (Cold War paranoia), 1940s (WWII and aftermath), 1930s (Great Depression/rise of fascism), 1920s (hangover of WWI), or even the 1910s (shock of WWI), if you are serious about your silent movies. Films from these decades give us a vivid snapshot of when they were made: what people were thinking, what they valued, what they longed for, what they feared.
There is of course nothing wrong with watching more recent films, be they good, bad or indifferent, but for a little extra cheering up, I vote for stepping out of your own time. Perspective, my friends. Perspective. (Mantra of the historian.)
What is the Consolation of History?
It lies in the message that humanity has been through far worse than this, and muddled through somehow.
You will do the same. Your job here is simply to do the right thing and take care of each other.
Up next on this blog: A short film from 1924 – a Parisian Surrealist home movie!
* My movie watching log reveals that of the last 180 or so flicks I’ve watched, only TWO were made within the last 30 years! (Numbers inflated because of all the silent movie shorts I’ve seen lately – research for a book.)