The Laughing Club

There seemed to be allot of themes present in the film "The Laughing Club." The movie jumps back and forth between a lighter, happier mood, o a dark and depressing reality. People in the club all had different reasons for joining. One theme was defiance, as noted by the very proper way of life that they are supposed to live. No laughing in public and such things can be really agitating after a while. The film makers did a good job at conveying another theme, claustrophobia. There are very view close ups and most of the big wide open shots are used to show packed streets cluttered with advertisements and people doing what they need to survive. The major point of this film was that, these people solve all of there real life worries with laughter. The film makers would show an interview with a person who was living with some dramatic problem, for example, the woman who lost her husband. They showed the great depression this brought upon her and then would skip to scenes of her laughing and having a good time. I also noticed that when filming a sad person or talking about a sad subject the color was always dark. The skies were dark gray, the colors in the room seemed faded, and even the color white was always portrayed dirty. When the film would switch to a lighter subject like the doctor who founded the laughing club, the colors got much brighter. He would be by a beach, or wearing a bright color shirt.
The film makers also showed how this culture was influenced by the advertisements posted around the city. These adds looked as though they were there to tell these people what they were supposed to live like. The movie seemed to be filmed using all natural lighting.
To me, the entire film had a gritty feeling to it. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be trash or destruction. The only thing in sight that was new at all, were the big advertisements. The way these people talked about their lives made you just invision how it must be to live there. The film maker would start an interview and let the voice cary on so you would still hear the talking while looking down at the laughing club itself or at the chaotic streets.