An average Joe

Since last month I talked about a classic with Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper, I decided to continue the trend and take into consideration another movie starring the two of them, but this time a more serious one. Meet John Doe is a 1941 movie directed by Frank Capra which this year also reaches its 85^th anniversary (’41 was definetly Stanwyck’s best year); although there are several comedic moments in the initial scenes, I would not consider it as such.

It starts with a scene about corporate greed, a newspaper that has been bought out and the new people in charge making personnel cuts. When the character played by Barbara Stanwyck is fired, she finishes her final piece by inventing a letter of a man wanting to commit suicide on Christmas Eve to denounce the modern and expendable condition of everyday men; she calls him in fact John Doe. The piece catches the public eye, there is an uproar and eventually the heroine is hired by the newspaper because of her idea to pay a bum for playing the role of this John Doe; this scenario is why it is partially considered a comedy. Nevertheless, Gary Cooper’s character, a homeless and simple man, gains popularity because of the article and the monologues that are written for him; the press will try to use this new found cult of personality (insert Living Colour reference here) to manipulate public interest and become a political force. It ends in a climax where the main characters are almost defeated, but the open nature of the finale leaves room for hope.

All and all it is a solid cinematographic work; Gary Cooper’s initial cluelessness that eventually ends up in a self-conscious character who believes in the power of his message is a fantastic transition and Barbara Stanwyck’s wit and fast delivery, reminiscent of other characters she portrayed, turns into a passionate character that wants to give much more to the world. There are two quintessential themes however that the movie puts forth and that in my opinion makes the movie worth watching today.

First and foremost it delivers a good message against prejudices; the first speech John Doe delivers regards the common man and how that man is the listener as its neighbour. It is a message about tearing down the fences that divide us, a message of equality, a message that today more than ever should be shared. It was written during the Second World War by people who had already witnessed the atrocities of the First One; it is absurd how much our current society needs a reminder of the importance of what is being said. Finally, it is a moral about good will and good intents; feeling better while doing something good and interacting with others who have the same predisposition ultimately leads to a propagation of that feeling. Finding validation for positive attitudes leads humans to search for more of that same well-being and in turn creates a long-standing positive condition. The sense of fraternity and humanity Meet John Doe preaches seems to be almost something that has been forgotten in our current frantic way of living.

The second point the movie touches on regards the insidious nature of corporate greed and manipulation. Corporations, now more than ever, act as invisible puppeteers with their own agenda; they would use any resource at their disposal to obtain even more wealth. The social divide we are facing today is a partial result of political agendas pushed against common people without them even realizing it. How can humanity face a higher power if it is cannot even unite itself? If you think about it, the same principle was used by the romans with their divide et impera. I realize that this last bit almost sounds like a conspiracy theory, but try to take it with a grain of salt and more as a provocation to think about what society has become than anything else. Regardless, Meet John Doe emphasises how good intentions and positive messages could be manipulated if there is greed involved; it reminds us how the seeds of malice could contaminate something pure in nature and twist their meaning.

I would give this movie a 7 out of 10 ‘lighthouses in a foggy world’.