Days of Heaven explores the making of America with an almost mythical depiction of the settlement and industrialization of the American West. Much like other films of the New Hollywood which emerged in the era of the Vietnam War and Watergate, it questions some of the sacrosanct myths of American history and revisions traditional Hollywood genres such as the Western. What is the film saying about progress and prosperity in the founding of the West? What is it saying about the American Dream and the pursuit of happiness? Is America a land of liberty and justice for all -- or just an intricate confidence game?
The film Days of Heaven juxtaposes the fantasy of the American dream with the harsh reality of the sacrifices that must accompany it. Throughout the first half of the film, Bill and Abby are shown hopping from job to job in hopes of making enough money to live comfortably; however, despite their hard work and long hours, they do not come any closer to achieving their American dream. The film opens with a medium-long shot revealing the harsh working environment of a twentieth-century factory. This shot serves to depict the hardship endured by working-class Americans that is often overlooked and underestimated when discussing the hard work that goes into establishing a comfortable life in America. Moreover, at the farm, the theme of hard work is perpetuated. A series of crane shots show a swarm of laborers working the fields. Despite all of this labor, Bill and Abby’s situation remains static. It is not until Abby discovers the possibility of inheriting the farmer's wealth that the opportunity for socio-economic freedom arises. However, this pursuit of economic freedom does not come without sacrifice. Abby must sacrifice her relationship with Bill in order to live a comfortable life. Although this pursuit begins with the hopes of remaining with Bill, as Abby gets closer to the farmer, it becomes apparent that she won't be able to maintain her relationship with Bill and pursue the American dream with the farmer. Ultimately, the deterioration of Abby and Bill’s relationship highlights the sacrifices made by those who desire the American dream (a comfortable life and the ownership of land).
ReplyDeleteThe 1978 film, Days of Heaven, critiques the exploitation surrounding U.S. expansion to the west through the downward spiral of the characters’ fate as they exploit more and more land. The movie follows the life of Bill, his girlfriend Abby, and his sister Linda. After Bill strikes his boss, the family leaves Chicago in order to join a group of farming workers. When they arrive on the farm they are greeted by luscious fields full of wheat swaying in the field. Throughout the movie, the background changes significantly. As the movie goes on, there are less and less crops in the background, illustrating how large of an impact that the farmers have had on the environment. This devastation to the wheat fields also impacts the nearby animals, as there are several shots in which there are animals walking around in places where there used to be wheat fields. This shows that in collecting the wheat, they are in turn destroying habits of all of the local animals. Because Bill and Linda are part of the wheat operation, they are contributing to the exploitation of natural resources. Their disregard for nature is also illustrated when the two are socializing in a river. While they are standing around, Bill drops an empty bottle of wine into the water. He then continues to barely look at it and then leaves the bottle. After he walks away, there is an underwater shot of the bottle falling, and eventually landing. Once it lands, several fish swim around to view the bottle. This illustrates that once again, Bill and Linda are interfering with nature and disrupting the habitats of fish. Eventually, this disregard and exploitation of nature catches up to the couple when their farm is attacked by a locust infestation. What starts as a few locusts, ends as thousands of locus occupy a field beside their house. This punishment is reparation for their previous exploitation of nature, as in order to get rid of the locust infestation, they have to burn the fields, thus destroying critical infrastructure. In this scene, nature gets revenge for Bill and his family’s exploitation, illustrating that nature should not be taken for granted or abused for commercial gain.
ReplyDeleteThe film sends the message that the American Dream consists of owning personal property and wallowing in wonderful wealth, but it can only be attained through some sort of personal sacrifice. At the very beginning of the film, we see Bill working in an industrial setting in his hometown of Chicago. He is being treated poorly, most likely due to being part of the working class, and ends up lashing out and injuring a man who appears to be his manager or boss. After severely harming the man, Bill runs away with his sister, Lily, and girlfriend, Abby, to Texas, where they end up working for a wealthy farmer. The farmer seems to have it all as he owns a large acreage of wheat fields and brings in a hefty profit every year. The farmer has the American dream in the palm of his hand, but when everything seems to be going well, a doctor tells the medic that he only has a short amount of time left to live. Although he lives the “American Dream” and ends up living past the doctor’s prediction, he doesn’t get better and has to suffer the symptoms of his disease. The farmer’s sacrifice for attaining the American Dream is his health, but also his love. Bill overhears the doctor telling the farmer about his expected due date, so he encourages Abby to marry the farmer for a short amount of time and inherit the farmer’s wealth after he inevitably dies. Bill and Abby’s pursuit of the American Dream seems to be foolproof, until the farmer doesn’t end up dying. Abby ends up having to suffer through her marriage with the farmer, and in seeing this, Bill develops murderous thoughts. During a hunting scene, Bill is very close to shooting the farmer in order for Abby to inherit his wealth and the American Dream, but he holds back. The farmer then begins to notice the true relationship between Bill and Abby, and he is tormented to the point where he gets on his horse to go shoot Bill. Bill kills the farmer before the farmer can kill him, which leaves the farmer with a terrible ending to his story of financial success: the cost the farmer had to pay for achieving the American Dream. The farmer also had to pay back his debt before his death in the film, when thousands of locusts invaded and ruined his wheat farm, which helped push him to the point of attempting to kill Bill. Once the farmer is dead, Bill escapes the plantation with Linda and Abby, however, he is eventually discovered by the police and is shot multiple times for trying to get away with murder. Later, we can see Abby in a posh outfit and Linda attending a fancy boarding school, so it can be assumed that Abby inherited the farmer’s estate and his wealth. At this point, Abby technically attains the American Dream, as she has a large estate and lots of money to live comfortably, but at what cost? In order to reach a higher socioeconomic status and the American Dream, Abby’s true love, Bill, and her husband, the farmer, both end up dead. Overall, Bill, Abby, and the farmer all end up having to sacrifice something in order to pursue or attain the American Dream.
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