Last night Turner Classic Movies showed the 1941 Frank Capra film, Meet John Doe. Although I have seen it before I watched it again, and it made me think about messaging in light of George Lakoff's diary and repeated criticism of the message (or lack thereof) projected by the democratic party in the election.
The film, Meet John Doe, has the populist everyman themes of most of Capra's films of the late 30s and 40s. Their expression is somewhat more nuanced here than in the other films. It begins with the firing of a young reporter (Barbara Stanwyck) by a paper that is cutting corners to save money. In her anger she writes a final column that is a fictitious letter from 'John Doe' a desperate man who is planning to kill himself on Christmas eve because of the misery in the world but more particularly because no one seems to care about anyone else's misery.
This column resonates with the public, the reporter gets her job back and the game is on to find a 'real' John Doe to milk the public sentiment for all it is worth. Follow me below the fold for more.
The John Doe that is found is an aimless down on his luck former baseball player as portrayed by Gary Cooper. Happy to earn some easy money he is quite willing to portray the fictitious letter writer. Problems arise when Norton, the millionaire who owns the paper wants to use John Doe to create a political movement. Stanwyck's reporter is all to eager to help out to earn more money for her financially struggling family and continues to manipulate Cooper's character.
John Doe is all too successful at creating a movement but then becomes a 'true believer' himself when confronted with some of his followers who describe how his exhortations to reach out to their neighbors have changed their lives for the better. These leads to a conflict with Norton who cuts off his ability to communicate, reveals John Doe as a fake and sends the police after him.
In a typical Capra ending Norton is defeated by the good will and true love of regular people. The editor of the paper, who at the beginning of the film is heartlessly firing Stanwyck's character get's the last line. He turns to the evil millionaire Norton and says
'There you are Norton! The People! Try and Lick That!'
So what's my point? This film is easy to criticize. Capra's solution is way too simplistic and his view of America is one of white people leading wholesome (by his standards) lives. Stanwyck's strong and complex figure is reduced (almost literally) to a puddle at Cooper's feet at the end.
My point is that Capra was a conservative Republican. So were both Cooper and Stanwyck. Capra and Stanwyck both came from impoverished backgrounds and both were opposed to Roosevelt's New Deal because they strongly felt that if they could pull themselves up out of poverty then others could as well without the need for government intervention.
I'm not here to defend either of them (or Cooper with whom I am less familiar) or to comment on their lack of perspective. The point of this diary is that Capra, a conservative republican, made a film with economically populist themes, a film that attacked hospitals that turned away patients that couldn't pay, that portrayed the wealthy trying to use their wealth to manipulate the poor, portrayed the media in a cynical light. It encouraged (admittedly in a rather limited and unrealistic way) organization of the regular people to improve their lot.
The point is that if these progressive ideas resonated for Capra, a conservative republican, then they will resonate with many voters we need to build a movement for change. That there are points we can make that will appeal voters who are not currently voting for progressive candidates although they may support progressive initiatives. Fairness and cooperation to achieve common goals.
I'm not going to claim that I have all the answers or that getting this message across will be easy. I'm not a good person to try and do this. But I think it can be done.
The movie fell into the public domain (in the US) some years ago and it is easy to find the entire film for free online. Here's one version - I haven't watched it so can't vouch for quality.