I will attempt to address this misconception by taking a textual analysis approach to musicals in relation to Richard Dyer's influential essay Entertainment and Utopia, where he looks at the largely dismissed concepts of "escape" and "wish fulfilment." I will look at the effectiveness of his approach by paying particular attention to the films Brigadoon and An American in Paris, both starring Gene Kelly. Mainly because I feel these two films perfectly combine exotic worlds with US values, creating a real sense of utopia and secondly because I find them the most pleasurable musicals to watch.
Firstly I will define the term utopia and briefly describe the key concepts presented by Dyer within his essay and relate them to my chosen films.
A dictionary definition of utopia is "any real or imaginary society, place, or state considered to be perfect or ideal" and Dyer echoes this by taking musicals as a definition of entertainment: all singing, all dancing films which create a utopian world. He argues that musicals are pure entertainment and their sole aim is to provide pleasure. Dyer suggests that musicals, and entertainment as a whole, offer the image of something better' to escape into, or something we want deeply that our day-to-day lives don't provide. He takes a serious approach to these key aims of "escape" and "wish fulfilment" which he feels are part of entertainments utopian core, but are all too often overlooked. Thus suggesting that entertainment responds to real needs in society. Indeed the musical most certainly exemplify this escapism because it offers the audience the idea of a utopian world, therefore suggesting that the musical offers a non-specific utopian vision.
Utopia seems to emerge when characters sing and dance, they escape from the real world and all it's problems, for the length of the musical number at least, much like when people drink alcohol to forget problems that are still there when they sober up.
Therefore this is imaginary escapism, for the viewer as much as for the character. There are no real changes for either and escapist needs and their proper fulfilments are to a large extent created by a dominant system in which entertainment operates. Dyer touches on this fact at the start of his essay calling entertainment "a type of performance for profit performed before a generalized audience", he goes on to add that because it is professional entertainers who produce entertainment "it is also largely defined by them".
I would also add here that the utopian resolution the films reach sees the abolition of class distinction and the marriage of commerce and aesthetics creating a utopia for all people, mainly for the mass audience these films appeal to. Indeed, Dyer seems to suggest entertainment caters for individual audience needs, rather than as members of social groups or classes. The escape created suggests a revised, utopian version of the audience's own world. It is a utopian world because it has more energy and abundance than the "real" world, and has clearer, more intense conflicts, issues and problems than in our day-to-day lives. Richard Maltby (1995) sees Dyer's relationship between Utopian sensibility and the inadequacies in society as presenting "an instance of the ways in which people may come to invest in their own unhappiness." This would make sense in terms of post-war musicals where most, if not all, of the audience members would be feeling great unhappiness and wishing for something better, living with memories but having hopes and dreams for the future.
Dyer looks at entertainment's ability to evoke what utopia would feel like, creating alternatives, hopes, wishes, "the sense that things could be better, that something other than what is can be imagined and maybe realized." He goes on to say that the utopian worlds presented are not presented in a classical way but rather in the feelings of the films, therefore "what utopia would feel like rather than how it would be organised" and the way this is produced is thorough two categories of signs that are intermingled within the musical: representational and non-representational signs.
The representational signs include plot, characters, costumes, and so forth. Things that represent something and function on a level of comprehension. He suggests this is shown through thoughts that "the stars are nicer than us, characters more straightforward than people we know, situations more soluble than those we encounter". Non-representational signs include colour, texture, camera angles, editing, movement and the musical score. These things do not represent anything concrete. They determine the attribution of meaning to a large extent. The non-representational signs actually create more fully the utopian effect as they involve the emotions.
Dyer takes a look at Susanne K Langers concept of signs in relation to music which moves us but is the least obvious reference to reality' thus, music embodies feeling. However he argues against Langer in a way by stating that he feels that emotions are coded as much as the signs for them and not just human feelings' as Langer suggests. He continues, "modes of experimental art and entertainment correspond to different culturally and historically determined sensibilities".
Dyer suggests that entertainment gains emotional significations by acquiring this significance "in relation to the complex of meanings in the social-cultural situations in which they are produced." I would agree with this suggestion, partly because the musicals I am basing this essay on are both post-war films full of US values but at the same time, are escapism since they are set in the exotic locations of Paris and the Scottish Highlands, places where most of the audience members have only dreamed about.
He quotes Hans Enzensberger as saying "consumption as spectacle is in parody form the anticipation of a utopian situation" therefore suggesting that categories of utopian sensibility are related to specific inadequacies in society. He sees "the categories of the sensibilities as temporary answers to the inadequacies of the society which is being escaped from though entertainment". Dyer suggests his own analysis offers an explanation of why entertainment works, this is because it responds to "the real needs created by society".
Indeed deep social needs were essential in the post-war era where musicals became set in exotic places, far from the stresses of New York. The comparison is even shown in parody form on screen in Brigadoon when Tommy (Kelly) returns from Brigadoon/Utopia to New York/Reality, after having experienced the wonder of the Scottish Highlands. His return home is to a place most audience members will recognise as a stereotypical view of New York. Full of noise, activity, plush restaurants, diamonds, furs, latest fashions, alcohol and smoke filled air.
The complete contrast of the two opposite worlds is shown when Kelly sits at a table with his fiance who is talking constantly. He tunes her out and instead hears what he wants to hear, Fiona's (Cyd Charisse) voice in his head, his lost love from Brigadoon. He knows he cannot go back to her because Brigadoon has vanished forever. Therefore the audience, dreaming of a utopian world, watches the character also dreaming of a utopian world. The only difference is that when he goes back to see where Brigadoon once was, utopia actually becomes reality when he watches in disbelief as the village rises miraculously from the mist. Tommy (an average American) makes utopia by wishing Brigadoon back. This would also suggest to me that the filmmakers are telling the audience they too can make a difference because this average American did so any average American can.
American in Paris works in much the same way, Jerry Mulligan (again played by Kelly) is an ex-GI who has come to Paris to paint. Leaving behind a stress filled life in New York to find tranquillity and inspiration in the beautiful sites of Paris to help his work. We see famous French landmarks, perfumeries, side-walk cafes, flower markets and all things essentially Parisian.
Both films are fairytale musicals and they take us far from home and dwell mostly on the power of imagination. Brigadoon is a land whose imaginary origins match its image-based presentation. In Brigadoon the country serves as an external escape from the perversities of modernism. In the same way Paris is a far-off city serving as a pendant to humdrum small-town American life.
Dyer provides a table with his essay to show that he feels entertainment can present "either complex or unpleasant feelings in a way that makes them seem uncomplicated, direct and vivid, not qualified' or ambiguous' as day-to-day life makes them, and without intimations of self-deception and pretence" listing involvement in personal or political events, jealously, loss of love and defeat.
Entertainment offers the audience the idea of utopia where negative aspects of the real world are eradicated in favour of other sensibilities. He also suggests that specific inadequacies in society are compensated for by utopian sensibilities inherent in mainstream entertainment, which are abundance, energy, intensity, transparency and community. I will now discuss these five sensibilities and relate them to key numbers in the aforementioned musicals.
The musical combats felt social inadequacies like scarcity, exhaustion, dreariness, manipulation, and fragmentation by offering utopian visions of energy, abundance, intensity, transparency and community.
The first sensibility Dyer highlights is energy' which he calls the "capacity to act vigorously; human power, activity, potential." However I would add that energy is lost when love is lost. The best example of this is the childish energy Gene Kelly is known for. Especially in An American in Paris when he sings and dances I Got Rhythm with a group of French children. This number perfectly shows Gene Kelly's carefully developed screen persona. Rick Altman (1987) states that fans see Kelly as a "self-confident and energetic individual whose talent and style turn the entire world into a realm of gaiety and dance" He adds that "watching him dance makes us want to dance, seeing him express his joys makes us joyous in term." Adding that he performs in a particular American way. Indeed in the I Got Rhythm number he acts in a childish manner while performing with children. Both Kelly and the kids seem to be in their element during this number, which makes it all the more pleasurable to watch. Altman continues that for Kelly dance is "a silly, clowning childish activity, an expression of the eternal youth which seems even today to be fixed in Kelly's smile."
He looks at Kelly's "peculiar combination of childish qualities and childish self-centeredness" as posing a special problem that audiences can relate to: in other words, we want children to grow up and lose their limitations and their childish faults but at the same time we want to preserve youth's "childish naivet" and enthusiasm. This is shown by the love affairs in Kelly's films where the woman's sense of reserve and responsibility rubs off on him at the same time as his energy and enthusiasm is invested in her. Thus he loses his childish ego and she, while still remaining a woman, recovers some of her girlish vitality.
The second sensibility Dyer sites is abundance', calling the "conquest of scarcity; having enough to spare without sense of poverty of others; enjoyment of sensuous material reality." This is portrayed especially through the expansive abundance in An American in Paris' Stairway to Paradise number where George Gretary (a French music star) dances on an extravagant stage where each stair lights up as he steps on it. Gretary is dressed in top hat and tails, surrounded by female dancers in elaborate pink feather outfits and the whole experience is reminiscent of a Ziegfeld Follies show. However, abundance is also relevant in Brigadoon. In this case the abundance is not of glitz and glamour and material possessions but of something much more desirable. That is the abundance of space, breathtaking scenery, green countryside and clean air. Indeed there is also an abundance of food and ale in the town square which is kindly shared among the residents, as a goodwill gesture by the man who is getting married that day.
Dyer's third sensibility is intensity, which he describes as the "experiencing of emotion, directly, fully, unambiguously, "authentically", without holding back and that it is the capacity of entertainment to present either complex or unpleasant feelings in a way that makes them seem uncomplicated, direct and vivid, not "qualified" or "ambiguous" as day-to-day life makes them."
The New York scene in Brigadoon shows Tommy in a complex, confused and unpleasant state. He tries to get on with his life back home, going to dinner with his fiance, but he cannot forget Fiona. Her voice constantly enters his mind when key words are said. He feels desolate because Brigadoon is gone forever and he will never see Fiona again. The film is resolved however by his return to the empty space where Brigadoon once stood and his love for Fiona creates a miracle as the village suddenly rises from the mist. An elderly villager tells Tommy, "You shouldn't be too surprises, if you love someone enough anything is possible, even miracles."
The same feelings of loss and isolation occur in An American in Paris when Jerry finds out Lise is marrying someone else (Henrie), and what is worse it is someone she does not love; she has great respect for and feels she owes him something. The only thing she has to offer is herself, so she agrees to marry him. She is in love with Jerry but thinks that marrying Henrie is the proper thing to do. The Paris ballet is a reflection of Jerry's feelings of alone and abandon, but after the number Henrie sends Lise back to Jerry, whom she really loves. Thus true love conquers all, wipes out complex and unpleasant feelings and creates a utopian world: love is the answer to (as well as the creation of) all problems.
The forth sensibility Dyer discusses is transparency, which he describes as "a quality of relationships between represented characters e.g. true love [] sincerity." Indeed true love let Jerry give Lise up only for it to send her back to him and Tommy's true love for Fiona made Brigadoon reappear. Transparency is shown in Brigadoon by Fiona's solo number Waiting for my Dearie. She is waiting for true love and will know when it comes along, and it does (not too long after this) in the shape of Tommy. The Heather on the Hill number with Fiona and Tommy is also a dance of true love. It is the first time they are alone and when they are on the hill, collecting heather for the wedding of Fiona's sister they go into this intensity passionate dance. They fall deeply in love through this dance and every step portrays their true emotions.
The final sensibility in Dyer's essay is that of community', which he defines as "togetherness, a sense of belonging, collective activity". In both films an American is embraced into the communities of Paris and Scotland and made to feel welcome. When the two Americans stumble across Brigadoon they are immediately told to help themselves to any food they want in the marketplace, one resident saying "I dinny want their money", they are also included in the wedding day celebrations and given an endless supply of ale. Whereas in Paris Jerry is already established as a citizen and is an integral part of the community, without losing his American-ness'. From the boarding house he lives in to the caf downstairs; the children in the street and the old lady at the market stall, he is made to feel like he belongs in this community and that his presence can make a difference. He even teaches the group of kids to speak English. As well as his solo numbers he dances with Leslie Caron, George Gretary, on Oscar Levant's piano, with the old lady, with the group of children and several others in the ballet sequence, thus creating an intergenerational unity.
Indeed the striking fact about Kelly is that he never had a stable female partner with whom he could establish a standard duet style, unlike Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers. Altman comments on this in his book The American Film Musical by stating:
"The Gene Kelly who stands out, performing numbers which only he could bring off, is not a Gene Kelly making love but a Gene Kelly showing off. Always confident of his own abilities, Kelly seems to be the best when he's clowning: with Sinatra, Phil Silvers, kids, a mop, a statue, roller states, under stormy skies, as a circus performer, with cartoon characters, etc. In Cover Girl he even dances with his own reflection. These many examples suggest that for Kelly dance is not primarily a sexual activity as it is for Astaire, Charisse, (Ann) Miller, Eleanor Powell and most of the musicals finest dancers."
In fact, Kelly has been extensively compared to Astaire in dancing style even though they are complete opposites. Astaire was elegant and sophisticated whereas Kelly portrayed the average guy on the street. When Kelly puts on roller skates (It's Always Fair Weather) he is demonstrating his youth, showing off for a crowd and exercising his liberty. When Astaire puts on skates he is elegantly courting Ginger Rogers while also competing with her.
The USA prizes childlike qualities more than any other country on earth. Therefore, I think that Kelly's approach appeals to the American public so much because of his all-American ideals, styles and morality. These all relate to the desire to retain the qualities of past childhood after the age of maturity. Kelly proves that retaining this utopian state is not impossible and this appeals to the American public. In Anchors Aweigh Kelly tells Jerry the Mouse that: anyone who is happy can dance. In Kelly lies this secret of eternal youth. He shows that man and child can coexist in the same body: be happy, dance and clown and the impossible can be achieved. Kelly never seems to age on screen. It is interesting to note that in Singin' in the Rain he was actually over 40 years old.
So in conclusion let me state that utopia is the desire for a better way of being and Dyer's essay is about entertainment's ability to evoke what utopia would feel like. He says utopia feelings of abundance, energy, intensity, transparency and community premeditate the non-narrative aspects of entertainment. These sensibilities also act as "temporary answers to the inadequacies of society." In other words, entertainment responds to real needs but in a manner that shows what solutions feel like, not how narrative is secondary to the entertainment value of songs and dances. This is perfectly portrayed in Brigadoon and An American in Paris, especially through Gene Kelly's approach to the musical numbers in these post-war movies that create the sense of escaping into a utopian world, both for the characters and for the audience, thus creating the real definition of entertainment as escape and wish fulfilment.