The link between the movie and poverty. They shoot horses don't they? By Sydney Pollack

Résumé du document

They shoot horses, don't they ? is a testimony of how far people can be controlled by poverty, and their struggle for success. The purpose of the marathon is not really to make a couple winning the 1500$, it's more to entertain the public. The public wants to see the couples fail one after another, and the more spectacular the show is, the better it is.

The dancing marathons were famous in the US at that time of economical crisis. It appears unbelievable today, but people signed up to dance for almost 1000 hours. They just had a few rest, and had to keep moving, until one couple is remained alone standing. These marathons were basically torture. But at a time when people were very poor, and basically didn't have enough money to eat, these marathons were providential, and a form of hope to have a better future.

Sydney Pollack shows how hard it was for the candidates with genius. He succeeded in catching the horror, the pain, and the tiredness in the faces of the dancers. He also captures with success the particular nature of each dancer. I was particularly impressed by the two main characters, Gloria and Robert. They are really different, but at the same time, they are going through the same difficulties, the same poverty, and then the same pain. Gloria embodies the strong woman, that doesn't need anybody. She is tough, intelligent, and independent. But she also has a dark face because she has lost all the hope, all the pleasure to live. Gloria is particularly cynical, and always keeps the reality in mind. Whereas Robert is more hopeful, he seems to be very naive, and really impressed by Gloria. Their mental state is really different, maybe that's why they were able to go so far in the marathon.

Extraits

[...] The link between Gloria's murder and the kill of the horse is also quite interesting. Robert at the beginning of the movie is accused of murder. But we don't know why yet. He killed Gloria and doesn't deny it in front of the authorities. But the more interesting is that he doesn't feel guilty for that, because he thinks that he gives her a favor. The court asks him to justify the crime, that's why he tells us his story. [...]

[...] The public, there to assist to the fail of people and the dancers that are staged to entertain the public, all look like the TV reality shows, so frequent today. All this marathon is a manipulation : hope and poverty of the dancers is used for entertaining the public. The basic cruelty of the people, the fail of the others, the feeling that there are people other there more poor than you, is used as an entertainment. So the public is also manipulated. [...]

[...] She is tough, intelligent, and independent. But she also has a dark face because she hae lost all the hope, all the pleasure to live. Gloria is particularly cynical, and always keeps the reality in mind. Whereas Robert is more hopeful, he seems to be very naive, and really impressed by Gloria. Their mental state is really different, maybe that's why they were able to go so far in the marathon. This movie embodies all the cruelty that reigns in life. [...]

[...] Robert killed a woman that will never be the same after the marathon, a person that had lost hope and trust for the future. A person that basically doesn't have any interests to live anymore. I find that the talent of Sydney Pollack was during all his movie to succeed in showing the candidates as puppets controlled by Rocky and basically presenting them as a spectacle for the public. Even the nice old lady in the audience, that seems to feel pity and compassion for Robert and Gloria takes part to the entertainment, and contributes to the living of this horrible show. [...]

[...] Making people dreaming of things they don't have for profit, and for business in general ? Rocky just personifies the root of the system. He uses each candidate, one after another until he can through them away, because they are not useful anymore. Maybe that's what he meant when he told Gloria that he can't always tell who will win, but that he is able to spot a looser. Perhaps it was just his purpose to make her understand she had spent all her time in the marathon. [...]