Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Babylon is grand and exhilarating. At 3 hours and 15 minutes, it’s a journey one has to brace themselves for. In fact, due to its length, I’ve avoided watching it over these past eight months because I knew it needed my full attention and focus, as well as my patience.

I like director Damian Chazelle.  Whiplash and La La Land are two excellent films.  And while I knew very little about Babylon while it was being marketed late last year aside from the fact that it took place in "old" Hollywood, I suspected something exceptionally creative and ambitious. And that is precisely what Babylon was.  While I found the third act to be somewhat underwhelming, it did not detract from the beginning parts of the film which were exciting, original, and highly entertaining.  

One thing that came up throughout the movie was my questioning of its authenticity. More specifically, its historical accuracy. There is excess and debauchery in abundance during the Silent Era which is primarily when the film takes place.  

There is also notable diversity. Babylon shows a highly successful Black male musician, a Latino film executive, and an Asian singer. They all work and party together in orgiastic fashion. Late 1920s Hollywood was many things, but ethnically diverse and equal in opportunity, I am not so sure. Babylon subtly addresses that fact. There are scenes of racism making it clear that this isn’t necessarily some idealized utopia for dreamers and ambitious types. Or is it?  

As a child, I was always enthralled by toy commercials, especially, those for action figures. They all had a similar format of children manipulating dolls within little plastic sets (usually replicas of castles, caves, and dungeons that may or may not be sold separately).There was always a cutaway of a slack-jawed kid in disbelief at how awesome the figures were.As a child, these carefully constructed scenes felt immersive and fun and made me want the toy of course! That was the point after all.

I think a lot of us have special relationships with toys.Boomers were the first generation of children from the burgeoning (and since obsolete) middle class to benefit from their parents' disposable income.This combined with the development of cheap production methods and the advent of plastic and rubber, saw an entire industry born specifically targeted to youths.It started with magazine ads and quickly moved over to the TV screen where Saturday morning cartoons became launching off points for products marketed directly to kids.More often than not those products were toys.

I believe Boomers wanted for their children what they pined for as youths themselves.Toys, toys, and more toys.As a child, I spent countless hours after school and on the weekends playing with my X-Men and Power Rangers figurines. There’s a familiar, sentimental feeling even now as I recall those early formative years with my collection of play items.A feeling successfully captured in Toy Story.