The social conscience film of the depression-era was a major staging ground for arguments about poverty, crime, role models and social responsibility. Michael Curtiz’s 1938 film Angels With Dirty Faces remains an outstanding exploration of some of the malaises of contemporary culture, including media, social imitation and celebrity. René Girard, whose work ranges from literary theory to the anthropology of religion and culture, has pointed out that after being displaced from the centre of the universe (Copernicus), discovering that we are descended from apes (Darwin), and that we are in the thrall of desires we can hardly avow (Freud), the most recent shock that our conception of the human must endure is Girard’s own insight that our desires are not even our own. We imitate them from others. Drawing on the work of Girard we can observe how Angels with Dirty Faces manipulates social imitation (mimesis) and the sacrificial resources of primitive religion for very modern effects.
KENT ENNS is Professor of Political Theory at Humber College. He did his Ph.D. work at York University's Programme in Social and Political Thought and before arriving at Humber he was a lecturer at the University of Toronto on the history of philosophy and the history of political theory. In 2009 he helped launch Humber’s new degree in Film and Media Production where he also currently teaches film theory. His most recent articles on film and liberalism were published in volumes from MIT Press.
KENT ENNS is Professor of Political Theory at Humber College. He did his Ph.D. work at York University's Programme in Social and Political Thought and before arriving at Humber he was a lecturer at the University of Toronto on the history of philosophy and the history of political theory. In 2009 he helped launch Humber’s new degree in Film and Media Production where he also currently teaches film theory. His most recent articles on film and liberalism were published in volumes from MIT Press.