Discuss how far your chosen film or films reflect cultural contexts associated with a particular film movement ( 20 marks )

Silent comedies in 1920s America had a significant impact on society and the chaotic world of the roaring 20s as it provided many a joyous escape from reality. It was a universal attraction, for people of most classes (costing around 25 cents or less) to gather and socialise in an upbeat environment. Due to the films having no spoken words, all cultures and people from different backgrounds could understand the plots and enjoy the stunts, overall contributing to the boom. Buster Keaton is a prime example of a filmmaker who referenced key cultural contexts and helped the succession of early film production.

 Keaton often embraced or even mocked upcoming technology in his films, from a bed that turns into a piano to a sink that transforms into a sofa. During the opening of Keaton's short film The Scarecrow, a multi-purpose table is seen in wide shot. This space-efficient and labor-saving device is a clear reference to the great joke of Rube Goldberg's comics which was published in newspapers 5 years before this gag. The meaning behind the joke is that we overcomplicate our lives while attempting to make them simpler, evident by the easily tangled strings holding simple items that we feel need to be simplified further. This engaged the audience as he referenced many cultural and political themes of the time. 

During One Week, Keaton referenced popular art movement cubism through the composition of the mismatched flat-packed house. Picasso was an uprising popular artist of the 1920s and played a significant influence in Keatons mis-en-scene, possibly even a mockery of the fragmented and discordant art style. Keaton often referenced surrealism to depict a comedic unrealistic version of the world, from his oversized shoes to a never ending newspaper that practically engulfs Keaton, referenced in The High Sign. His gags and humour were often based on exaggerated stunts and comical mishaps, so by introducing surrealism to his films he could not only target an artistic audience but also project his own vision and vaudvillian skills.
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