Annie, Morality and the American Dream: A Historical Appoach

Film is often a good way to explore historical issues, and on Boxing Day afternoon I sat down to one of my favorite childhood films, Annie. Yer the story is cheesy, the acting is dire and the music is very catchy. But somehow it is entertaining. The story is straightforward enough, abused orphan girl named Annie gets a chance to spend a week with a billionaire bachelor, who starts off being less than enthusiastic, but ends up adopting her. The historical background in which the film is set is the heyday of early twentieth century American capitalism the so-called ‘Roaring Twenties’. It’s in this context that Annie’s dreams of a happy family life are fulfilled. The significance of economic power to the story must not be overlooked. Indeed Annie was originally a cartoon strip created by Harold Gray, who imprinted a strong free market ethos on the work. This is visible in the fact that one of the main characters, the billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, was a ‘self-made’ man. The emphasis on the importance of hard work and an individualist ethos, is reflected in the positive way it depicts the role entrepreneurship in society, and portrays it’s opposite as corrupt and immoral. Behind this is a particular conception of the American Dream, and the relationship between economics and morality. One that links the idea of moral good to a precise understanding of political-economy, that is a product of the experience of industrialisation in America, one which was uneven and geographically irregular. As a consequence, areas such as the north east, where Annie is set, saw heavy industrial development. Thus the emphasis on hard work in the story with regard to Warbucks’ own back story must be understood as being restricted by the local experiences of industrialisation. Part of the reason for this post is to demonstrate the importance of the discipline history in the U.K. today. By viewing film in a historical light, a fuller appreciation can be given to the moral content of the story.