. . . is echoed by light bulb inventor Thomas Edison, would-be concrete house mogul, according to this DVD's talking head experts, in urging WHITE Americans to have MORE babies than rival non-whites (preferably, by the efficient multiple birth method depicted in this flick, which has been enhanced since 1904 beyond TR's wildest dreams, as illustrated by Octomom). That's what this film is about, even according to its own subtitle: THE STRENUOUS LIFE; OR, ANTI-RACE SUICIDE. To put it into terms that even timid thinkers taught NOT to use critical thinking by today's public school systems can understand, Roosevelt (of Mount Rushmore fame) and Edison are saying that if Bill and Hilary Clinton, to take two random white people for an example, chose to have ONE kid, and if Barack and Michelle Obama, to take two random non-white people for another example, choose to have A COUPLE kids ( = 100 per cent more), after a few years America will be a white-minority country, which would be "anti-race suicide" on the part of the Clintons and other white people, to take Teddy Roosevelt's own quotation, echoed by Thomas Edison. If this upsets you, I suggest you boycott Mount Rushmore as well as recorded rap music, movies, and electrical appliances such as light bulbs, all of which Thomas Edison invented!
4 Reviews
Bland As Comedy; Interesting As Political Satire
Snow Leopard1 November 2005
Viewed only for the comedy, this Edwin S. Porter feature would be rather bland, with only a couple of moments of humor before the closing gag. But as the title indicates, the simple story is intended to satirize some of (then-) President Theodore Roosevelt's philosophical and political beliefs. Roosevelt was a very popular and effective President, and he instituted a number of policies that were overdue in his time, but his extreme zeal and his occasionally eccentric viewpoints also made it easy for his contemporaries to caricature him and his beliefs.
The story follows a married couple as they are looking forward to their first child, starting with the father at work when he gets the call that the time has come. There are a couple of mildly amusing moments in the office, and one or two warmer moments at home, but otherwise almost all of the running time is used to set up the closing gag.
Theodore Roosevelt saw much of life as a never-ending competition, and he used to say that Americans needed to live "The Strenuous Life" in order to attain world preeminence. He also warned Americans to avoid what he called 'race suicide', and encouraged them to have several children if possible. Kino's DVD collection of Edison films includes in their program notes a brief summary of the way that these beliefs are satirized in the movie.
It is one of at least three Edwin S. Porter movies that refer more-or-less directly to Roosevelt's policies or personal habits. While these features are sometimes pointed, they are at least usually not mean-spirited. The others were more directed at Theodore's personal habits, while this one is more of a true political satire.
One particular point of interest is that, aside from the title, there is nothing to tell a later generation that it is anything more than a light domestic comedy. But in its time, the phrases and their connection with the story would have been understood by its audiences. It's interesting to consider what present-day political movies might fall into the same category.
The story follows a married couple as they are looking forward to their first child, starting with the father at work when he gets the call that the time has come. There are a couple of mildly amusing moments in the office, and one or two warmer moments at home, but otherwise almost all of the running time is used to set up the closing gag.
Theodore Roosevelt saw much of life as a never-ending competition, and he used to say that Americans needed to live "The Strenuous Life" in order to attain world preeminence. He also warned Americans to avoid what he called 'race suicide', and encouraged them to have several children if possible. Kino's DVD collection of Edison films includes in their program notes a brief summary of the way that these beliefs are satirized in the movie.
It is one of at least three Edwin S. Porter movies that refer more-or-less directly to Roosevelt's policies or personal habits. While these features are sometimes pointed, they are at least usually not mean-spirited. The others were more directed at Theodore's personal habits, while this one is more of a true political satire.
One particular point of interest is that, aside from the title, there is nothing to tell a later generation that it is anything more than a light domestic comedy. But in its time, the phrases and their connection with the story would have been understood by its audiences. It's interesting to consider what present-day political movies might fall into the same category.
Satire on President's Racist Eugenics
Cineanalyst13 March 2010
This early short film probably won't make sense to most modern audiences. Its title "The Strenuous Life; or, Anti-Race Suicide" may help some acquainted with early 20th Century American history to understand it, but most viewers today would probably need some background. Audiences in 1904 would've presumably been familiar with the phrases "the strenuous life" and "race suicide"; additionally, exhibitors often provided lecturers at screenings to further explain films to audiences back then. "The strenuous life" was a phrase then-US President Teddy Roosevelt often used and for various causes, including promoting his athletic and outdoorsy way of life or to advocate his imperialistic foreign policies. The second part of this film's title "Anti-Race Suicide" makes clear the specific view of Roosevelt's that it's parodying. Roosevelt encouraged Americans of Northern European decent to have more children, as he and others feared that affluent white America was otherwise committing "race suicide". This became a popular view supported by the pseudoscience of eugenics in the early 20th Century, which in its most negative sense led to forced sterilization of mentally-ill persons, as well as racist immigration restrictions and marriage regulations in the US and elsewhere. Eugenics eventually fell out of favor after the Nazis found it as inspiration for the Holocaust.
Thus, in this film of six shots, a man arrives home with a doctor. We discover that it's because his wife is pregnant and in delivery after a nurse brings the man a newborn child. The man is excited and weighs the child. Shot five is a match-on-action cut to a medium shot; the filmmaker here Edwin S. Porter had previously employed this technique in "The Gay Shoe Clerk" (1903), which he learned from the films of George Albert Smith, such as "As Seen Through a Telescope" (1900), "The Little Doctors" (1901) and "Mary Jane's Mishap" (1903). The climactic gag comes when the man is presented three more children. He and his wife have suddenly fulfilled President Roosevelt's call, but the man in the film finds that to be much too strenuous.
Thus, in this film of six shots, a man arrives home with a doctor. We discover that it's because his wife is pregnant and in delivery after a nurse brings the man a newborn child. The man is excited and weighs the child. Shot five is a match-on-action cut to a medium shot; the filmmaker here Edwin S. Porter had previously employed this technique in "The Gay Shoe Clerk" (1903), which he learned from the films of George Albert Smith, such as "As Seen Through a Telescope" (1900), "The Little Doctors" (1901) and "Mary Jane's Mishap" (1903). The climactic gag comes when the man is presented three more children. He and his wife have suddenly fulfilled President Roosevelt's call, but the man in the film finds that to be much too strenuous.
3 from Edison
Michael_Elliott12 March 2008
Strenuous Life; Or the Anti-Race Suicide (1904)
** (out of 4)
Another Edison short, boring as hell and I'm really not sure what it was about. The most interesting thing was the "warning" at the start of the film that other filmmakers are not allowed to use clips from this film in their film.
Ex-Convict, The (1904)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Wonderful little short about an ex con finding it impossible to find people that trusts him enough to give him a job. This all changes when he saves a young girl from being ran over by a car. This here runs just over nine minutes and it's rather amazing at how much detail they squeeze in. There's no doubt the film is a political statement saying cons should be forgiven once their time is served but the ending is quite sad and very touching.
Kleptomaniac, The (1905)
*** (out of 4)
Another political statement from Edison that still rings true one-hundred years after being made. A rich woman steals a fur piece while a poor woman steals a loaf of bread for her starving child. In court, the rich woman gets off while the poor woman has her daughter taken away and is thrown in jail.
** (out of 4)
Another Edison short, boring as hell and I'm really not sure what it was about. The most interesting thing was the "warning" at the start of the film that other filmmakers are not allowed to use clips from this film in their film.
Ex-Convict, The (1904)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Wonderful little short about an ex con finding it impossible to find people that trusts him enough to give him a job. This all changes when he saves a young girl from being ran over by a car. This here runs just over nine minutes and it's rather amazing at how much detail they squeeze in. There's no doubt the film is a political statement saying cons should be forgiven once their time is served but the ending is quite sad and very touching.
Kleptomaniac, The (1905)
*** (out of 4)
Another political statement from Edison that still rings true one-hundred years after being made. A rich woman steals a fur piece while a poor woman steals a loaf of bread for her starving child. In court, the rich woman gets off while the poor woman has her daughter taken away and is thrown in jail.
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