Lars Von Trier’s “Dogville” (2003): America, Home of Subtle Slavery and Sickening Conformity

Dogville is Lars von Trier’s 2003 film, and if you’ve heard anything about it whatsoever, you should already know the cast is eclectically fantastic. You might also know that this film resembles bare-bones theater, with few props and chalk outlines where building walls would be. Yes, you are required to use your imagination, but not too much- the focus should be on the characters here.

That being said, here are some points I gathered from this fantastic film.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Films in the same vein as Dogville (IMHO):

Julian Po (1997), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Title Significance:

Dogville aka Godville- a small town built on supposed Christian ideals; we see in the end that the dog is the only one who survives and who Grace feels deserves survival (perhaps because she too was treated like a dog); The dog ends up animated because it is more alive and humane than the townspeople; If you treat an animal cruelly, one day it’ll bite back hard- the same can be said of Grace’s actions, and the actions of humans in general; ‘Ville’ is short for village- I couldn’t help but think “It takes (any village but this one) to raise a child”- ‘Ville’ also is very close to the words ‘devil’ and ‘vile’

America/Immigration/Society:

Yes, the film seems to criticize America, but if David Bowie’s “Young Americans” was excluded, this could have been any town in any country. Still, America is known for being founded on Christian beliefs, which I feel is one important layer to the film. Moreover, America is now known as the richest and most arrogant nation on the planet, but being monetarily rich does not make you spiritually rich- in fact, it often makes you spiritually bankrupt, leaving no room whatsoever for a moral compass. Now imagine folks like the ones in Dogville– poor, struggling, downtrodden. Certainly the burdens of stress and social class limitations does not exactly encourage one to be a good person. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” takes on new meaning when, even if the country is welcoming, the people are not. If you read the entire sonnet from Emma Lazarus, you’ll see that it pretty much translates as: Other countries can keep their splendor and beauty; we’ll take people who’ll work dirt cheap. Indeed, America is a country for exiles, and yet, what good is it to seek refuge here when its own people insist on exiling each other? As mentioned in the conversation between Grace and Chuck, there is no sentimental or wholesome value present in small towns, despite their charm. And while towns like this surely exist everywhere, perhaps von Trier was making the point that society is anything but neighborly, and this mindset of so-called modern progress seems to have originated in the US. Moreover, what good is it to be an outsider in a society where majority rules, no matter how corrupt? All it took was one person to stand up for Grace, and maybe she would have had second thoughts at the end, but none of them had the courage to speak their mind. This was portrayed in the initial voting scene- they give Grace going away gifts suggesting ‘wish you well,’ but none can vote against her once they see that other people are voting for her. Essentially the townsfolk executed the one person who was kind to them, while defending the people that belittled them (each other).

Morality/Bible:

Quite simply, people only do good when a reward is given. No matter how much we try to forgive others (as Grace tried) and withstand their faulty ideals (such as Tom’s hypocrisy), sin spreads like a virus, and if one person seems to be getting away with it, then the rest will surely join in. This mirrors the biblical fall of man, depicted beautifully but tragically in the apple-cart scene. We often envision the forbidden fruit of Eden as a singular apple, but this scene shows the apples packed like sardines- hence, we are not flawed because of original sin, we are flawed because we continue to sin. We don’t ask for mercy or think we’ve done something wrong until we our judged, and because the majority rules, it usually takes a strong force of judgment to convince us of our wrongdoings (aka God, or Grace’s mob connection in the film).

The Layout/Setting:

For one, the lack of buildings/scenery emphasized that despite our social progress, we are not a civilized people; we still attack anyone who is different from us, despite their good intentions. We have our modern cities and towns, but we essentially ignore each other as citizens until the moment comes when we can collectively oppose an individual- similar to the primal group mentality, but more on a social level these days. The town layout almost resembles a gas station pump, which in itself almost resembles a phallus; the roads are named after elements of nature which don’t seem to exist any longer because of the insertion of these very roads. The townsfolk house Grace in the old mill jutting off at the edge of town (some say the mill or ‘miller’ is a sign of not trusting someone entirely). The mill is between ‘Steep Hill Street’ and ‘Canyon Road’- perhaps another sign that they don’t trust Grace (putting her by a road named after a gorge vs. ‘Elm Street’ for example). For my own reasons, I also believe that these street names were symbolic of Grace’s sexuality, as soon after moving there, her ‘grace’ was stolen and she unwillingly became the town whore.

Dialogue:

After being taunted by Jason about spanking, Grace tells Vera “he was asking for it,” which he literally was. In the end, talking to her father about murdering the children and making Vera cry, Grace says “I owe her (Vera) that,” which she literally does, as Vera wrongfully made Grace feel guilty when smashing her figurines. Both “he/she was asking for it” and “I owe him/her that” are phrases often used to describe when someone deserves wrongdoing or when someone deserves a righteous favor. In Grace’s case, these words were said quite literally.


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