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This Mad World

Name: This Mad World
Director: William C. deMille
Released: 1930
Duration: 70 min

Representation Score

3.5/10

Limited

1930

Passed

Director

William C. deMille

Runtime

70 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

This wartime drama operates as a conventional period piece, deeply embedded in the cinematic traditions of the early 1930s. While it lacks the broader demographic range seen in modern cinema, it offers more than a simple melodrama through its character dynamics. The film's strength lies in its subversion of female archetypes. Victoria is a character of consequence, possessing the power to influence the protagonist's survival through her own independent decisions. However, the work remains limited by its era. The focus on European conflict and traditional romantic structures results in a lack of multi-layered complexity and racial diversity.

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Category Breakdown

Does This Mad World have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film doesn't include any explicit LGBTQ+ characters or non-straight relationships. The story focuses on romantic and espionage tensions within traditional heterosexual structures.

How does This Mad World portray gender?

Fair

Victoria plays a central role in driving the plot rather than being a passive observer. She has the power to influence the protagonist's fate, providing significant narrative impact.

How racially and ethnically diverse is This Mad World?

Limited

The setting focuses on French and German characters during World War I. The cast seems to reflect the homogeneous Eurocentric demographic norms of 1930s cinema.

How does This Mad World represent religion and culture?

Fair

The narrative explores the breakdown of traditional loyalties and subjective morality during wartime. It remains grounded in a traditional Western dramatic framework.

Does This Mad World include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no mention of characters portraying physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the story.

Present on Screen

Victoria provides significant narrative impact and moral complexity.
The film explores nuanced themes of patriotism and personal morality.

Limited or Absent

The cast lacks racial and ethnic diversity beyond a Eurocentric focus.
There is no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Parisot, a French spy in World War 1, returns home on a secret mission to visit his mother, and finds that Victoria, the wife of a German general, is billeted in the Parisot home while waiting to see her husband. Victoria discovers that Paul is a spy and, although fascinated by him, plans to reveal his identity to her husband. When the latter is unable to visit her, she attempts to go to the German army headquarters.

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