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A Clean Sweep

Name: A Clean Sweep
Director: Charles E. Roberts
Released: 1938
Duration: 17 min

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Representation Score

1.1/10

Minimal

1938

Approved

Director

Charles E. Roberts

Runtime

17 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

A Clean Sweep is a typical product of its time, relying on conventional comedic structures that reinforce established social norms. The plot centers on a singular, homogeneous experience of middle-class economic anxiety, offering limited multi-layered complexity. The film employs traditional domestic roles as its primary framework. While it touches on the vulnerability of a man losing his job, it does so through a lens that maintains the status quo rather than challenging it. Overall, the work lacks diverse representation across racial, gender, and identity spectrums, functioning as a standard domestic comedy of the late 1930s.

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Category Breakdown

Does A Clean Sweep have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a traditional heterosexual marriage. There are no depictions of same-sex relationships or non-binary gender identities.

How does A Clean Sweep portray gender?

Limited

The wife plays a significant role in her husband's career choice, showing ability to act within a domestic context. However, the story adheres to period-typical depictions of masculine vulnerability related to unemployment.

How racially and ethnically diverse is A Clean Sweep?

Minimal

The story centers around a white, middle-class family dealing with domestic issues. The cast and setting reflect a homogeneous social environment without characters from non-Anglo-Saxon backgrounds.

How does A Clean Sweep represent religion and culture?

Limited

The narrative upholds Western social institutions such as the nuclear family and financial stability. Conflicts arise from disrupting these norms without questioning them.

Does A Clean Sweep include disability representation?

Minimal

No characters are shown to have physical, sensory, or neurodevelopmental disabilities. There is no mention of disability representation in the film.

Present on Screen

The film offers a clear glimpse into the domestic hierarchies and social expectations of the late 1930s.

Limited or Absent

The narrative lacks racial and ethnic diversity, focusing on a homogeneous middle-class experience.
There is no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-binary gender characters.
The film does not challenge patriarchal structures or offer diverse perspectives on gender roles.

Official Synopsis

Edgar lost his job at the bank three months ago, but hasn't told his wife, and they have been living off their savings, while Edgar pretends to go to work everyday. He answers a want-ad for a job selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. He makes no sales, especially after he fills an apartment hallway with trash to demonstrate his cleaner and then finds there is no electricity to run the machine. He comes to a house where a bridal shower is being held, with his wife in attendance, and she thinks Edgar has brought the cleaner as gift for her friend. Edgar has to take the last of their money out of the bank to pay for the demo model he had. The bank manager shows up at Edgar's house to offer him his bank job back, but Edgar's wife won't let him go back, as she has found the prefect job for Edgar... selling vacuum cleaners.

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