the issue of honoring our past and future "almost to a fault"

We had a good first meeting. Following an overview of what’s ahead, the students were challenged to be alert to the arrival of urban life in the United States in the nineteenth century (and even earlier if we keep Philadelphia, New York and even Mobile, Alabama, in mind).

The Charlestown section of Boston anchors The Town.

I did a brief lecture Wednesday on the tensions between rural and urban life across time as unveiled in our short reading on the opinions of early American leaders like Thomas Jefferson, who cherished agrarian ideals. Next, I offered brief words on how to look for instructive moments in the 2010 motion picture The Town, which is set in Boston. I showed them excerpts from this sometimes troubling movie that revolves around Doug MacRay(Ben Affleck), a young man who has conflicted feelings about participating in a bank robbery ring. The movie’s name draws inspiration from the Charlestown section of Boston, which was notorious for bank robbers.  

From the start, this film presents the ethnic loyalties that often define urban areas, among them the Charlestown community. MacRay is of Irish descent as are all of the young men from the neighborhood who help him with his heists. Wayne, one student in this course,  picked up on how these young men were descendants of Irish immigrants who came to “Boston to escape their old life and find jobs.” His insight is appreciated as we will indeed look at the ways in which nineteenth century urban dwellers in the United States claim power via employment, race, ethnic origins and even gender.

I was more than impressed, too, by other comments from other students who looked for additional tensions between the past and present, urban and rural and the so-called Old and New World:

Undre noted the cobblestone streets in the film, which made him think of  European cities that predate American ones.  

Rae and Devon were both drawn to the Bunker Hill monument, which is shown in an opening scene in The Town. Sitting in the Charlestown section of Boston, this 221-foot stone pillar was dedicated in 1843 to commemorate the first major battle of the American Revolution. Said Rae, “It is very interesting to me…that we build monuments to the past in the middle of an urban [space] that also [honors] technology and advancement.” She added, [we seem to honor] “our past and our ancestry almost to a fault while also searching” for new things “almost to a fault,” too.  Devon wrote: "the monument and the surrounding buildings have a distinct older look [but] when the shot widens you see a more modern city."

Jess noted how the robbers met up in an ice-skating rink after the film’s opening robbery. This was interesting to Jess, who said, “I think ice-skating…is really a rural pastime.” He saw tensions between such a rural setting, i.e. the frozen pond and an urban one - the rink.

Jess also picked up on the anonymity of the city life which shows up in interpersonal interactions including MacRay's personal involvement with Claire Keesey   (Rebecca Hall), the manager of the bank he robbed. There is so much anonymity in a city, even a bank robber on the run “thinks he can get away with” such a relationship, Jess said.

Wayne was tuned into how the word “Charlestown” was shown on the screen at the beginning of the film. The word “faded in and out and thus seemed to highlight the word “town” as if to also highlight ideas about community and what it means to belong to a particular neighborhood or space. This is an idea everyone will want to continue to think about as we turn to the opening pages of Gunther Barth’s City People for our next meeting.

Jasmine noted the tensions between urban life and nature as revealed in Keesey's presence first, in the bank and later, beside the ocean where she was freed. 

Emily homed in on how the movie showed “the dissonance between the family business of robbery” and “typical familial relations.” Said Emily, “The old ideas of trying to work hard to afford the city are being achieved, but the means of doing so are illegal.”

Voni offered an impressive list of tensions between the past and present as presented in this film, among them her awareness that Boston has “Old World charm,” but “New World problems” as evident in how “young guys target and overpower old” ones.

Ben Affleck stars in The Town (2010).

Ben astutely noted “a very literal conflict” between the modern moment in which the initial bank robbery takes place and the “old style combination lock” on the bank vault. He also noted historic parts of Boston and paid attention to how even the city itself was a “huge character” in this film. 

As Ben watched MacRay’s unease with his old life as a robber and his desire to get out of his old neighborhood  - the scene between MacRay and James Couglin (Jeremy Renner) is powerful in this regard -  Ben decided, “The idea of living in one place for most of your life [and] moving somewhere [else] for a better life is modern."

Offering summary thoughts, Will said, “There is an urban feel in this movie with the setting being in Boston. The Old World [also] comes into play with the florist [who is a] mob ruler (Pete Postlethwaite).  Will reminded us, too, about how Charlestown "as a whole is close” as seen in the number of regulars in the “town bar." That said, any apparent closeness in this bar was not unchallenged. Class tensions in this community affected MacCray's relationship with Keesey.

Next week, we will meet in front of Gorgas Library at 3 pm. We will then walk over to the former site of the Kilgore House on campus before heading back to our classroom in tenHoor to hear a lecture by Dr. Susan Reynolds, Associate Editor of Alabama Heritage magazine, which was once housed in this now-demolished house. 

The students are invited to be curious about how the Kilgore house and the University of Alabama figure into emerging urban life in the United States. They can start by watching the short film located on the right hand side of this blog. This short was completed by students enrolled in this course last fall. 

One aside: this fall, the class has set out to do a music video that will also address nineteenth century urban life. Among the music options they are considering is a song called “Queen City” from the Junkyard Kings, a local band. Indeed, Tuscaloosa, not unlike Cincinnati, was once known as Queen City. We will learn why in the weeks ahead.